AI Automation Engineer Intern
About the role
This is a leverage role at Single Grain, a fast-moving AI-driven digital marketing agency. The mission is to identify hidden efficiency opportunities, prioritize them based on ROI, and ship production-grade AI systems that materially increase capacity without adding headcount.
Responsibilities
First 30 Days: Diagnostic Clarity + First Automation
Shadow all major departments and map the top 10 workflows end-to-end
Quantify time cost and economic impact of each workflow
Identify the top 5 highest ROI automation opportunities
Present a ranked Automation Opportunity Matrix to the CTO
Prioritize based on revenue impact, margin expansion, and headcount avoidance, not novelty
Ship first automation end-to-end
Primary KPI
Revenue Per Employee (RPE)
Target: Increase RPE by 100% within 12 months
Non-Negotiable Requirements
“AI is cool” as the first line of your cover letter or subject line
Demonstrated ability to generate at least $15k to $20k per month in recurring efficiency value in a prior role by Month 4 equivalent
Shipped at least 3 production grade AI or automation systems that delivered measurable business impact
Proven experience orchestrating LLMs, automation tools, APIs, and no-code or low-code platforms into working systems
Clear documentation habit with SOPs and async training assets
Ability to independently diagnose workflows and propose ROI-ranked solutions without being told what to build
Comfort being measured on RPE and annualized efficiency value
High adoption track record with at least 70% usage of systems within 30 days of deployment
Supporting Metrics
Monthly recurring efficiency value of at least $15k to $20k by Month 4
Automation adoption rate of at least 70%
Workflow cycle time reduction of 25 to 40% in targeted systems
Annualized efficiency value of at least $250k
Compounding Infrastructure
Deliver at least $250k in annualized measurable efficiency value
Improve RPE by at least 30% within 12 months
Create an internal automation architecture layer
Build a self-serve automation request and ROI ranking system
Institutionalize an ROI-first automation culture across teams
Compensation & Structure
Reports to: CTO
Location: Hybrid (M/T/W in office)
Base Salary: $30/hr