Engineer in Residence: AA Firewall

About the role

This role is to build AI agents that operate behind the enterprise firewall, automating the operational tasks that currently require manual intervention or one-off scripts by securely connecting to internal databases, APIs, and legacy systems.

What you'll build

• An agent framework that can securely connect to internal databases, REST/GraphQL APIs, and legacy system interfaces behind corporate firewalls.
• A task orchestration layer that lets non-technical operators define multi-step workflows across internal systems using natural language.
• An authentication and access control layer that integrates with enterprise identity providers (SSO, LDAP, RBAC) to enforce existing permission boundaries.
• A monitoring and audit system that logs every agent action for compliance and debugging.

What you'll do

• Design the core agent architecture for operating in constrained network environments where cloud-first assumptions break down.
• Build connectors for common enterprise data sources: SQL databases, internal APIs, file shares, legacy mainframe interfaces.
• Develop a natural language task definition layer that translates operator intent into safe, auditable multi-step agent actions.
• Implement security primitives: credential vaulting, least-privilege execution, action sandboxing, and rollback capabilities.
• Work with enterprise design partners to validate the agent framework against real internal tooling pain points.

What you need

• Strong backend engineering skills. You have built and shipped production systems that handle real data at real scale.
• Deep experience with enterprise infrastructure: databases, APIs, authentication systems, networking constraints.
• Hands-on experience building with LLMs, particularly agentic architectures, tool use, and function calling.
• Understanding of security and compliance requirements in enterprise environments.
• Ability to work autonomously and make product and architecture decisions without waiting for direction.

Helpful but not required

• Experience with MCP (Model Context Protocol) or similar tool-use frameworks for AI agents.
• Experience building internal developer platforms or internal tooling at scale.
• Background in systems integration, middleware, or ETL pipeline development.
• Founder or founding engineer experience building infrastructure products.

Who this is for

A builder who sees enterprise internal tooling as an underserved, high-impact problem space.

Someone who understands that the hardest part is not the AI but the integration: auth, permissions, legacy protocols, fragile dependencies.

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 are only considering candidates within commuting distance from Mountain View.

Compensation

$10,000/month for 12 weeks ($30,000 total).

Benefits

No benefits provided during the residency.

Schedule

Full-time, on-site residency in Mountain View, California.

Pay

$10,000/month for 12 weeks ($30,000 total).