AI Lead Engineer

Department: OP Labs

Location: New York

Employment Type: FullTime

OP Labs builds Optimism, an open-source blockchain network that powers the next generation of financial infrastructure. Hundreds of companies, from the world's largest enterprises like Sony, Coinbase, Kraken, Uniswap, OKX, and Bitpanda to the most ambitious early-stage builders, use the OP stack to launch their own blockchains and bring their users onchain. Today, over 65% of Layer 2 activity on Ethereum runs through the OP stack.

We are a small team building at the speed of the ecosystem we support. We’re remote-friendly but the NYC office is our center of gravity. We've raised $178M from a16z, Paradigm, and others. We have our work cut out for us and are looking for exceptional people to join us.

What are the role responsibilities?

• Partner Across the Organization

  • Work closely with Data and business teams to understand workflows, identify pain points, and find high-impact opportunities for AI-driven automation and efficiency.

  • Turn business problems into clear AI use cases.

• Build & Prototype AI Solutions

  • Design and iterate on practical AI tools such as copilots, agents, and automated workflows using modern GenAI techniques. Write clean, reliable code in Python and Golang to support these solutions.

• Scale to Production

  • Partner with engineering and data teams to turn prototypes into secure, scalable, production-ready systems.

• Serve as an Internal AI Advisor

  • Guide teams on AI capabilities, responsible use, and best practices. Mentor others on design, coding standards, and effective AI tools.

• Drive Adoption

  • Pilot new solutions with teams, gather feedback, iterate quickly, and support rollout to ensure real business impact.

• Ensure Responsible AI

  • Work with Security, Legal, and Compliance to meet privacy, security, and ethical standards.

• Measure Impact

  • Define success metrics and track outcomes such as:

    • Time saved

    • Cost reduction

    • Increased speed and productivity

    • Revenue impact

    • Risk reduction

• Stay Current

  • Continuously explore new AI models, tools, and practices to bring practical innovations into the business.

What skills do you bring?

• Experience

  • 4+ years in software engineering or a technical/analytical role

  • 1+ year working with applied AI, generative AI, or automation

• AI & Automation Skills

  • Strong understanding of LLMs and common patterns (e.g., retrieval, agents)

  • Hands-on experience with AI tools and frameworks (e.g., Gemini, Claude, LangChain, Python)

  • Ability to quickly prototype working solutions

• Software Engineering Strength

  • Experience building and scaling production systems

  • Strong system design, coding, and debugging skills

• Business Mindset

  • Ability to understand business processes and turn them into technical solutions

  • Focus on measurable impact and ROI

  • Experience in fintech, crypto, or high-growth environments is a plus

• Communication & Influence

  • Clear communicator with technical and non-technical audiences

  • Proven ability to drive adoption across teams

• Problem Solving & Execution

  • Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration

  • Able to manage multiple projects in a dynamic environment

• Collaboration & Risk Awareness

  • Experience working with engineering, legal, security, and compliance teams

  • Strong understanding of privacy and ethical considerations

• Nice to Haves:

  • Background in BizOps, Data Science, Data Engineering, or Product Engineering

  • Experience building AI agents or advanced automation workflows

What will you like about us?

• We take care of our employees. Competitive compensation, fully paid medical, dental, and vision, and a 4% 401K match.

• We take pride in the accomplishments of our teammates and support each other in doing the best work of our careers.

• Our team is a diverse group of people from varied backgrounds. We cherish our eclecticism and consider it a great strength.

• We're remote-friendly with an NYC office where we like to collaborate in person.

• We think long-term. Our founders have been scaling Ethereum since 2015.

• Learn more about our interviewing here!

We are aware of fraudulent individuals falsely claiming to represent OP Labs in recruitment activities.
Please note:

• All official communication will come from an @oplabs.co email address, or from a verified Linked profile.

• We will never ask for payment, banking information, or personal identification details at any stage of our hiring process.

• All current openings are listed exclusively on our official careers page and linked from our verified social profiles.

• If you’re ever unsure about a communication that claims to be from OP Labs, please contact us directly at [email protected] to verify authenticity.

Your safety and trust are very important to us. Thank you for helping us prevent fraud.