Senior Engineer, AI Platform

It's fun to work in a company where people truly believe in what they are doing. At Dutch Bros Coffee, we are more than just a coffee company. We are a fun-loving, mind-blowing company that makes a difference one cup at a time.

Position Overview:

Tulip is Dutch Bros' AI engine for connecting our people, systems, and workflows, turning the thousands of everyday interruptions our teams face into automated or guided outcomes. Today, Tulip helps employees through Microsoft Teams and a mobile-friendly web app: an orchestrator agent routes each request to specialist agents that troubleshoot field technology step by step, search our knowledge base, and hand off to the help desk when a person is needed.

The Senior Engineer - AI Platform is a hands-on engineering role responsible for designing, building, and operating scalable, reliable AI-enabled applications and platform capabilities. This role requires strong software engineering fundamentals, system design skills, and the ability to independently own complex initiatives from technical design through production delivery.

The ideal candidate is a pragmatic engineer with strong technical judgment who owns outcomes, not just tasks. They pick up new AI techniques quickly and apply them where they measurably improve how our teams work.

Job Qualifications:

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with demonstrated ownership of complex applications, services, or platforms.
• Strong proficiency in TypeScript/Node.js, with experience designing, developing, testing, and maintaining production-grade applications and APIs. Python is a plus.
• Strong software architecture and system design skills, including distributed systems, API integration patterns, and technical trade-offs, with a track record of independently leading initiatives from requirements and design through deployment and production support.
• Built and shipped at least one LLM-powered feature or agent to production (e.g., RAG, tool calling, agent orchestration), including evaluating its quality.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP, including containerized applications, CI/CD, and cloud-native engineering practices.
• Solid engineering practices, including automated testing, code reviews, maintainable design, and observability, plus experience building secure enterprise applications and integrations (authentication, authorization, and secrets management).
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, identify risks, explain technical decisions, work across teams, and mentor less experienced engineers.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field preferred, or equivalent practical experience.
• Preferred Qualifications
• Experience operating microservices or internal platforms at enterprise scale.
• Hands-on experience with AWS services, particularly Bedrock, AgentCore, EKS, Aurora PostgreSQL, or related cloud infrastructure.
• Experience with agent frameworks and protocols such as LangChain/LangGraph, MCP, or A2A.
• Experience with vector or semantic search and knowledge-base ingestion pipelines.
• Experience with AI application evaluation, observability, security, performance optimization, governance, and auditability.
• Familiarity with infrastructure as code, Kubernetes, and automated deployment practices.
• Experience with frontend technologies such as React, TypeScript, or modern web application frameworks.
• Experience with production monitoring, incident response, troubleshooting, and improving service reliability.
• Experience building reusable platform capabilities, internal developer tools, or workflow automation solutions.
• Experience working in retail, restaurant, ecommerce, or other large-scale enterprise environments.
• Demonstrated curiosity and initiative in exploring new technologies and applying them to practical engineering challenges.
• Experience working with PMs, forward-deployed engineers and architects, from discovery through delivery.

Location Requirement:

This role is located in Tempe, Arizona. This position is required to be in office 4 days per week (Mon-Thurs); Fridays are optional remote work days.

Key Result Areas (KRAs):

• Engineering Delivery & Ownership: Independently design, implement, and deliver complex AI applications and platform capabilities from concept through production, ensuring predictable delivery, high-quality outcomes, and proactive blocker resolution.
• Architecture, System Design & Technical Excellence: Design scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions using sound engineering principles and thoughtful technical trade-offs, while maintaining code quality, strengthening testing practices, and reducing technical debt.
• Production Reliability & Operations: Build observable, reliable, and cost-efficient services while contributing to troubleshooting, incident response, operational readiness, and continuous improvement.
• AI Innovation & Platform Capabilities: Leverage AI technologies and emerging engineering approaches to enhance Tulip capabilities, improve business workflows, and deliver practical, reusable solutions.
• Collaboration & Team Effectiveness: Communicate proactively, manage cross-functional dependencies, mentor peers, and collaborate with stakeholders to align technical execution with business outcomes.

Skills:

• AI/ML Application Development
• Software Architecture & System Design
• Cloud Engineering & Platform Development
• Production Reliability & DevOps
• API Development & System Integration
• Technical Problem-Solving & Innovation
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Technical Leadership

Physical Requirements:

• In-Office Environment: Must be able to work in a busy, crowded, and loud office with frequent distractions and interruptions
• Must be able to collaborate in-person with occasional impromptu in-person meetings
• Office Conditions: Adaptability to typical office conditions, which may include exposure to air conditioning, heating, artificial lighting, and varying noise levels
• Mobility: Ability to sit, stand, reach, twist, stretch, and work at a desk for long stretches. Must be able to occasionally move or lift office items up to 25 pounds
• Hearing Requirements: Hearing must be sufficient or correctable to ensure clear understanding of spoken information, including participating in virtual meetings and phone calls. Use of hearing aids or other assistive devices is acceptable if needed.
• Reading and Writing Proficiency: Ability to read and write in English is essential for processing documents, drafting reports, and following up on necessary actions. Proficiency in written communication is required to handle job-related tasks effectively.
• Vision Requirements: Vision must be adequate or correctable to perform essential job duties, such as reading documents on a computer screen and using other visual tools. Use of corrective lenses or other measures to meet visual requirements is expected if needed.
• Technology Proficiency: Must be proficient in operating a computer and other office productivity tools such as printers, scanners, and collaboration software.
• Effective Communication: Must possess strong verbal and written communication skills to interact effectively with team members, clients, and other stakeholders via email, video conferencing, and other in office communication tools.

Compensation:

DOE

If you like wild growth and working in a unique and fun environment, surrounded by positive community, you'll enjoy your career with us!