Home Jobs AI/ML Engineer – Remote I Contract I Hourly Pay I Long-Term Opportunity
Back to Jobs

AI/ML Engineer – Remote I Contract I Hourly Pay I Long-Term Opportunity - Job Opportunity at Hermetic AI

Remote, Switzerland
Contract
Senior
Posted: August 8, 2025
Remote
CHF 40 - CHF 70 per hour

Key Responsibilities

Architect and deploy enterprise-scale LLM-powered applications from scratch, including intelligent agents, automated tool integrations, and complex processing pipelines that directly impact business operations and customer engagement
Design and scale sophisticated Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines using advanced vector databases and dynamic memory systems to enable contextually-aware AI decision making
Build advanced LangGraph agents capable of executing multi-step workflows, API integrations, and real-time user interactions that automate complex business processes
Analyze large volumes of real-world customer data to drive measurable improvements in agent performance, extract actionable business insights, and inform strategic product development decisions
Collaborate cross-functionally with product and engineering teams to ensure AI system behavior aligns with user goals and delivers quantifiable business value
Lead rapid prototyping and iteration cycles, transforming conceptual ideas into production-ready systems within days rather than months to maintain competitive advantage
Continuously optimize model performance across multiple dimensions including latency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness while maintaining the highest standards of accuracy and user experience

Requirements

Education

Master's degree required

Experience

Deep experience writing production-grade Python code

Required Skills

Deep experience writing production-grade Python code Experience building with LLMs like OpenAI, Claude, Mistral, or open-source models Working knowledge of LangGraph, LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar orchestration frameworks Strong understanding of RAG, tool use, function calling, and agent design Experience with vector databases (Weaviate, Qdrant, Pinecone, etc.) Systems-level thinking — able to architect, scale, and maintain complex services A track record of building and shipping — ideally outside of academic environments
Advertisement
Ad Space

Sauge AI Market Intelligence

Industry Trends

The enterprise AI market is experiencing unprecedented growth with organizations shifting from experimental AI projects to production-scale deployments, creating massive demand for engineers who can build reliable, scalable AI systems that deliver measurable business value rather than just proof-of-concepts. Large Language Models are evolving beyond text generation into sophisticated reasoning engines capable of multi-step decision making, tool usage, and autonomous action, requiring engineers who understand both the technical implementation and business application of these advanced capabilities. The emergence of AI-native companies like Hermetic represents a fundamental shift in business model innovation, where AI is not just a feature but the core product differentiator, creating new categories of high-impact engineering roles. Retrieval-Augmented Generation and agent-based architectures are becoming the standard for enterprise AI applications, moving beyond simple chatbots to complex systems that can reason about data, interact with external systems, and make autonomous decisions.

Salary Evaluation

The CHF 40-70 per hour range (approximately $44-77 USD/hour) is competitive for senior-level contract AI/ML engineering work, especially considering the remote nature and specialized LLM expertise required. This translates to roughly $90,000-160,000 annually for full-time equivalent work, which aligns well with senior AI engineering market rates in Europe and North America.

Role Significance

Based on the collaborative nature described and the company's scaling phase, this role likely involves working within a lean engineering team of 5-15 people, with direct collaboration across product, engineering, and potentially customer success teams.
This is a senior-level individual contributor role with significant autonomy and technical leadership responsibilities, requiring someone who can independently architect complex systems and make critical technical decisions that directly impact product success and business outcomes.

Key Projects

Building production-ready AI agents that automate complex business workflows in hospitality and other verticals Implementing sophisticated RAG systems that can reason about large datasets and provide contextually relevant responses Developing real-time decision automation systems that integrate with existing business tools and APIs Creating scalable infrastructure for LLM deployment that can handle enterprise-level traffic and reliability requirements

Success Factors

Ability to rapidly translate business requirements into technical AI/ML solutions that deliver measurable value, requiring both deep technical expertise and strong business acumen to understand how AI capabilities can solve real-world problems. Proficiency in building production-grade systems that can scale reliably, handle edge cases gracefully, and maintain performance under real-world conditions rather than just laboratory environments. Strong collaborative skills to work effectively across product and engineering teams, translating complex AI capabilities into user-facing features that align with business objectives. Continuous learning mindset to stay current with rapidly evolving LLM technologies, frameworks, and best practices in an industry where new capabilities emerge monthly. Systems thinking approach to understand how individual AI components fit into larger business processes and technical architectures.

Market Demand

Extremely high demand exists for AI/ML engineers with production LLM experience, as the market has matured beyond research phases into deployment and scaling challenges that require deep technical expertise combined with business acumen.

Important Skills

Critical Skills

Production-grade Python development skills are absolutely essential as this forms the foundation for all AI/ML system development, and the emphasis on 'production-grade' indicates the need for code that can handle real-world scale, reliability, and maintainability requirements. Deep LLM integration experience is critical because the role focuses specifically on building systems around large language models, requiring understanding of prompt engineering, model selection, cost optimization, and performance tuning. RAG and agent design expertise is fundamental to the role since these represent the core technical architectures for building intelligent systems that can reason about data and take actions in complex workflows. Systems architecture thinking is crucial for building scalable, maintainable AI systems that can grow with the business and integrate with existing enterprise infrastructure.

Beneficial Skills

Open-source contributions demonstrate thought leadership and deep technical understanding that can accelerate development and provide credibility when making architectural decisions. Experience at leading AI companies provides exposure to cutting-edge techniques and best practices that can be applied to solve novel problems at Hermetic. Model fine-tuning and optimization skills become increasingly valuable as the company scales and needs to optimize costs and performance for specific use cases. Startup experience provides the scrappy, results-oriented mindset necessary to thrive in a fast-paced environment where engineers must wear multiple hats and deliver results quickly.

Unique Aspects

Focus on decision automation rather than text generation represents a more sophisticated and valuable application of AI technology, positioning engineers to work on genuinely impactful systems that transform business operations.
Post-revenue status with real customers using the product daily provides immediate feedback loops and real-world validation of technical decisions, offering more meaningful engineering challenges than typical early-stage AI projects.
Rapid iteration cycle from concept to production in days rather than months indicates an engineering culture that values speed and practical implementation over perfect theoretical solutions.
Direct collaboration with hospitality industry customers provides exposure to complex, real-world business processes and the opportunity to see how AI can transform traditional industries.

Career Growth

With the rapid growth in the AI industry and the specialized nature of LLM engineering, progression to senior technical leadership roles typically occurs within 2-4 years, with opportunities for founding roles or principal engineer positions emerging even faster for high-performers.

Potential Next Roles

Senior AI/ML Engineering roles at larger technology companies or AI-first startups Technical Lead or Principal Engineer positions overseeing AI/ML engineering teams AI Product Manager roles combining technical depth with product strategy Founding Engineer or CTO positions at AI startups AI Research Scientist roles at major technology companies or research institutions

Company Overview

Hermetic AI

Hermetic AI represents the new generation of AI-native companies that are building practical, revenue-generating AI systems rather than research projects or consultancies. Their focus on decision automation and real-world applications in hospitality indicates a mature approach to AI implementation with proven product-market fit.

As a post-revenue, venture-backed company with active customers in the hospitality sector, Hermetic appears to be in a strong position within the competitive AI startup landscape, having moved beyond the concept stage to proven business applications.
Operating as a remote-first Swiss company positions Hermetic well to access global talent while maintaining operations in a jurisdiction known for innovation and strong intellectual property protections, which is particularly valuable in the competitive AI space.
The emphasis on aggressive building, rapid shipping, and high performance expectations suggests a fast-paced, results-oriented culture typical of successful AI startups, with significant autonomy and responsibility for individual contributors.
Advertisement
Ad Space
Apply Now

Data Sources & Analysis Information

Job Listings Data

The job listings displayed on this platform are sourced through BrightData's comprehensive API, ensuring up-to-date and accurate job market information.

Sauge AI Market Intelligence

Our advanced AI system analyzes each job listing to provide valuable insights including:

  • Industry trends and market dynamics
  • Salary estimates and market demand analysis
  • Role significance and career growth potential
  • Critical success factors and key skills
  • Unique aspects of each position

This integration of reliable job data with AI-powered analysis helps provide you with comprehensive insights for making informed career decisions.