Engineer in Residence, Live Commerce AI
AIFund Open · verified Oct 24, 2026 At a glance
Mid-level Software Engineering role at AIFund. Mountain View · contract · $10,000–$30,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build the live system spanning chat intake, information retrieval, safety checks, host controls, product listings and post-show materials
- Choose an initial platform, workflow and measures of success with AI Fund and users
- Set how automation grows from suggested replies to host-approved agent responses while protecting trust and authenticity
- Balance speed, uptime, cost, policy, voice and escalation as you make higher-autonomy features safer
- Work with the build team to test the product focus, technical risks and route from pilot to wider use
What you bring
- Strong full-stack skills across real-time software, operator workflows, integrations and AI products
- A track record building generative AI products using retrieval, tools, safeguards, evaluations and production feedback
- Sound judgment on keeping people in control when automating backstage tasks
- The ability to work quickly with external users and turn unclear feedback into product decisions
- US work authorization, as visa sponsorship is unavailable
Who this fits
This suits a hands-on builder drawn to real-time operator products and quick feedback from users. It is a full-time, on-site, 12-week contract residency in Mountain View, California. You will work on an AI Fund concept rather than bring your own startup idea; the residency may lead to a founder-level role if the idea progresses.
From the employer
Engineer in Residence, Live Commerce AI
Live-commerce hosts run shows understaffed. One person often manages chat, product questions, inventory, listings, conversion, and follow-up while remaining entertaining on camera. That cognitive load caps performance. This role is to build a real-time AI copilot that works backstage for hosts across eBay Live, Whatnot, TalkShopLive, and Amazon Live.
What You'll Build
- A backstage cockpit that clusters chat, surfaces high-value questions, supports multiple languages, and drafts guardrailed replies.
- A listing and inventory control tower for sequencing, pinned items, bundles, availability, and oversell risk during a show.
- A real-time product-research layer that answers unknown questions from seller notes, listing data, historical Q&A, and trusted category sources.
- A lightweight post-show workflow that turns streams into reusable clips, Q&A moments, follow-ups, and listing assets.
What You'll Do
- Own the real-time system across chat ingestion, retrieval, guardrails, operator UX, listing controls, and post-show outputs.
- Work with AI Fund and users to select the first platform, workflow, and success metrics.
- Design the automation ladder from draft support to host-controlled agentic replies without undermining authenticity or seller trust.
- Make decisions about latency, availability, price, policy, tone, and escalation so higher-autonomy features remain safe.
- Work with AI Fund's build team on product wedge, technical risk, and the path from pilot to a broader live-commerce operating system.
What You Need
- Strong full-stack engineering ability across real-time systems, operator workflows, integrations, and AI products.
- Demonstrated experience building GenAI products with retrieval, tool use, guardrails, evals, and production feedback loops.
- Product judgment for human-in-the-loop automation where the system removes backstage work while the host remains in control.
- Ability to iterate quickly with external users and translate ambiguous feedback into working product decisions.
- You know how to use AI coding assistants and modern AI tools to accelerate implementation without shipping brittle real-time logic.
- US work authorization. We are unable to sponsor visas for this role.
Helpful But Not Required
Experience with live commerce, creator tools, marketplaces, video products, or seller operations.
Experience with multilingual UX, moderation systems, or low-latency chat infrastructure.
Founder or founding engineer experience shipping a real-time product.
Who This Is For
A builder who likes real-time operator products, tight feedback loops, and markets where authenticity matters.
Someone who sees the immediate wedge in backstage tooling and the longer-term opportunity in deeper automation.
What To Know Upfront
- This is a 12-week, full-time, on-site residency in Mountain View, California.
- Not every residency becomes a company. The goal is to pressure-test the idea quickly and honestly with real users and customers.
- You will be building an AI Fund idea, not bringing your own startup idea into the program.
- The process typically includes a Builder Event or equivalent working conversation, then a 48-hour Builder Challenge, then panel review with AI Fund build leadership.
- The compensation is intentionally modest during the residency because the upside, if the idea works, is a founder-level role.
Compensation
$10,000/month for 12 weeks ($30,000 total). This is a contract role during the residency. If the build leads to a funded company, the next step is a founder-level role with meaningful equity upside.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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