Software Engineer - AI Platforms and Products
The New York TimesThe mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.
About the Role
The New York Times is hiring a Software Engineer to join the New A.I. Products & Platforms mission. We are a team building the next generation of reader-facing A.I. experiences for one of the world's most trusted news organizations.
We're looking for a prototyper: someone who moves fast, ships real things, and has a genuine instinct for what makes a product feel good. You'll work at the intersection of applied A.I. and consumer product. You'll turn emerging capabilities — language models, content embeddings, semantic search — into features that help Times readers discover, understand, and engage more deeply with our content. You'll be working inside an organization with a strong culture of editorial judgment and independence.
You need a track record of shipping, a strong command of the modern web stack, and real hands-on time building with LLMs in production.
This is a hybrid role based in our New York City headquarters, reporting to the VP of Engineering, New AI Products and Platforms. You can typically expect to come into the office 2+ days per week.
Responsibilities:
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Prototype, iterate, and ship LLM- and embedding-powered reader experiences from early concept through production, in conjunction with other engineers and cross-functional peers
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Build across the full stack: Node.js/TypeScript backends, React frontends, and A.I. integrations connecting them
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Build net-new A.I. features and integrate them into existing Times systems and APIs — knowing when to build from scratch and when to wire things together cleanly
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Write, test, and refine prompts and retrieval pipelines; treat prompt engineering as a first-class engineering discipline
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Instrument your features with evaluations, engagement signals, and performance monitoring, and use them to make things better
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Work closely with product managers, designers, journalists, and senior engineers to translate editorial goals into working product
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Contribute to shared practices around evaluation, responsible A.I. use, and what "good" looks like inside an organization where judgment and independence are taken seriously
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Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a strong commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world
Basic Qualifications:
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2+ years of software engineering experience with demonstrated ability to ship consumer-facing features
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Hands-on experience building with Large Language Models in a real product context — not just side projects
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Full-stack fundamentals: Node.js or TypeScript on the backend, React on the front end
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Experience navigating codebases and working within established backend infrastructure
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Proficiency in GenAI‑assisted developer tooling (e.g., Cursor, Copilot, or Claude Code) and passion for improving software delivery by leveraging these tools
Additional Qualifications:
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Experience working across both greenfield product development and integration with legacy or third-party systems
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Additional backend experience in Python, particularly for data pipelines or model integrations
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Experience with semantic search, embedding-based retrieval, or personalization systems
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Experience building agentic software — systems where models plan, take actions, or operate across multiple steps; complexity matters more than tenure
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Familiarity with evaluation frameworks or A/B testing for A.I. features
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Background in product environments where editorial or institutional judgment shapes what you ship
#LI-Hybrid
REQ-019883
For roles in the U.S., dependent on your role, you may be eligible for variable pay, such as an annual bonus and restricted stock. Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (F.S.A.s), a company-matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.
For roles outside of the U.S., information on benefits will be provided during the interview process.
The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here.
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