Interested in this AI/ML Engineer role at Trofholz Technologies?
Apply Now →Skills & Technologies
About This Role
THE OPPORTUNITY
Yvonne Pire is the owner of multiple companies, including Trofholz Technologies, a federal security integration firm, and The Rising Zone, a coworking and wellness company. She is a USAF veteran, entrepreneur, and operator building businesses that run on accountability, clear systems, and consistent improvement.
This role works directly for Yvonne across everything she touches: executive operations, business development, marketing, and proposal coordination across her portfolio. You are her primary coordinator, the person who sits between Yvonne's direction and the people executing it. Nothing gets lost. Nothing falls behind.
Proposal and business development coordination are important responsibilities across Trofholz and The Rising Zone. Prior federal\-contracting experience is helpful, but it is not the primary qualification. Strong coordination skills, advanced AI fluency, sound judgment, and the ability to learn proposal processes quickly are more important.
We are looking for someone with intermediate professional experience, advanced AI fluency, and the drive to grow quickly. If you are eager to learn, willing to be coached, and ready to use AI as a core part of your work, this is the right environment.
Advanced, demonstrated use of Claude and other AI tools is a core requirement—not a bonus. You must already use AI confidently to improve the speed, quality, and consistency of your work.
If you thrive in high\-ownership environments, manage complexity without losing detail, and want to grow alongside a founder who moves fast, this was written for you.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Executive Assistant and Operations Support
You are Yvonne's right hand across all her companies. You shadow her in meetings, capture what she thinks, coordinate what she decides, and make sure her time and attention stay focused on leadership and growth. When she travels, you hold the operation together and use that focused time to move priority projects forward.
- Manage Yvonne's calendar, inbox, and communications across all businesses with precision and professionalism
- Communicate on Yvonne's behalf with employees, clients, partners, and vendors, representing her with clarity and executive presence
- Capture ideas, decisions, and commitments in real time during meetings and working sessions, translating them immediately into organized action items with owners and deadlines
- Coordinate travel, logistics, meeting preparation, and follow\-through so Yvonne stays focused on strategy and growth
- Serve as the primary coordinator between Yvonne's direction and the people responsible for execution across all companies
- Track every open commitment, task, and action item across the portfolio and ensure nothing falls through the cracks
- Use Claude and other AI tools daily to draft and refine communications, analyze documents, process meeting notes, extract action items, create repeatable prompts, and eliminate repetitive manual work
- Identify, test, and improve AI\-assisted workflows and automations across operations, reviewing outputs for accuracy, tone, confidentiality, and business context
- Take Yvonne’s AI conversation threads, prompt strings, ideas, and generated work products; translate them into organized workstreams; and drive each item through execution, follow\-up, and completion
- Document processes and systems so operations stay consistent as the business scales
Marketing Support* Coordinate marketing activity for Trofholz, working with Yvonne to move direction into execution with the right internal and external resources
- Serve as the liaison between Yvonne and The Rising Zone marketing team, ensuring alignment, follow\-through, and consistent communication across all marketing efforts
Proposal Coordination* Monitor opportunity platforms including SAM.gov for RFPs, RFIs, and pre\-solicitation notices aligned with Trofholz and Rising Zone capabilities
- Coordinate the full proposal process from kickoff through submission, including schedules, contributor tracking, compliance, and version control
- Support proposal content development by coordinating subject matter experts, maintaining reusable content libraries, using AI appropriately to accelerate drafting and analysis, and integrating review feedback
- Coordinate post\-submission debriefs to capture lessons learned and strengthen future proposals
Business Development Support* Track the active opportunity pipeline across both companies, including bid/no\-bid decisions, submission status, and award outcomes
- Coordinate BD meetings, follow\-ups, and action items ensuring Yvonne's direction moves quickly from conversation to execution
- Support partner and teaming coordination, maintaining clear communication between Yvonne and external collaborators
- Assist in the preparation of presentations, briefings, and materials for BD meetings and client engagements
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for someone who is organized, professional, AI\-forward, and eager to grow. You have enough foundational experience to contribute from day one and the drive to develop quickly into a high\-performing operational partner. You do not need to have done every part of this role before. You do need strong judgment, work ethic, advanced AI capability, and the willingness to learn fast.
What We Are Looking For Why It Matters
Advanced, demonstrated AI fluency You already use Claude and other AI tools to produce stronger work, solve problems, and improve workflows every day. This is required, not preferred.
Strong coordination and organizational skills You are managing an executive's operations and a proposal pipeline simultaneously. Nothing can fall.
Clear and professional communicator You represent Yvonne with her team, clients, and partners across all companies
Proposal\-process aptitude You can learn structured proposal workflows quickly. Federal\-contracting experience is helpful, but not required.
Takes initiative and brings solutions You use the 1\-3\-1 approach: one problem, three options, one recommendation, and a clear next step
Growth mindset You are coachable, curious, and committed to consistent improvement
Discreet and trustworthy You will have access to sensitive business information and executive communications from day one
Requirements* Bachelor’s or associate degree in business, communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
- 2 or more years of experience as an executive assistant, proposal coordination, business development support, or related role
- Advanced professional use of Claude and other AI tools for drafting, analysis, prompt development, and workflow improvement
- Ability to evaluate and refine AI\-generated work for accuracy, tone, confidentiality, and business context. This is required, not preferred.
- Proficiency in Microsoft 365, including SharePoint, Teams, Word, Outlook, and Excel
- Strong written and verbal communication with professional executive presence
- Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail and follow\-through
- Able to manage multiple priorities and operate independently without constant direction
- Primary location is Rocklin, CA with occasional work required at the Sacramento office and potential travel with Yvonne in the future
- Valid driver's license and reliable transportation
Helpful But Not Required* Foundational knowledge of federal government contracting or proposal processes, including familiarity with SAM.gov or GovWin IQ
- Background in marketing coordination or business development support
- Exposure to small business or multi\-entity business environments
COMPENSATION AND GROWTH
Pay range is $23\.00 to $28\.00 per hour based on experience, with performance\-based increases tied to demonstrated results at 30, 60, and 90 days.
ABOUT TROFHOLZ TECHNOLOGIES
Trofholz Technologies is a Woman\-Owned, Service\-Disabled Veteran\-Owned, ISO 9001:2015 certified security integrator headquartered in Sacramento, CA. Since 2002, Trofholz has delivered integrated electronic security systems, cybersecurity and compliance services, and Division 27 IT and infrastructure solutions to federal agencies and critical infrastructure clients across the United States.
Founded and led by Yvonne Pire, a USAF veteran and entrepreneur, Trofholz runs on accountability, clear communication, and a culture of Consistent Improvement.
Small team. High ownership. Real impact from day one.
HOW TO APPLY
We want to see how you think, not just what is on your resume. Submit all the following:
- Your resume
- A cover letter under 400 words answering this specific question: Describe your experience supporting an executive or coordinating a complex project. What was your role, what was the outcome, and what would you do differently? If you have proposal experience, describe it here.
- One writing sample demonstrates your ability to communicate clearly and professionally. This can be a proposal section, capability statement, professional email, or any relevant business writing.
- Optional but strongly valued: a short video under 3 minutes introducing yourself and explaining why this specific role interests you. We want to see your communication style and professional presence, not a polished production.
Applications without the cover letter response will not be reviewed. We are looking for the most capable and growth\-oriented candidate, not the longest resume.
*Trofholz Technologies is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve.*
Trofholz is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, and we E\-Verify. All offers of employment at Trofholz are contingent upon clear results of a thorough background check and drug screen.
Alctb0h3Ez
Salary Context
This $47K-$58K range is in the lower quartile for AI/ML Engineer roles in our dataset (median: $175K across 2162 roles with salary data).
View full AI/ML Engineer salary data →Role Details
About This Role
AI/ML Engineers build and deploy machine learning models in production. They work across the full ML lifecycle: data pipelines, model training, evaluation, and serving infrastructure. The role has evolved significantly over the past two years. Where ML Engineers once spent most of their time on model architecture, the job now tilts heavily toward inference optimization, cost management, and integrating LLM capabilities into existing systems. Companies want engineers who can ship production systems, and the experimenter-only role is fading fast.
Day-to-day, you're writing training pipelines, debugging data quality issues, setting up evaluation frameworks, and figuring out why your model performs differently in staging than it did on your dev set. The best ML engineers are obsessive about reproducibility and measurement. They instrument everything. They know that a model is only as good as the data feeding it and the infrastructure serving it.
Across the 4,317 AI roles we're tracking, AI/ML Engineer positions make up 70% of the market. At Trofholz Technologies, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.
What the Work Looks Like
A typical week might include: debugging a data pipeline that's silently dropping 3% of training examples, running A/B tests on a new model version, writing documentation for a feature flag system that lets you roll back model deployments, and reviewing a junior engineer's PR for a new evaluation metric. Meetings tend to be cross-functional since ML touches product, engineering, and data teams.
Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.
Skills Required
Python and PyTorch dominate the requirements. Most roles expect experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and familiarity with ML frameworks like TensorFlow or JAX. RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) has become a top-3 skill requirement as companies integrate LLMs into their products. Docker and Kubernetes show up in about a third of postings, reflecting the production focus of the role.
Beyond the core stack, employers increasingly want experience with experiment tracking tools (MLflow, Weights & Biases), feature stores, and vector databases. Fine-tuning experience is valuable but less common than you'd think from reading Twitter. Most production LLM work is RAG and prompt engineering, not fine-tuning. If you have both, you're in a strong position.
Companies that are serious about AI/ML hiring tend to post specific infrastructure details in the job description: the frameworks they use, their model serving stack, their data pipeline tools. Vague postings that just say 'ML experience required' without specifics are often companies that haven't figured out what they need yet.
Compensation Benchmarks
AI/ML Engineer roles pay a median of $214,900 based on 6,420 positions with disclosed compensation. Mid-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $194,400. This role's midpoint ($53K) sits 75% below the category median. Disclosed range: $47K to $58K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($287,500) and Research Engineer ($272,100). By seniority level: Entry: $110,000; Mid: $194,400; Senior: $227,400; Director: $274,554; VP: $241,000.
Trofholz Technologies AI Hiring
Trofholz Technologies has 1 open AI role right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer. Based in Rocklin, CA, US. Compensation range: $58K - $58K.
Location Context
Across all AI roles, 15% (635 positions) offer remote work, while 3,657 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (1,650 roles, $220,000 median); San Francisco (1,335 roles, $265,000 median); Los Angeles (708 roles, $214,112 median).
Career Path
Common paths into AI/ML Engineer roles include Data Scientist, Software Engineer, Research Engineer.
From here, career progression typically leads toward ML Architect, AI Engineering Manager, Principal ML Engineer.
The fastest path into ML engineering is through software engineering with a self-directed ML education. A CS degree helps, but production engineering skills matter more than academic credentials. Build something that works, deploy it, and measure it. That portfolio project is worth more than a Coursera certificate. For career growth, the fork comes around the senior level: go deep on technical complexity (staff/principal track) or move into managing ML teams.
What to Expect in Interviews
Expect system design questions around ML pipelines: how you'd build a training pipeline for a specific use case, handle data drift, or design A/B testing infrastructure for model deployments. Coding rounds typically involve Python, with emphasis on data manipulation (pandas, numpy) and algorithm implementation. Take-home assignments often ask you to build an end-to-end ML pipeline from raw data to deployed model.
When evaluating opportunities: Companies that are serious about AI/ML hiring tend to post specific infrastructure details in the job description: the frameworks they use, their model serving stack, their data pipeline tools. Vague postings that just say 'ML experience required' without specifics are often companies that haven't figured out what they need yet.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 4,317 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 138 entry-level, 2,071 mid-level, 1,655 senior, and 453 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 15% of the market (635 positions). The remaining 3,657 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($287,500 median, 34 roles); Research Engineer ($272,100 median, 227 roles); AI Engineering Manager ($244,000 median, 23 roles).
Demand for AI/ML Engineers has been strong and consistent. Unlike some AI roles that spike with hype cycles, ML engineering is a foundational need. Every company deploying AI models needs people who can keep them running, and the gap between research prototypes and production systems keeps growing.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 4,317 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (3,004), Data Scientist (345), AI Software Engineer (309). 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 (138) are outnumbered by mid-level (2,071) and senior (1,655) 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 453 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 15% of all AI roles (635 positions), with 3,657 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 $215,000. Top-quartile roles start at $266,300, and the 90th percentile reaches $320,790. 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 $287,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $145,000. 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 (2,249 postings), Aws (1,224 postings), Azure (938 postings), Rag (915 postings), Gcp (660 postings), Pytorch (640 postings), Prompt Engineering (624 postings), Kubernetes (559 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
Get Weekly AI Career Intelligence
Salary data, skills demand, and market signals from 16,000+ AI job postings. Every Monday.