Lead Engineer, AI Internal Systems

Department: A1 Engineering

Location: China

Employment Type: FullTime

About A1

There are over 5 billion users using basic applications today such email, notes, tasks, and a list of applications that are not AI-native to organise their lives. Our mission is to build a proactive smart assistant for everyday users to bring intelligence to conversations, errands, organising and workflows, with minimal prompting.

Our product focuses on achieving high reliability for long-running workflows, persistent context, and real-world task completion. The system must handle multi-step reasoning, interact with external tools, and remain reliable despite non-deterministic model behavior. Our objective is to help users complete tasks daily enjoyable with over ~90%* reduced time.

About the Role

We are building AI-powered internal systems to transform how A1 operates.

You will be responsible for identifying opportunities across areas such as People, Finance, Operations, Recruiting, and business workflows, and building AI solutions that improve efficiency, automate repetitive processes, and enable better decision-making.

What You Will Do

• Build AI-powered internal tools and systems from concept to production

• Identify opportunities where AI can improve internal workflows and operations

• Design and implement intelligent workflows, automations, and integrations

• Translate business needs into practical product and technical solutions

• Work closely with teams across A1 to understand problems and deliver impactful solutions

• Own end-to-end execution, from idea generation to deployment and iteration

What You Will Need

• Experience with backend, full-stack, or platform development

• Strong programming fundamentals

• Experience with APIs, databases, cloud infrastructure, and AI integrations is a plus

• Strong ownership mindset and ability to solve ambiguous problems

• Experience building and shipping production software, AI applications, or automation systems

• Strong technical foundation and problem-solving ability

• Comfortable working independently in a fast-paced startup environment

• Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical teams

How We Work

We operate as a small, senior, hands-on team. Engineers own features end-to-end — from design discussion through production monitoring.

Code reviews and design reviews are expected for all meaningful changes. We discuss architecture openly, make decisions quickly, and ship frequently.

Interview process

If there appears to be a fit, we'll reach out to schedule 3, but no more than 4 interviews.

Applications are evaluated by our technical team members. Interviews will be conducted via virtual meetings and/or onsite.

We value transparency and efficiency, so expect a prompt decision. If you've demonstrated the exceptional skills and mindset we're looking for, the process to offer may be shorter.