Staff/Senior AI Engineer, AI for Code

Staff/Senior AI Engineer, AI for Code

Full-Time 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
JetBrains

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Build cutting-edge AI coding agents and workflows for real developer tasks.
  • Company: Join JetBrains, a leader in developer tools used by millions.
  • Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible work, extra time off, and mental health support.
  • Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for growth and learning.
  • Why this job: Shape the future of AI in software development with hands-on impact.
  • Qualifications: Strong software engineering skills and experience with AI systems.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.

At JetBrains, we build developer tools used by millions of engineers. The AI for Code team works on the next generation of coding agents and agentic workflows: systems that can understand codebases, plan and execute multi-step tasks, collaborate with developers, and ship reliable results inside real development environments. We are looking for a Staff/Senior AI Engineer to join the team and support these efforts. This role is for someone who can take our internal coding models, such as Mellum2, as well as open-weight models, and turn them into production-ready coding agents for our users. You’ll work on model training and fine-tuning, context engineering, tool use, evaluation, feedback loops, and product integration. This is not research in isolation – you’ll build systems that are used by tens of thousands of developers.

What You’ll Do

  • Build production-ready coding agents and agentic workflows for real developer tasks inside JetBrains products.
  • Turn promising model capabilities into dependable product behaviour through prompt design, context construction, fine-tuning, instruction-tuning, or other post-training techniques where appropriate.
  • Design and improve the agent loop itself, including tool use, execution strategy, safeguards, and task completion quality.
  • Create evaluation suites and quality infrastructure for agent behaviour, including online and offline evaluations, regression checks, failure analysis, and release criteria.
  • Build feedback loops from real usage, using logs, user signals, and edge cases to improve data, evaluations, and agent behaviour.
  • Work with both hosted frontier APIs and self-hosted or open-weight models, making pragmatic decisions about where each model belongs based on capability, latency, reliability, privacy, and cost.
  • Collaborate closely with product managers, software engineers, ML engineers, and researchers to ship features end to end.
  • Help define the technical direction for future work, especially in ambiguous areas where we need strong judgment rather than a prewritten playbook.

What We’re Looking For

  • Strong software engineering fundamentals and a track record of shipping complex systems to production.
  • Hands-on experience building LLM-powered products, coding agents, or other AI systems.
  • Experience improving model behaviour through systematic iteration, whether via prompting, context engineering, fine-tuning, preference optimization, or broader post-training methods.
  • Practical experience with evaluation and benchmarking for LLM systems, including defining task-grounded success metrics and catching regressions.
  • Experience working from noisy real-world signals rather than only from clean benchmark datasets.
  • Good judgment about trade-offs between model quality, latency, reliability, privacy, and cost.
  • Confidence working with ambiguity and taking ownership of a direction over multiple iterations.
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to align engineering and product decisions.

What Success Looks Like In The First Year

  • You ship one or more agent capabilities that users can rely on for meaningful work, not just demos.
  • You establish better evaluation coverage and clearer release criteria for agent behaviour.
  • You help the team build a repeatable loop from idea to shipped capability: prototype, evaluate, learn from usage, improve, and scale.

Why join us?

  • You’ll help define what practical, trustworthy AI for software development looks like in real products.
  • You’ll work on challenging problems at the boundary of model capability and product reality, with the freedom to stay hands-on and the scope to influence how the next generation of JetBrains AI systems is built.

Benefits

  • Strong base salary. We offer competitive pay that reflects your skills and experience.
  • Flexible work location. Enjoy the freedom to work from home or from the office.
  • Remote work. Spend up to 30 days per year working remotely from abroad.
  • Extra time off. More days to relax, recharge, and do the things you love.
  • Medical insurance allowance. Enjoy peace of mind for you and your family.
  • Learning and development opportunities. Access to conferences, courses, and language classes.
  • Relocation support. We help make your move as smooth and stress-free as possible.
  • Language classes. Pick up the local language or sharpen your English skills.
  • Fuel your day. Enjoy a hot meal or receive a lunch allowance on workdays.
  • Mental health support. To help you feel your best, we provide easy access to professional mental health services.
  • Sports benefit. Enjoy an on-site gym or sports club stipend.
  • Internal events. Join company-wide celebrations and team gatherings.

Some benefits may vary depending on location.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We know great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere. That’s why we do our best to create an open and inclusive workplace – one that welcomes everyone regardless of their background, identity, religion, age, accessibility needs, or orientation.

We process the data provided in your job application in accordance with the Recruitment Privacy Policy.

Staff/Senior AI Engineer, AI for Code employer: JetBrains

At JetBrains, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. As a Staff/Senior AI Engineer, you'll have the opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI technologies while enjoying competitive salaries, flexible work arrangements, and comprehensive benefits including medical insurance, learning opportunities, and mental health support. Join us in shaping the future of software development with a team that values your contributions and encourages personal growth.

JetBrains

Contact Details:

JetBrains Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Staff/Senior AI Engineer, AI for Code

Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the industry, especially those at JetBrains. A friendly chat can open doors that a CV just can't.

Tip Number 2

Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repo showcasing your AI projects. This is your chance to demonstrate what you can do beyond the application.

Tip Number 3

Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios related to AI engineering. We want to see how you think on your feet and tackle real-world problems.

Tip Number 4

Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you're genuinely interested in joining the JetBrains team.

We think you need these skills to ace Staff/Senior AI Engineer, AI for Code

Software Engineering Fundamentals
LLM-powered Product Development
Model Training and Fine-tuning
Context Engineering
Evaluation and Benchmarking
Task-grounded Success Metrics
Feedback Loop Creation

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to highlight your experience with AI systems and coding agents. We want to see how your skills align with the role, so don’t hold back on showcasing relevant projects!

Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills:In your application, share examples of how you've tackled complex challenges in software engineering or AI. We love seeing candidates who can think critically and adapt to ambiguity, so let us know how you’ve navigated tricky situations.

Be Clear and Concise:When writing your application, keep it straightforward and to the point. We appreciate clarity, so avoid jargon unless it's necessary. Make it easy for us to see your qualifications and enthusiasm for the role!

Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to submit your application directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your details and ensures you’re considered for the position. Plus, it’s super easy!

How to prepare for a job interview at JetBrains

Know Your Models Inside Out

Make sure you’re well-versed in the internal coding models like Mellum2 and any open-weight models. Be ready to discuss how you would turn these into production-ready coding agents, as this will show your understanding of the role and its requirements.

Demonstrate Your Engineering Skills

Prepare to showcase your software engineering fundamentals. Bring examples of complex systems you've shipped to production, especially those involving LLM-powered products or AI systems. This will help illustrate your hands-on experience and problem-solving abilities.

Talk About Evaluation Techniques

Be prepared to discuss your experience with evaluation and benchmarking for LLM systems. Highlight how you’ve defined success metrics and handled real-world signals, as this is crucial for improving model behaviour and ensuring quality.

Show Your Collaborative Spirit

JetBrains values teamwork, so be ready to share examples of how you’ve collaborated with product managers, software engineers, and researchers. Emphasise your communication skills and how you align engineering decisions with product goals to ship features effectively.