Senior Backend Engineer, AI Team

About the role

Acorns is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our AI team to build a customer service virtual agent that redefines customer support using AI, proprietary data, LLMs, and RAG to empower users to make informed financial decisions. The role is remote‑first with optional office access in Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

• Understand Acorns’ mission, vision, strategic objectives, and fintech industry knowledge while building relationships with team members, stakeholders, and cross‑functional teams.
• Review and analyze proprietary datasets, existing Vector database architecture, pipelines, and tools to identify gaps and propose improvements.
• Contribute to key customer‑facing projects, debugging and enhancing models, scaling pipelines, and delivering the virtual support bot MVP to production.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to align AI efforts with business goals, mentor junior team members, and drive innovation through LLM capabilities.
• Optimize data pipelines, establish scalable monitoring processes, and develop a roadmap for innovation aligned with fintech objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, or a STEM‑related field.
• 5+ years of total software engineering experience.
• 3+ years of experience in artificial intelligence, data science, or machine learning engineering.
• 3+ years of experience with modern cloud computing technologies such as AWS, Bedrock, Sagemaker, Databricks, or Kubernetes.
• Foundational knowledge with Generative AI, Transformer, fine‑tuning LLMs, Search ranking, RAG improvement, and LLM Agent.
• Experience tuning neural networks on custom datasets.
• Experience with Huggingface, LangChain, chatbot development.
• Proficiency in programming languages and analytical tools such as Python or PyTorch, Pandas, NumPy, SciKit‑Learn, Matplotlib.
• Hunger to deliver game‑changing products, exceptional drive and precision in delivery, belief that work is tied to life’s mission, optimism about societal change.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and stock options.
• Comprehensive benefits package for you and your family.
• Flexible work location, hours, and paid time off.
• 401(k) matching.
• Monthly Acorns account contribution & GoHenry account for your family.
• Mindfulness and Financial Wellness resources (Headspace and Addition Wealth).
• Acorns Career Development Program (ongoing training sessions, development plans, check‑ins, Cornerstone online training).
• Roots Leadership Program for Emerging Leaders.
• Community week onsite gatherings and various virtual events.
• Talented and motivated team members who care deeply about one another, the mission, and customers.

Pay

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $184,500 and $217,100 per year; base pay offered may vary depending on market location, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Total compensation may also include a sign‑on bonus, equity grants, and discretionary cash bonus awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits.

Schedule

Remote‑first organization with optional access to office space in Irvine, CA; flexible work location and hours; paid time off provided.