AI / ML Engineer at Punch Newspaper

Job Summary

• We’re now seeking a Founding Engineer (AI/ML) to architect, build, and scale the core technology powering this platform.
• This is a cofounder-level role for a builder who thrives at the intersection of data, product, and AI innovation.

Responsibilities
What You Will Do:

• Design and build core systems: Develop the backend and AI pipelines that extract, process, and analyze document data at scale.
• Lead AI/ML development: Implement and fine-tune NLP, LLM, and embedding models for document understanding, summarization, and knowledge retrieval.
• Architect scalable infrastructure: Design APIs, microservices, and data pipelines that enable real-time document processing and integration.
• Collaborate on product direction: Work closely with founders on technical strategy, product roadmap, and user experience decisions.
• Experiment and innovate: Prototype new AI-driven features, run model performance experiments, and drive the technical vision for the product.
• Establish engineering culture: Set development standards, implement CI/CD practices, and mentor future hires as the engineering team grows.

Who You Are

• A hands-on builder passionate about AI, data, and product-led problem-solving.
• Skilled in Python, FastAPI (or similar frameworks), and ML/NLP libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Hugging Face.
• Experienced with vector databases, embedding models, or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems.
• Understands the end-to-end lifecycle of data products from preprocessing to model deployment.
• Entrepreneurial mindset: you care about both the code and the company.
• Bonus: Experience in frontend or full-stack development (React, Next.js) and DevOps is a plus.

Why Join Us

• Build and own core technology in a high-upside early-stage startup.
• Equity-first compensation with significant post-funding salary potential.
• Work alongside a visionary team driven by product excellence and long-term impact.
• Freedom to shape architecture, tools, and technical roadmap from day one.
• Opportunity to define the AI document intelligence category with cutting-edge innovation.