AI Engineer

About this role

The Agency Fund is a nonprofit innovation lab working to expand human agency — the capability for individuals to navigate toward the future that they want. We combine the agility of a startup with the reach of a global network, building projects at the intersection of technology, AI, and social science. Our small, distributed team brings together engineers, designers, researchers, and strategists who care deeply about using technology for human good.

We’ve partnered with 200+ organizations worldwide, reaching millions annually through digital tools, behavioral insights, and scalable interventions. We value curiosity, autonomy, and collaboration — and we operate more like a mission-driven startup than a traditional NGO. We have built and commercialized tech platforms that optimize NGO operations and strengthen their ability to learn and adapt through experimentation, automation, and better data use.

We are now looking for a seasoned software engineer to join our team (as a contract role), contributing expertise while building with our partner NGOs. What you'll do: Be agentic by fostering a culture of proactive problem-solving and initiative-taking Build reference codebases for the social sector to learn from and adapt Provide advice and support to NGOs building generative AI products Streamline data across different sources to create a single source of truth for all analytics within a given organization Open-source any non-trivial innovations that come out of our in-kind work Create internal tools to run various experiments across digital services, such as content, schedule, and nudges Participate in organizing workshops and seminars on a variety of topics, from cultivating research mindsets to innovations in personalizing interventions Conduct site visits to observe NGO operations and draft recommendations to address technical needs Ship fast by implementing rapid development and deployment cycles to deliver solutions efficiently and iteratively Be a mentor to NGOs, demonstrating industry best practices, culture and tooling to the staff we may work with, helping to grow these capabilities from within as well Who you are: 5+ years of relevant engineering experience at tech and product-driven companies Proficient with TypeScript, React, and other web technologies Are proficient with a backend language (the company uses Python) Experience in proposing, designing, and running rigorous experiments with clear insights and product recommendations using R, SQL, or Python Experience with relational databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL Proficient in data engineering and integrating diverse data sources Experience working with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) Must have interest in large language models (LLMs) and generative AI Bonus points if you have: Experience working remotely and across time zones.