Lead People Systems Engineer

Klaviyo•Boston, MA

About The Position

Klaviyo is seeking a Lead People Technology Engineer to be the first dedicated AI engineer within the People Technology (KPPL) team. This role will reimagine how People teams operate in an AI-first world by shaping the architecture, standards, and long-term vision for AI integration. The engineer will partner across People Operations, Talent Acquisition, Talent, and Finance to design and build intelligent systems that transform how Klaviyo hires, develops, retains, and supports employees globally. This position is crucial for defining how AI becomes embedded into the employee lifecycle at Klaviyo.

Requirements

7+ years of engineering or data engineering experience.
2+ years building AI/ML or LLM-powered systems delivering tangible business outcomes.
Proven ability to set technical direction and build 0→1 systems with meaningful organizational impact.
Strong experience with Python, SQL, and modern APIs.
Experience with LLM platforms (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, etc.).
Experience with LangChain and LangGraph.
Experience designing AI-powered workflows, agents, or copilots.
Experience integrating with enterprise SaaS systems (HRIS, ATS, etc.).
Experience designing scalable systems, automation frameworks, and internal tools.
Experience working with sensitive data and implementing responsible AI practices.
Strong ability to translate ambiguous business problems into scalable technical solutions.

Nice To Haves

Experience with People/HR systems (Workday, Greenhouse, Sana).
Familiarity with workflow automation platforms (e.g., n8n, Workato, Zapier).
Experience in high-growth SaaS environments.
Contributions to AI governance, internal AI platforms, or experimentation frameworks.

Responsibilities

Reimagine core People workflows (recruiting, onboarding, performance, daily tasks) through an AI-first lens, not just incremental automation.
Design and build AI-powered workflows, copilots, and agents that automate and augment People processes across the employee lifecycle.
Architect and implement systems that integrate across SaaS platforms such as Workday, Greenhouse, Sana, and internal Klaviyo platforms.
Partner with the internal IT AI team and establish best practices for prompt engineering and evaluation, LLM system design and orchestration, and versioning, testing, security, and observability of AI systems.
Enable AI Use Cases (copilots, assistants, automated workflows) that drive faster execution and better decision-making for People teams.
Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business problems into scalable AI solutions.
Identify high-leverage opportunities to replace manual workflows with AI-native solutions.
Define and track success metrics tied to efficiency gains, time savings, and operational effectiveness.
Help the People organization shift toward AI-augmented ways of working.
Act as a thought partner to People leadership on what’s possible with AI.
Design systems that handle sensitive employee data with security, privacy, and trust at the core.
Partner with Security, Legal, and Global IT to ensure compliant and ethical AI deployment.
Work closely with Security, IT, and GTM Systems to align on shared AI infrastructure and standards.
Contribute to and adopt company-wide AI patterns, tooling, and best practices.
Enable People teams to leverage AI by building reusable frameworks and workflows, playbooks, and training materials.
Help non-technical stakeholders confidently use and iterate on AI-powered tools.
Advocate for scalable, well-governed AI systems that integrate cleanly into Klaviyo’s broader tech ecosystem.
Act as a key voice in shaping how Klaviyo becomes AI-first internally, starting with People systems.