Applied AI Engineer

Bandit Running is a pioneering technical performance brand committed to creating innovative, high-quality apparel & gear for goal-driven runners. Our mission to “Evolve Running” guides everything we do, always putting the needs of the global running community first. As the fastest-growing brand in the sport, we challenge conventional brand-building norms, prioritizing an extremely high bar for disruptive excellence across product, experiences & content. Our vision is to build an enduring, iconic brand that breaks down barriers & inspires greater passion & participation in the sport we love.

We are seeking an Applied AI Engineer to help build the systems that change how work gets done at Bandit. You’ll partner closely with our Head of Data & Technology to identify the largest opportunities across the business and turn them into production AI tools, agents, and automated decision loops. This is a hands-on builder role, not a research or advisory role. You’ll work across models, APIs, data, application logic, and deployment to take projects from problem → prototype → production system. Early use cases will span growth, marketing, and operations, with significant freedom to shape what we build and how we build it.

• Build production AI systems end-to-end — agents, internal applications, workflows, and decision systems that connect models with Bandit’s data and operational tools.
• Design agent architecture and infrastructure — including tool use, permissions, context management, memory, triggers, scheduling, observability, and human-in-the-loop controls.
• Automate growth and marketing workflows — starting with systems that evaluate performance, make recommendations, generate or iterate creative, and accelerate experimentation across paid media, CRM, and site merchandising.
• Build personalization and decisioning systems that turn customer, product, membership, and behavioral signals into relevant actions and experiences.
• Help define Bandit’s applied AI strategy by identifying where AI can materially increase team capacity, improve decision quality, or shorten the time between idea, experiment, and learning.

• 4+ years of software engineering experience, with a track record of shipping production systems. Depth of traditional software engineering is helpful, but not required.
• 1+ years deeply immersed in applied LLM engineering—actively following, testing, and adopting the best techniques emerging from frontier model labs and the broader AI engineering community.
• Hands-on experience building agents and LLM applications using tool calling, structured outputs, context/retrieval systems, evaluations, and multi-step workflows.
• Strong across Python/TypeScript, APIs, SQL/databases, cloud infrastructure, and application deployment.
• Strong product and business judgment—you can take an ambiguous problem, determine what should actually be built, and ship quickly without sacrificing reliability where it matters.
• Comfortable operating broadly and independently across engineering, data, growth, creative, and operational problems.

Success in this role means building systems that improve how Bandit operates: codifying strong judgment, enabling better decisions, accelerating experimentation, and shortening the loop between learning and action.

• Competitive salary + equity compensation
• 401k match
• Top tier medical insurance/benefits
• Rocket-ship level momentum with a career-defining opportunity at-hand

At Bandit, we’re building an incredible culture rooted in our three core values—Trust, Empathy, & Excellence. We believe that in order to build the best team, our baseline is an environment where everyone can bring their full & authentic selves to the table. We are committed to fair hiring practices where we hire team members for their potential & advocate for diversity, equity, & inclusion. We do not discriminate based on your race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, marital status, disability, or any other protected class.

Salary: $150,000 - $170,000 + equity