Senior Backend Engineer, AI Team

At Acorns, our mission is to look after the financial best interests of the up-and-coming, beginning with the empowering, proud step of micro-investing. How do we accomplish our mission? Our values.

Lead With Heart - With compassion, integrity, and tenacity, inspire yourself and others to move past all previous thresholds of possibility

Make Bold Decisions - We are creating a new world. Be optimistic, adventurous, and courageous. Leap fearlessly into the future

Always Build Trust - Say what you mean, mean what you say, and do what you say you’re going to do. We are all owners. We are one team

Never Stop Growing - Change IS the constant. Stay hungry and curious. Be relentless in the pursuit of progress

Find a way - Never settle, no excuses, nothing is impossible. Just make it happen

Our values guide us, and our mission drives us. Come join us and help deliver financial wellness for the whole family, putting the tools of wealth-making into everyone’s hands.

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Sr. Software Engineer (AI Team) | Acorns

Acorns is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our AI team! Are you passionate about cutting-edge AI technologies? Do you thrive in an environment where your skills can redefine customer experiences and positively impact lives? Join Acorns as we build the future of Fintech with a customer service virtual agent that’s as empowering as our mission.

You will harness the power of AI to design a virtual agent that redefines customer support by providing personalized, real-time assistance. You will utilize proprietary data to create intelligent, empathetic solutions that empower our users to make informed financial decisions. Playing a pivotal role, you'll help shape a product that embodies our core values of benevolence and courage, transforming customer service into an uplifting and impactful experience.

Acorns is a remote-first organization, offering the flexibility to work remotely while providing optional access to office space in Irvine, CA.

What you will do at Acorns:

• Understand Acorns’ mission, vision, strategic objectives, and fintech industry knowledge while building relationships with team members, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.

• Review and analyze proprietary datasets, existing Vector database architecture, pipelines, and tools to identify gaps and propose improvements.

• Contribute to key customer-facing projects, debugging and enhancing models, scaling pipelines, and delivering the virtual support bot MVP to production.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align AI efforts with business goals, mentor junior team members, and drive innovation through LLM capabilities.

• Optimize data pipelines, establish scalable monitoring processes, and develop a roadmap for innovation aligned with fintech objectives.

What you will bring to Acorns:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, or a STEM-related field

• 5+ years of total software engineering experience

• 3+ years of experience in artificial intelligence, data science, or machine learning engineering

• 3+ years of experience with modern cloud computing technologies, such as AWS, Bedrock, Sagemaker, Databricks, or Kubernetes

• Foundational knowledge with Generative AI, Transformer, fine tuning LLM, Search ranking, RAG improvement, and LLM Agent

• Experience tuning neural networks on custom datasets.

• Experience with Huggingface, LangChain, chatbot development

• Proficiency in programming languages and analytical tools, such as Python or PyTorch, Pandas, NumPy, SciKit-Learn, Matplotlib

• Hunger to deliver game-changing products

• Exceptional drive and precision in delivery

• A belief that your work is tied to your life's mission

• Optimistic about the potential of societal change

You are not expected to have experience with all listed requirements. If you feel passionate about Acorns' mission, vision, and values, please apply.  

What we offer: 

• Competitive salary and stock options

• A comprehensive benefits package for you and your family

• Flexible work location, hours, and paid time off 

• 401(k) matching

• Monthly Acorns account contribution & GoHenry account for your family

• Mindfulness and Financial Wellness resources, Headspace and Addition Wealth

• Acorns Career Development Program (Ongoing training sessions, development plans, development check-ins, Cornerstone’s online training platform)

• Roots Leadership Program for Emerging Leaders

• Community week onsite gatherings and various virtual events

• Talented and motivated team members who care deeply about one another, our mission, and our customers.

• The rare opportunity to create a new world. We inspire one another every day to do meaningful work that solves big societal challenges.

About Acorns:

Acorns is the financial wellness company helping everyday Americans grow their money for the long term. Since 2014, Acorns has grown into a global company with multiple life stage products serving the needs of kids, teens, adults and parents. Named one of America's Best Financial Services of 2026 by TIME, Acorns has served over 16 million people, and helped customers save & invest over $33 billion dollars, much of it from spare change and small amounts.

Management Principles:

• Managers are constantly raising the bar

• Managers ensure all team members have a voice and a path

• No surprises - Managers give and receive feedback early and often

• Managers continuously assess performance action on concerns quickly

• Managers foster a resilient, results-oriented mindset

Compensation Information:

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $184,500 and $217,100/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a sign-on bonus, equity grants, and discretionary cash bonus awards in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as vacation, sick time, and parental leave), dependent on the position offered. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Work Authorization:

Acorns participates in E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. For more information about E-Verify, please visitwww.e-verify.gov