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AI Engineer – Kotlin (web)

LATAM

About Distillery

Distillery Tech Inc accelerates innovation through an unyielding approach to nearshore software development. The world’s most innovative technology teams choose Distillery to help accelerate strategic innovation, fill a pressing technology gap, and hit mission-critical deadlines. We support essential applications, mobile apps, websites, and eCommerce platforms by placing senior, strategic technical leaders and deploying fully managed technology teams that work intimately alongside our client’s in-house development teams. At Distillery Tech Inc, we’re not here to reinvent nearshore software development, we’re on a mission to perfect it. Distillery Tech Inc is committed to diversity and inclusion. We actively seek to cultivate a workforce that reflects the rich tapestry of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences present in our society. Our recruitment efforts are dedicated to promoting equal opportunities for all candidates, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other dimension of diversity.


About the Position

Distillery is seeking a Senior/Staff AI-Native Development Engineer to help transform how software is built using modern AI-assisted development practices. In this role, you will lead the reconstruction of legacy services using AI-first approaches, demonstrating through real production systems how AI-driven development fundamentally changes how teams design, validate, and deliver software.

You will work hands-on with engineering teams to integrate AI tooling into everyday development workflows, improve architectural decision-making, and establish scalable practices for AI-assisted engineering. Rather than acting as an advisor or evangelist, you will drive adoption through shipped systems, practical demonstrations, and close collaboration with engineers.


Responsibilities

  • Lead AI-first service reconstructions, extracting business context from legacy codebases and designing modern target architectures.
  • Implement production-ready systems using AI-assisted development workflows, validating implementations through independently authored test specifications.
  • Drive delivery through shadow mode testing and gradual rollout strategies to ensure reliability and safe deployment.
  • Serve as the internal expert on AI development tooling, including tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, and similar technologies.
  • Identify prompt patterns, workflows, and development strategies that maximize productivity and code quality when working with AI.
  • Work directly with engineers through pair programming and hands-on collaboration to demonstrate effective AI-native development practices.
  • Introduce engineering patterns such as test-first generation, adversarial validation, architectural exploration, and parallel candidate generation.
  • Establish repeatable development practices by documenting workflows, templates, and project instructions that enable teams to scale AI-first development.
  • Encourage stronger architectural decision-making by exploring alternatives and validating proposals through AI-assisted exploration.
  • Help evolve engineering culture by enabling teams to confidently adopt AI-driven workflows.

Requirements

  • Strong experience as a Senior or Staff Software Engineer working on production-grade systems.
  • Deep, daily experience using AI-assisted development tools as a primary workflow for real production work.
  • Strong understanding of software architecture, system design, and code quality, with the ability to evaluate AI-generated output critically.
  • Production experience building and maintaining systems that support real users, traffic, or regulatory requirements.
  • Strong experience with at least one JVM language and familiarity with modern backend architectures.
  • Experience working with event-driven systems and relational databases.
  • Familiarity with backend ecosystems involving technologies such as Scala, Kotlin, Spring, Kafka, RDS, and AWS.
  • Ability to work effectively with existing engineering teams and teach through hands-on collaboration and real-world problem solving.
  • Comfort working with legacy systems and complex codebases, extracting context and modernizing architecture.
  • Strong communication skills with the ability to advocate for technical change while bringing teams along in the process.

Nice To Have

  • Experience leading or executing an AI-driven rebuild of a production service that was successfully migrated or deployed.
  • Experience creating internal tooling, templates, or workflows that helped scale AI-driven development across teams.
  • Examples where AI-assisted development uncovered bugs, architectural issues, or design improvements that traditional workflows missed.
  • Contributions such as writing, speaking, or sharing practices related to AI-native development.
  • Familiarity with how AI tooling interacts with JVM-based codebases, including Scala type systems and Kotlin coroutine patterns.

Why You'll Like Working Here

Join a global team committed to Distillery's core values: Unyielding Commitment, Relentless Pursuit, Courageous Ambition, and Authentic Connection.

  • 100% Remote Work: Enjoy the freedom to work from anywhere while collaborating with a diverse, multinational team.
  • Competitive Compensation: Generous and competitive package in USD, along with a comprehensive benefits plan.
  • Flexible Hours: Create a schedule that aligns with your life and priorities.
  • Home Office Setup: Receive all the hardware and software needed to succeed from home.
  • Innovative Workplace: Collaborate with the global Top 1% of talent in a multicultural and dynamic environment.
  • Focus on Growth: Pursue professional and personal development while contributing your unique talents to a team where you can truly shine!