Software Engineer - AI Enablement & Engineering Productivity

Austin, TX, US Mid Level AI Software Engineer

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About This Role

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The Test & Measurement Group in Austin is seeking a Software Engineer to join our AI Enablement & Engineering Productivity team.

Our team develops, supports, and maintains internal tools that help engineering teams work more efficiently. We leverage AI technologies, automation, and modern software solutions to improve daily workflows across the organization. Examples include AI-powered assistants, developer productivity tools, GitHub Copilot enablement, workflow automation, and internally developed engineering solutions.

In this role, you will work closely with software engineers, engineering managers, and technical teams to identify opportunities for improvement and develop solutions that help increase productivity and reduce friction in everyday engineering work.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone early in their career who enjoys learning new technologies, solving challenging problems, and exploring how AI can be applied to real-world engineering workflows.

We are hiring for this position in Austin, Texas. This is a primarily onsite role with flexibility to work remotely one day per week.

In This Role, Your Responsibilities Will Be:* Design, develop, and maintain internal tools and services that improve engineering productivity.

  • Support and enhance AI-enabled solutions used by engineering teams.
  • Work with stakeholders to understand challenges and identify opportunities for automation and workflow improvements.
  • Design, develop, test, and maintain software solutions, automations, and internal services that improve engineering productivity.
  • Evaluate and adopt new AI technologies and productivity solutions.
  • Troubleshoot issues and improve the reliability of internally developed tools and services.
  • Collaborate with engineering teams worldwide to help improve development workflows and tooling.

Who You Are:You are naturally curious and enjoy learning how systems work. When faced with a problem, you ask questions, gather information, and work toward practical solutions.

You enjoy finding better ways to accomplish tasks and are motivated by helping other engineers work more efficiently. You take ownership of your work, adapt quickly to new technologies, and are excited by opportunities to apply software, automation, and AI to real-world engineering challenges.

For This Role, You Will Need:* B.S. degree or higher in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.

  • Strong programming fundamentals demonstrated through coursework, internships, personal projects, or professional experience, including experience designing, developing, and debugging software solutions.
  • Proficiency in at least one modern programming language.
  • Strong analytical, problem-solving, and troubleshooting skills.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies quickly and apply them to solve practical engineering problems.
  • Interest in applying AI technologies, automation, and software solutions to improve engineering productivity and developer workflows.
  • Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now and in the future + Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1 (including those with OPT or CPT), H-1, H-2, L-1, B, J or TN, or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.

Preferred Qualifications That Set You Apart:* Hands-on experience using AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or similar technologies.

  • Experience developing applications, services, automations, or integrations.
  • Exposure to software development concepts such as APIs, web applications, databases, cloud platforms, test systems, machine learning, or hardware-integrated software solutions.
  • Experience identifying opportunities to automate repetitive processes or improve workflows.
  • Passion for continuous improvement and workflow optimization.

Success Factors* Strong curiosity and desire to learn new technologies.

  • Demonstrates initiative in identifying and solving problems.
  • Shows ownership and accountability for assigned work.
  • Communicates clearly and asks thoughtful questions to understand problems before proposing solutions.

Interested in improving engineering productivity through software, automation, and AI. *

Our Culture & Commitment to You:At Emerson, we prioritize a workplace where every employee is valued, respected, and empowered to grow. We foster an environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and diverse perspectives—because we know that great ideas come from great teams. Our commitment to ongoing career development and growing an inclusive culture ensures you have the support to thrive. Whether through mentorship, training, or leadership opportunities, we invest in your success so you can make a lasting impact. We believe diverse teams, working together are key to driving growth and delivering business results. We recognize the importance of employee wellbeing. We prioritize providing flexible, competitive benefits plans to meet you and your family’s physical, mental, financial, and social needs. We provide a variety of medical insurance plans, with dental and vision coverage, Employee Assistance Program, 401(k), tuition reimbursement, employee resource groups, recognition, and much more. Our culture offers flexible time off plans, including paid parental leave (maternal and paternal), vacation and holiday leave.

WHY EMERSON

Our Commitment to Our People

At Emerson, we are motivated by a spirit of collaboration that helps our diverse, multicultural teams across the world drive innovation that makes the world healthier, safer, smarter, and more sustainable. And we want you to join us in our bold aspiration.

We have built an engaged community of inquisitive, dedicated people who thrive knowing they are welcomed, trusted, celebrated, and empowered to solve the world’s most complex problems — for our customers, our communities, and the planet. You’ll contribute to this vital work while further developing your skills through our award-winning employee development programs. We are a proud corporate citizen in every city where we operate and are committed to our people, our communities, and the world at large. We take this responsibility seriously and strive to make a positive impact through every endeavor.

At Emerson, you’ll see firsthand that our people are at the center of everything we do. So, let’s go. Let’s think differently. Learn, collaborate, and grow. Seek opportunity. Push boundaries. Be empowered to make things better. Speed up to break through. Let’s go, together.

Work Authorization

Emerson will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1(including those with OPT or CPT) , H-1, H-2, L-1, B, J or TN, or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Emerson is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status. We are committed to providing a workplace free of any discrimination or harassment.

Accessibility Assistance or Accommodation

If you have a disability and are having difficulty accessing or using this website to apply for a position, please contact: [email protected] .

ABOUT EMERSON

Emerson is a global leader in automation technology and software. Through our deep domain expertise and legacy of flawless execution, Emerson helps customers in critical industries like life sciences, energy, power and renewables, chemical and advanced factory automation operate more sustainably while improving productivity, energy security and reliability.

With global operations and a comprehensive portfolio of software and technology, we are helping companies implement digital transformation to measurably improve their operations, conserve valuable resources and enhance their safety.

We offer equitable opportunities, celebrate diversity, and embrace challenges with confidence that, together, we can make an impact across a broad spectrum of countries and industries. Whether you’re an established professional looking for a career change, an undergraduate student exploring possibilities, or a recent graduate with an advanced degree, you’ll find your chance to make a difference with Emerson. Join our team – let’s go!

No calls or agencies please.

Role Details

Company Emerson
Title Software Engineer - AI Enablement & Engineering Productivity
Location Austin, TX, US
Category AI Software Engineer
Experience Mid Level
Salary Not disclosed
Remote No

About This Role

AI Software Engineers build the applications and systems that AI models run inside. They own the API layers, data pipelines, frontend integrations, and infrastructure that turn a model into a product users interact with. Every AI company needs engineers who can build the software around the AI.

The challenge is building reliable systems around inherently unreliable components. Models are probabilistic. They'll give different answers to the same question. They hallucinate. They're slow. They're expensive. Your job is to build an application layer that handles all of this gracefully while delivering a product that users trust and enjoy.

Across the 9,079 AI roles we're tracking, AI Software Engineer positions make up 5% of the market. At Emerson, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.

AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.

What the Work Looks Like

A typical week includes: building API endpoints that serve model inference with caching and fallback logic, designing the data pipeline that feeds context to a RAG system, implementing streaming responses in the frontend, debugging a race condition in the async inference pipeline, and optimizing database queries for the vector search layer. It's full-stack engineering with AI at the center.

AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.

Skills in Demand for This Role

Python (18% of roles) Aws (10% of roles) Azure (8% of roles) Rag (7% of roles) Gcp (6% of roles) Pytorch (5% of roles) Claude (5% of roles) Kubernetes (4% of roles)

Full-stack engineering skills with AI integration experience. Python and TypeScript are the most common requirements. You'll need to understand API design, database architecture, and how to build reliable systems around probabilistic outputs. Experience with streaming, async processing, and caching patterns is increasingly important as real-time AI applications proliferate.

Knowledge of vector databases, embedding APIs, and LLM integration patterns (function calling, structured outputs, retry logic) differentiates AI software engineers from general software engineers. Understanding cost optimization (caching strategies, model routing, batched inference) is valuable since inference costs can dominate application economics.

Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.

Compensation Benchmarks

AI Software Engineer roles pay a median of $220,000 based on 1,601 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $193,200.

Across all AI roles, the market median is $213,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $263,911. The 90th percentile reaches $318,400. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($256,000) and Research Engineer ($252,000). By seniority level: Entry: $111,000; Mid: $193,200; Senior: $229,300; Director: $272,300; VP: $235,830.

Emerson AI Hiring

Emerson has 2 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI Software Engineer. Positions span Austin, TX, US, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Location Context

AI roles in Austin pay a median of $209,100 across 306 tracked positions.

Career Path

Common paths into AI Software Engineer roles include Software Engineer, Full-Stack Developer, Backend Engineer.

From here, career progression typically leads toward Staff Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager.

If you're a software engineer, you're already 80% there. Learn the AI integration patterns: RAG, streaming inference, function calling, structured outputs. Build a project that demonstrates you can wrap an AI model in a production-quality application with proper error handling, caching, and user experience. That's the portfolio piece that gets you hired.

What to Expect in Interviews

Technical screens look like standard software engineering interviews with an AI twist. Expect system design questions about building reliable applications around probabilistic models: handling streaming responses, implementing retry logic for API failures, and designing caching strategies for LLM outputs. Coding rounds test standard algorithms plus practical integration patterns like async processing and rate limiting.

When evaluating opportunities: Strong postings describe the product you'll be building, the AI integration patterns you'll work with, and the scale requirements. Look for companies that have existing AI features and need engineers to improve and expand them, not companies that are 'planning to add AI' someday.

AI Hiring Overview

The AI job market has 9,079 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 106 entry-level, 4,384 mid-level, 3,343 senior, and 1,246 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 6% of the market (531 positions). The remaining 8,478 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.

The market median for AI roles is $213,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $263,911. The 90th percentile reaches $318,400. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($256,000 median, 66 roles); Research Engineer ($252,000 median, 457 roles); AI Engineering Manager ($251,622 median, 55 roles).

AI Software Engineer roles are among the most numerous in the AI job market. Every company deploying AI needs software engineers who understand AI integration patterns. The demand is broad, spanning startups to enterprises, across every industry adopting AI capabilities.

The AI Job Market Today

The AI job market spans 9,079 open positions across 16 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (6,862), AI Product Manager (453), AI Software Engineer (451). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.

The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (106) are outnumbered by mid-level (4,384) and senior (3,343) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 1,246 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.

Remote work availability sits at 6% of all AI roles (531 positions), with 8,478 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.

AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $213,000. Top-quartile roles start at $263,911, and the 90th percentile reaches $318,400. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.

Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $256,000 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $141,440. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.

The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (1,649 postings), Aws (898 postings), Azure (723 postings), Rag (671 postings), Gcp (536 postings), Pytorch (434 postings), Claude (410 postings), Kubernetes (406 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Based on 1,601 roles with disclosed compensation, the median salary for AI Software Engineer positions is $220,000. Actual compensation varies by seniority, location, and company stage.
Full-stack engineering skills with AI integration experience. Python and TypeScript are the most common requirements. You'll need to understand API design, database architecture, and how to build reliable systems around probabilistic outputs. Experience with streaming, async processing, and caching patterns is increasingly important as real-time AI applications proliferate.
About 6% of the 9,079 AI roles we track offer remote work. Remote availability varies by company and seniority level, with senior and leadership roles more likely to offer location flexibility.
Emerson is among the companies actively hiring for AI and ML talent. Check our company profiles for detailed breakdowns of open roles, salary ranges, and hiring trends.
Common next steps from AI Software Engineer positions include Staff Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager. Progression depends on whether you lean toward technical depth, people management, or product strategy.

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