About this role
Summary: The Senior AI Engineer serves as a subject matter expert in applied AI and ML systems, designing and optimizing generative AI solutions to drive operational efficiency. This role involves building full-stack prototypes, deploying production systems, and mentoring engineers while ensuring alignment with enterprise s...
The Team
Guided by our purpose, core values, and leadership principles, we are creating an airline people love. Our corporate teams set the strategies and operational plans to ensure the success of our company. Whether we use our expertise in accounting, human resources, finance, planning, legal, marketing, or any of our operational divisions, our shared passion for travel and our guests is what motivates us to achieve excellence each day. If you share our passion for creating an airline people love, we want to hear from you.
Role Summary
The Senior AI Engineer role is a subject matter expert in applied AI and ML systems including generative and agentic technologies at Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. As an individual contributor, this role exercises considerable judgement to make decisions in AI product and feature implementation, from architecture and design through optimization and producetion deployment and provide recommendations to address operational efficiency, workflow automation, and high-impact AI opportunities across the enterprise.
Key Duties
- Build and ship AI/GenAI enabled solutions that deliver measurable business value, from rapid full-stack prototypes that validate business demand to robust production systems that automate workflows and drive operational efficiency.
- Design and optimize generative AI systems, including LLM- and multi‑modal‑based agents, ensuring continuous alignment with user feedback and enterprise standards for safety, security, and accessibility.
- With minimal direction from leadership, exercise considerable judgement to make decisions in implementation of AI products and features, from architecture and design through testing, optimization, and production deployment, partnering with product managers and engineering leaders to execute the strategic technical vision.
- Make recommendations to identify high-impact AI opportunities, translate business needs into technical designs, and integrate solutions seamlessly with existing enterprise systems and data sources.
- Influence others to implement best practices for data residency, observability, model evaluation, and system reliability, ensuring AI systems meet enterprise compliance, performance, and cost-efficiency targets.
- Foster technical excellence and knowledge sharing by mentoring engineers, documenting and communicating complex concepts clearly to diverse audiences, and contributing to a culture of continuous innovation and experimentation.
- Leverage and continuous improvement of the enterprise AI platform, tools, and engineering standards to build scalable, maintainable solutions that enhance developer experience and accelerate self-service business enablement and value delivery.
Job-Specific Experience, Education & Skills
Required
- 4 years of experience in software development in one or more programming languages.
- Bachelor’s degree with a focus in computer science or an additional two years of relevant training/experience in lieu of this degree.
- Experience in the following:
- Java, Python, Golang or C++
- JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML, CSS
- Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability introducing new ideas and technologies to communities of developers.
- High degree of professionalism and customer service orientation.
- High school diploma or equivalent.
- Minimum age of 18.
- Must be authorized to work in the U.S.
Preferred
- Master's degree in Computer Science or related technical field.
- 2 years of experience building or integrating ML/AI systems, including at least 1 year with Generative AI (LLMs, multi modal models).
- Experience with data structures/algorithms.
- Experience building and delivering AI products, including considerations for AI safety, data residency & system integration.
- Experience in developing access.
Job-Specific Leadership Expectations
Embody our values to own safety, do the right thing, be caring and kind, and deliver performance.
Starting Rate
Salary Range
$117,700-$176,550 / year
Bonus
Salary Details
Pay will be based on multiple factors, including and not limited to location, relevant experience/level and skillset while balancing internal equity relative to other Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon employees. Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon is committed to fair, unbiased compensation along with competitive benefits in all locations in which we operate.
Note: We don’t typically hire at the top of the range.
Total Rewards
*Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air pay and benefits can vary by company, location, number of regularly scheduled hours worked, length of employment, and employment status.*
- Free stand-by travel privileges on Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines & Horizon Air
- Comprehensive well-being programs including medical, dental and vision benefits
- Generous 401k match program
- Annual bonus plans
- Generous holiday and paid time off
For more information about Alaska/Hawaiian/Horizon Total Rewards please visit our career site and view benefits.
FLSA Status
Exempt
Regular/Temporary
Regular
Category
Software & Technology
Company (Set ID from Job Codes)
Alaska Airlines