Software Engineer - AI Platforms and Products

The New York Times•New York, NY

15h•Hybrid

About The Position

The New York Times is hiring a Software Engineer to join the New A.I. Products & Platforms mission. We are a team building the next generation of reader-facing A.I. experiences for one of the world's most trusted news organizations. We're looking for a prototyper: someone who moves fast, ships real things, and has a genuine instinct for what makes a product feel good. You'll work at the intersection of applied A.I. and consumer product. You'll turn emerging capabilities — language models, content embeddings, semantic search — into features that help Times readers discover, understand, and engage more deeply with our content. You'll be working inside an organization with a strong culture of editorial judgment and independence. You need a track record of shipping, a strong command of the modern web stack, and real hands-on time building with LLMs in production. This is a hybrid role based in our New York City headquarters, reporting to the VP of Engineering, New AI Products and Platforms. You can typically expect to come into the office 2+ days per week.

Requirements

2+ years of software engineering experience with demonstrated ability to ship consumer-facing features
Hands-on experience building with Large Language Models in a real product context — not just side projects
Full-stack fundamentals: Node.js or TypeScript on the backend, React on the front end
Experience navigating codebases and working within established backend infrastructure
Proficiency in GenAI‑assisted developer tooling (e.g., Cursor, Copilot, or Claude Code) and passion for improving software delivery by leveraging these tools

Nice To Haves

Experience working across both greenfield product development and integration with legacy or third-party systems
Additional backend experience in Python, particularly for data pipelines or model integrations
Experience with semantic search, embedding-based retrieval, or personalization systems
Experience building agentic software — systems where models plan, take actions, or operate across multiple steps; complexity matters more than tenure
Familiarity with evaluation frameworks or A/B testing for A.I. features
Background in product environments where editorial or institutional judgment shapes what you ship

Responsibilities

Prototype, iterate, and ship LLM- and embedding-powered reader experiences from early concept through production, in conjunction with other engineers and cross-functional peers
Build across the full stack: Node.js/TypeScript backends, React frontends, and A.I. integrations connecting them
Build net-new A.I. features and integrate them into existing Times systems and APIs — knowing when to build from scratch and when to wire things together cleanly
Write, test, and refine prompts and retrieval pipelines; treat prompt engineering as a first-class engineering discipline
Instrument your features with evaluations, engagement signals, and performance monitoring, and use them to make things better
Work closely with product managers, designers, journalists, and senior engineers to translate editorial goals into working product
Contribute to shared practices around evaluation, responsible A.I. use, and what "good" looks like inside an organization where judgment and independence are taken seriously
Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world

Benefits

dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock.
Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

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