AI Engineer

Citadel Development Services LLC•Austin, TX

23d

About The Position

Citadel Development Services is a fast-growing real estate development and construction firm operating across multiple service lines — Due Diligence, Design, Estimating, Construction, and Finance. We are building an AI-powered operation from the inside out, and we need an internal AI Engineer to make it happen. This is not a research role. This is a build-and-deploy role. You will be embedded with our teams to identify operational bottlenecks, design AI agent solutions, and ship working automations that save time, eliminate errors, and help us scale. You will work directly with leadership and department heads to develop agents across platforms such as OpenAI (custom GPTs), Claude, Make.com, Zapier, and similar no-code/low-code AI orchestration tools — translating our strategy into real, measurable automation wins. THE MISSION — WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS CDS's 2026 strategy explicitly calls out AI as a core lever across multiple departments: PH1/PH2: Implement AI to analyze municipalities, review reports, flag areas of concern, and organize permitting information. Estimating: Use AI to improve accuracy, minimize scope gaps, and eliminate errors in bids HR / Recruiting: Build an AI workflow to screen and qualify candidates at scale using a scoring system Finance: Automate vendor/supplier AP tracking and cash flow modeling Business Development: Support outreach workflows, portfolio updates, and client onboarding processes You will be the person who builds, deploys, and maintains all of it.

Requirements

AI Platforms | OpenAI (GPT-4, custom GPTs, Assistants API), Anthropic Claude, Gemini; ability to build, configure, and deploy agents on each
Prompt Engineering | Expert-level prompt design for instruction-following, structured output, classification, extraction, summarization, and multi-step reasoning tasks
Automation Tools | Make.com (Integromat), Zapier, n8n — building multi-step workflows with branching logic, error handling, and data transformation
APIs & Webhooks | REST API integration, JSON/XML parsing, OAuth, webhook configuration; ability to connect AI agents to third-party platforms without native connectors
Programming | Python (required): scripting, data processing, API calls, file manipulation. JavaScript a strong plus. Ability to write clean, functional scripts — not production engineering, but reliable automation code.
Data Handling | Spreadsheet logic (Excel/Google Sheets), basic SQL or structured data querying, JSON/CSV manipulation, data cleaning and transformation
AI Agent Frameworks | Familiarity with LangChain, CrewAI, AutoGen, or similar multi-agent orchestration frameworks; understanding of RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architectures
Tool Integration | Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets), Slack, Procore, Smartsheet, Harvest, or similar PM/construction platforms
Vector Databases | Basic understanding of embeddings, vector search (Pinecone, Weaviate, Chroma), and knowledge base retrieval for document-aware AI agents
Problem Solving | Ability to sit with a department head for 30 minutes, map their workflow, identify where AI creates leverage, and propose a build plan the same day

Responsibilities

Agent Design & Deployment
Design, build, and deploy AI agents tailored to specific departmental workflows across CDS
Develop and maintain custom GPTs, Claude projects, and similar LLM-based tools using platforms such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere
Architect multi-step automation workflows using Make.com, Zapier, n8n, or similar orchestration tools
Build intake forms, triggers, and conditional logic to route information to the right agent at the right time
Cross-Department Implementation
Collaborate directly with PH1/PH2 (Due Diligence & Permitting) to build AI pipelines for municipality research and report analysis
Partner with Estimating to develop AI-assisted bid review, scope gap detection, and subcontractor qualification tools
Work with HR to implement resume screening AI workflows, scoring rubrics, and candidate ranking systems
Support Finance with automated AP tracking, cash flow dashboards, and expense anomaly detection
Assist Business Development with outreach sequencing, portfolio maintenance automation, and CRM-connected workflows
Systems Integration
Connect AI agents to CDS's existing tools — Procore, Smartsheet, Harvest, and others — via APIs and webhooks
Integrate with Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Calendar) and communication platforms (Slack, email) as needed
Ensure data flows cleanly between systems with appropriate error handling and logging
Documentation & Training
Document all agents, workflows, and automations clearly so the team can understand and maintain them
Train department leads and team members on how to use and prompt AI tools effectively
Build a library of prompt templates and SOPs tailored to CDS workflows
Continuous Improvement
Monitor agent performance, identify failure points, and iterate rapidly
Stay current on emerging AI tools, models, and platforms — bring recommendations to leadership
Measure time saved, errors reduced, and output quality improved across deployed agents