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The opportunity
We are hiring a Senior Software Engineer to work on an internal AI product analytics agent here at Unity. This lets teams across Unity ask questions of our product data in natural language, used by product managers, engineers, analysts and leadership.
This role will join the data\-facing half of the team. You will spend half of your time working on the analytics datasets and pipelines the agent depends on, and the other half on the agent capabilities that sit on top of them: retrieval, knowledge, evaluation and answer quality. This agent is only as good as the data and the knowledge layer beneath it, and you will own that layer.
You will work day to day with data scientists and analysts who are both your closest collaborators and your users. Requirements are still taking shape, so you will have a lot of say in what gets built.
Note: This role is one of two we're hiring on the team. If you lean more towards distributed systems, infrastructure and production operations than towards data modelling and pipelines, take a look at our Senior Backend Engineer, AI Platform \& Infrastructure role instead!
What you'll be doing
- Own and improve the analytics datasets that the agent queries, including data modelling, semantic definitions, and the documentation and metadata that make those datasets legible to an LLM.
- Build and maintain the ETL and transformation pipelines that feed those datasets, and raise the bar on their correctness, freshness and testability.
- Improve how the agent finds and uses knowledge: knowledge base search, retrieval quality, context construction and prompt history.
- Build and extend the evaluation systems that tell us whether the agent is answering correctly, and use them to drive measurable quality improvements.
- Develop backend agent workflows covering prompt handling, orchestration and response generation.
- Build user\-facing features that make analytics workflows faster for technical and non\-technical colleagues alike.
- Partner with data scientists to turn recurring analytics needs into reusable, scalable capabilities rather than one\-off answers.
- Help set the roadmap and technical direction for the data and quality side of the platform.
What we're looking for
- Strong software engineering fundamentals and experience building and shipping production systems.
- Hands\-on data engineering experience: SQL, data modelling, warehouse or lakehouse design, and building pipelines that other people depend on.
- Experience working with a cloud data warehouse, ideally BigQuery, and with a pipeline orchestration framework.
- Experience with LLM and agent systems, or a clear pull towards them, especially retrieval quality and how you measure whether an answer is any good.
- Comfort working without a fully specified brief, and a bias towards putting something usable in front of users early.
- Genuine enthusiasm for working alongside data scientists and analytics users, and for shaping the product around how they actually work.
You might also have
- A background in data science, analytics engineering or analytics infrastructure.
- Experience building data products that non\-specialists can use without hand\-holding.
- Experience with data quality, lineage, governance or metadata tooling.
- Experience evaluating LLM outputs systematically, for example building eval sets, scoring rubrics or feedback loops.
Base Salary Range: We determine the base salary range for this role based on your primary work location:
Zone A: $135,800 \- $203,600 USD gross
Zone B: $153,400 \- $230,200 USD gross
Zone C: $172,400 \- $258,600 USD gross
*This range reflects the anticipated base salary for this position. Beyond base salary, this role may be eligible for equity awards and participation in our company incentive plans (such as annual discretionary bonuses or sales commissions). The final offer amount will depend on several factors, including geographic location and the candidate’s relevant experience, professional background, and skill set.*
Benefits
At Unity, we want our team members to thrive. We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support well\-being and work\-life balance.
Please note: Benefits eligibility, specific offerings, and coverage vary based on the country and employment status.
While specific benefits vary, here are some of the ways we strive to take care of our eligible team members globally: Comprehensive health, life, and disability insurance \| Commute subsidy \| Employee stock ownership \| Competitive retirement/pension plans \| Generous vacation and personal days \| Support for new parents through leave and family\-care programs \| Office food snacks \| Mental Health and Wellbeing programs and support \| Employee Resource Groups \| Global Employee Assistance Program \| Training and development programs \| Volunteering and donation matching program
Life at Unity
Unity \[NYSE: U] is the world’s leading game engine, powering play for more than 3 billion consumers each month. The top mobile games in the world, the most played PC indie titles, the most innovative console games, and virtually all of the top XR and Web Games are developed, deployed, and grown in Unity. Unity also enables teams across industries like automotive, manufacturing, and healthcare to design, simulate, and collaborate in 3D — closing the gap between ideas and reality. For more information, please visit www.unity.com.
*Unity is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment and celebrate our employees across age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law. Our differences are strengths that enable us to support the growing and evolving needs of our customers, partners, and collaborators.* *If you have a disability that means there are preparations or accommodations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please fill out* *this form* *to let us know.*
*This position requires the incumbent to have a sufficient knowledge of English to have professional verbal and written exchanges in this language since the performance of the duties related to this position requires frequent and regular communication with colleagues and partners located worldwide and whose common language is English.*
*This posting is intended to fill an existing vacancy, and we are committed to providing applicants with updates throughout the hiring process in accordance with applicable law.*
*Headhunters and recruitment agencies may not submit resumes/CVs through this website or directly to managers. Unity does not accept unsolicited headhunter and agency resumes. Unity will not pay fees to any third\-party agency or company that does not have a signed agreement with Unity.*
*Your privacy is important to us. Please take a moment to review ourProspect* *andApplicant* *Privacy Policies. Should you have any concerns about your privacy, please contact us at [email protected].*
Salary Context
This $135K-$258K range is above the median for AI Software Engineer roles in our dataset (median: $185K across 231 roles with salary data).
Role Details
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 4,317 AI roles we're tracking, AI Software Engineer positions make up 7% of the market. At Unity Technologies, 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
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 $218,500 based on 729 positions with disclosed compensation. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $227,400. This role's midpoint ($197K) sits 10% below the category median. Disclosed range: $135K to $258K.
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.
Unity Technologies AI Hiring
Unity Technologies has 4 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer, AI Software Engineer. Positions span Mountain View, CA, US, Olympia, WA, US. Compensation range: $243K - $260K.
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 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 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).
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 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
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