The team + the role
Pendo's Applied AI team turns AI infrastructure into real business outcomes across Sales, Marketing, and Customer Engineering. AI here isn't a feature we bolt on — it's how we scale GTM capability across the company. We build AI that makes GTM teams measurably faster and more effective, and we measure success by whether those teams are actually using what we ship and getting real value from it.
As an Applied AI Engineer, you'll own the full lifecycle of AI-powered solutions — from problem definition and prompt design through to production deployment and ongoing iteration. You'll work directly with GTM stakeholders to identify high-value problems, set realistic expectations about what AI can and can't do, and ship solutions that stick. The best person for this role has a strong engineering instinct, deep curiosity about how businesses operate, and the judgment to know when AI is the right tool — and when it isn't.
This role is based in Raleigh, NC and follows Pendo's hybrid model: in-office 3 days per week.
What this looks like day-to-day
- Own AI solutions end-to-end: problem definition, prompt design, production deployment, monitoring, and iteration — you ship, you watch, you improve.
- Build and manage GTM workflow automations that reduce manual work across Sales, Marketing, and Customer Engineering systems, including Slackbots and other integrations.
- Partner directly with GTM stakeholders to surface high-value problems, validate solutions, drive adoption, and set honest expectations about AI capabilities and limitations.
- Develop and maintain prompt management practices that make AI outputs reliable, auditable, and improvable over time — treat prompts as production code, not experiments.
- Work with the Data Platform and Systems teams to identify foundational tooling gaps and contribute clear, actionable requirements based on what you encounter in production.
- Share reusable AI workflow patterns and tool findings with the broader team — your impact should extend beyond your own projects.
Who you are
Beyond the qualifications, we hire through a specific lens. These aren't buzzwords; they're the things we'll actually look for in how you talk about your work.
You're a builder, not a maintainer.
You're most energized when there isn't a clear path yet, and you get to define it. You don't wait for direction; you identify gaps, shape solutions, and drive them forward. At Pendo, great Applied AI Engineers don't wait for tickets — they see a problem, assess whether AI is the right tool, and move. When something underperforms in production, they diagnose and fix it. When a stakeholder has a low-value request, they redirect it rather than queue it.
You're AI-curious — genuinely.
You're not using AI tools occasionally. You're rewiring how you work around them. You're faster, sharper, and more prolific because of it, and you bring that energy to everything: how you draft, how you prototype, how you analyze a problem before building a solution. You share what works with the team, contribute to the prompt library, and stay comfortable learning while the ground moves under you.
Must-haves
- 3–5 years of experience in software engineering, solutions engineering, or applied AI with a strong track record of shipping production systems.
- Hands-on experience building LLM-powered applications, including prompt engineering, output validation, and iterative improvement in a live environment.
- Strong judgment about when AI is the right tool — and the willingness to push back clearly when it isn't.
- Ability to work directly with non-technical business stakeholders to define problems, validate solutions, and drive adoption without hand-holding.
- Comfort working within a platform built by others and contributing clear, actionable requirements back to improve it.
- A builder's posture: you move without being told what to do next, prioritize ruthlessly, and design solutions others can extend and build on.
Nice-to-haves
- Familiarity with GTM systems and workflows; Salesforce experience is a strong plus.
- Experience building Slackbots, workflow automations, or other GTM-integrated tooling.
- Prior experience contributing to a shared prompt library or AI pattern documentation.
- Comfort quantifying the business impact of AI solutions — you can tie your work to efficiency or revenue metrics, not just usage.
- Experience working on a small, high-ownership team where scope is broad and expectations are high.
About Pendo
Pendo was founded in 2013 by former product managers, who combined their heads and hearts to build something they wanted but never had as product managers: a simple way to understand and attack what truly drives product success. Our mission is to improve society's experience with software. Come join one of the fastest-growing startups, supported by best-in-class institutions like Battery Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Spark Capital and Meritech.
Pendo core values: Bias to Act, Hone Your Craft, The Team is Pendo, and Maniacal Focus.
Location: Pendo is a hybrid culture. In-office 3 days per week unless designated remote.
Benefits: Highly competitive, employer-heavy coverage (including $0 premium options), strong 401(k) match, equity, and flexible time off.
Compensation: Our salary ranges are based on paying competitively for our size and industry, and are one part of many compensation, benefits and other reward opportunities we provide.
The expected salary range for this role to be performed in North Carolina is $105,000 - $130,000.
EEOC: We are an equal opportunity employer and believe having diverse teams where everyone brings their whole self to Pendo is key to our success. We welcome all people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives.
Accessibility: Pendo is committed to working with, and providing access and reasonable accommodation to, applicants with mental and/or physical disabilities. If you think you may require an accommodation for any part of the recruitment process, please send a request to: accommodation@pendo.io. All requests for accommodations are treated discreetly and confidentially, as practical and permitted by law.