# Applied AI & Optimization Engineer at Firestorm

- Company: Firestorm
- What the company does: Firestorm Labs - Democratize the fight with radically-affordable, mission-adaptable power for air, land, and sea. Backed by NEA.
- Company website: https://www.launchfirestorm.com/
- Type: Startups (AI role)
- Level: Mid level
- Location: San Diego, United States
- Work setup: On-site
- Pay: $140K to $185K base salary per year (USD)
- Posted: 2026-08-31
- Apply by: 2026-10-15
- Apply: https://jobs.gem.com/firestorm/am9icG9zdDrnIHQnpEHWzHf2EnH3bsM4
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/firestorm-applied-ai-and-optimization-engineer/

## About the role

Firestorm's manufacturing platform has an intelligence layer - a planning workbench, a simulation engine, an analytics surface, and eventually an AI assistant - that turns operational data into better decisions. Building this layer requires applied math, pragmatic ML systems engineering, and a deep understanding of the manufacturing domain it serves. As an Applied AI & Optimization Engineer, you will own the algorithms and systems behind this intelligence layer.

## What they're looking for

- Own the optimization algorithms behind the planning workbench and simulation engine - scheduling, resource allocation, constraint satisfaction, conflict detection
- Design and implement the analytics layer of the platform: defect trends, yield analytics, throughput modeling, and operational intelligence
- Lead the platform's AI assistant integration: selecting, evaluating, deploying, and fine-tuning open-source or custom LLMs for cloud, air-gapped, and on-edge contexts
- Productionize optimization and ML systems in partnership with full-stack and infrastructure engineers - reliable services the platform depends on, not prototypes
- Partner with domain experts in manufacturing engineering, quality, and planning to ground models and algorithms in real operational constraints
- Evaluate and advocate for build-vs-buy decisions across optimization libraries, ML tooling, and model vendors