---
title: 'Senior AI Engineer at First Resonance'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-ai-engineer-first-resonance-los-angeles-vqtken8wyxcr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Senior AI Engineer at First Resonance

- **Company:** First Resonance
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-02-21
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/first-resonance/12e73d8b-52ac-41bf-b8d8-e63d6a314dd7

## Job description

## Overview

We’re looking for a Senior Software Engineer with a passion for AI to join us in our mission of bringing the ION Factory OS to next-generation hardware builders around the globe. This role is based in Los Angeles, CA (HQ in El Segundo). Are you excited by the opportunity to build AI-powered software that accelerates the development of eVTOLs, rockets, robots, and autonomous vehicles?

## Responsibilities & Duties

- Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of production-ready AI systems within the ION Factory OS.
- Ship customer-facing features that directly impact manufacturing workflows, including AI-driven functionality (e.g., generative procedure creation, anomaly detection, recommendations) and core product features not reliant on AI.
- Architect and maintain scalable software systems, including AI/ML pipelines and broader product infrastructure.
- Design and implement AI features using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines to deliver context-aware insights and recommendations.
- Leverage Model Context Protocol (MCP) and similar frameworks to connect AI models seamlessly with structured/unstructured data sources and external tools.
- Collaborate with product managers and customers to translate real-world challenges into robust software solutions.
- Partner with data engineering to process and transform structured and unstructured manufacturing data into usable formats.
- Ensure reliability, scalability, and maintainability of all systems in production, leveraging CI/CD and cloud-native workflows.
- Stay ahead of advancements in software engineering and AI, bringing the best practices into shipped product features.
- Mentor junior engineers and help raise the technical bar across the team.

## Minimum Qualifications & Skills

- 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, including 3+ years shipping AI/ML-powered products into production.
- Proven track record of building and shipping customer-facing applications (AI and non-AI) that deliver measurable business value.
- Experience architecting scalable systems on cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Expertise in data modeling, preprocessing, and model evaluation at scale.
- Familiarity with generative AI models (LLMs, diffusion models, GANs) and their real-world applications.
- Strong knowledge of APIs and modern software design patterns for integrating AI into SaaS products.
- Excellent problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Passion for AI innovation paired with the ability to deliver non-AI product functionality when needed.

Desired Qualifications

- Experience building AI systems for real-time, low-latency, or edge deployments.
- Familiarity with modern data governance, privacy, and compliance standards (SOC2, GDPR, ITAR).
- Hands-on experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) for building AI systems that combine large language models with external knowledge sources.
- Understanding of and/or experience with Model Context Protocol (MCP) or similar emerging standards for connecting AI systems with data and tools.
- Customer-facing experience gathering requirements, presenting solutions, and demonstrating value.
- Contributions to open-source projects or published research in applied AI/ML.
- Experience mentoring engineers and contributing to engineering best practices.

## Benefits & Perks

- Health Insurance; medical, vision, dental, & life insurance.
- Paid Parental Leave.
- Employee Stock Option Plan.
- Team outings, group lunches, open office, happy hours.
- Paid holidays, sick days.
- Flexible Friday and PTO.
- 401K.

First Resonance is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workforce. First Resonance participates in E-Verify. As part of our onboarding process, a new hire's Form I-9 information will be shared with the federal government to confirm they are authorized to work in the U.S. Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location.

First Resonance accelerates the speed and reliability of hardware development for companies manufacturing the next generation of hardware products. This includes space exploration, electric airplanes, autonomous vehicles, nuclear reactors, robotics, and more. We are a group of software, hardware, and manufacturing engineers that are bringing the best of modern UX and data science to an industry that has been overly rigid in its innovation. We are removing the barriers preventing radical advancement by providing tools to manufacturing engineers and operators to move information more freely, collaborate with their teams more easily, and use the power of data to predict problems and provide insights that result in better hardware quality and delivery.

## About First Resonance

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: First Resonance develops the ION Factory Operating System (a modern Manufacturing Execution System) to help complex hardware and advanced manufacturing companies move from prototype to production with speed, traceability, and compliance.
- **Entity Type**: Private (funding stage not publicly disclosed)
- **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Karan Talati (CEO) — the company was founded by former engineers from SpaceX and NASA-related companies who needed a better platform for rapid engineering and manufacturing iteration.

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Advanced Manufacturing Software, Industrial IoT, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Aerospace & Defense, Medical Devices, Climate Tech
- Target customers: B2B, Enterprise — hard-tech manufacturers including spacecraft builders, nuclear innovators, robotics leaders, and other quality-critical discrete manufacturers
- Mission or purpose statement: "Enable the next generation of hardware companies to bring their inventions to market sooner, many of which have the potential to fix some of the massive challenges that threaten our existence."

## Products & Services
- **[ION Factory OS]**: The core platform — a modern MES (Manufacturing Execution System) that provides digital work instructions, production planning, and as-built BOMs (a digital replica of every product). It is highly configurable, has an open API, and deploys quickly without costly implementations. It is AI-powered and ensures compliance and traceability.
- **[ION Analytics]**: A module delivering end-to-end visibility across the factory and supply chain, root cause analysis for slow output and quality issues, and true cost tracking per assembly (labor, components, sub-assemblies).
- **[ION AutoPlan]**: A forecasting and planning module that uses real-time inventory and capacity data to calculate accurate start dates and set reliable delivery expectations.
- **[ION Enhances]**: A module focused on process and quality management, including non-conformance tracking and resolution workflows.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Not publicly disclosed (private company)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly listed; the company is recognized by Built In as a top workplace and is a member of the "Black Flag 100." They highlight deployments in GovCloud and FedRAMP environments, and maintain SOC 2 certification and ITAR compliance.
- **Growth Signals**: Actively hiring across multiple US cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Denver, Austin) for roles like Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Senior Technical Product Manager, and Product Marketing Manager. The company has a "Hybrid" workplace model with flexible on-site expectations. The company is expanding its presence in the AI and developer community space.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep domain expertise**: Founded by former SpaceX and NASA engineers who directly experienced the pain points of legacy MES systems.
- **Security & compliance moat**: Deploys in GovCloud and FedRAMP environments, holds SOC 2 certification, and complies with ITAR regulations — making it the trusted choice for defense, aerospace, and other highly regulated industries.
- **Modern architecture**: Open API, highly configurable, and fast to deploy — a direct alternative to slow, rigid legacy MES systems.
- **Traceability**: The as-built BOM (aBOM) model provides unparalleled, real-time traceability across every part, upgrade, and servicing workflow.
- **AI-powered**: The platform leverages AI to optimize production, compliance, and quality.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling the platform**: Expanding the ION Factory OS to serve more advanced manufacturing sectors, including aerospace, defense, medical devices, and climate tech.
- **Security & compliance leadership**: Doubling down on GovCloud, FedRAMP, SOC 2, and ITAR certifications to serve the most demanding government and industry clients.
- **Building the developer community**: Hiring a Product Marketing Manager focused on AI-native and developer community growth, signaling a push to make the platform more accessible and developer-friendly.
- **Geographic expansion**: Opening offices and hiring in multiple US tech hubs (San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Austin) in addition to the El Segundo HQ and Los Angeles base.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as "driven, collaborative, and kind." The team values "All Owners, Data Driven, Technical, Customer-Driven, One Team, Secure, Transparent, Ambitious." They emphasize inclusion and equity, with diverse perspectives creating real value.
- **Work model**: Hybrid — employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work, with flexible time on-site.
- **Perks**: Free snacks and drinks, 401(K), disability and life insurance, company equity, employee stock purchase plan, performance bonuses, generous parental leave, family medical leave, dental, health, and vision insurance, Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
- **Engineering culture**: Uses modern tech stack including Kubernetes, IoT, Amplitude, Google Analytics. The work is deeply technical and impactful — building software that powers rockets, satellites, and medical devices.
- **Growth**: As a 2019 startup with 41 employees, the company is in a high-growth phase with active hiring across multiple roles, offering significant ownership and impact.
- **Location**: HQ in El Segundo, CA (Los Angeles area), with hybrid offices in San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Denver, and Austin.

## Sources
1. [firstresonance.io](https://www.firstresonance.io/)
2. [firstresonance.io/about](https://www.firstresonance.io/about)
3. [firstresonance.io/careers](https://www.firstresonance.io/careers)
4. [builtin.com/company/first-resonance](https://builtin.com/company/first-resonance)
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/first-resonance](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/first-resonance)

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