Sr. Software Engineer II - AI at iHerb

United States

$187k - $235k

Job Summary: The Sr. Software Engineer II - AI will lead the build of GenAI-powered product experiences and the shared AI platform infrastructure that powers them. This includes RAG pipelines over the iHerb catalog and customer reviews, LLM-driven personalization, a conversational Wellness Agent, agentic workflow systems, and the evals and MLOps layer that makes AI features production-grade and repeatable. Specializations within this track include: RAG and personalization, agent framework and tool use, evals and guardrails, and LLM application development for internal business functions such as marketing automation and BI agents. Job Expectations: Design, build, and operate production AI features: RAG pipelines, LLM-driven recommendations, conversational agents, or agentic workflow automation. Build the shared AI platform layer: retrieval infrastructure, eval frameworks, model monitoring, guardrails, and observability. Write LLM applications and integrations with marketing platforms, BI tools, or customer-facing product surfaces. Evaluate model and feature quality using structured eval frameworks; iterate on prompts, retrieval strategies, and model selection using data. Use AI-driven SDLC tooling such as Claude Code as a daily practice for both AI and non-AI code. Coordinate with the Personalization team to align GenAI product features with existing ML personalization signals. Document AI system design decisions, evaluation results, and operational lessons in the shared knowledge base. Own the observability of AI systems you build: latency, cost, quality drift, and error rates; participate in on-call rotation and respond to production incidents. The duties and responsibilities described above may provide only a partial description of this position. This is not an exhaustive list of all aspects of the job. Other duties and responsibilities not outlined in this document may be added as necessary or desirable, with or without notice. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Required: AI-driven SDLC : hands-on experience shipping production code with AI-assisted development tools such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or Cursor. The bar is not awareness; it is daily use in delivering real software. Full-stack awareness: comfortable contributing across layers of the stack when needed; purely single-layer specialists are not the target profile. Production ownership: experience owning features end-to-end from spec through deployment, observability, and on-call. Engineers here own what they ship; there is no separate ops handoff. Code quality fundamentals: strong grasp of software design principles, automated testing, code review, and CI/CD. Fully autonomous; drives technical decisions within the team; mentors junior engineers. Python proficiency; comfortable building and operating production LLM applications. Hands-on experience with at least one specialization: RAG and retrieval systems, LLM evaluation, agentic frameworks (LangChain, LlamaIndex, or similar), or LLM-based workflow automation. Understanding of prompt engineering, context window management, and LLM output quality tradeoffs. Familiarity with vector databases, embedding models, or semantic search. High degree of accuracy and attention to detail Excellent organization skills and ability to multi-task Preferred: Exposure to MLOps tooling or model deployment pipelines. Contributions to internal developer tooling, golden path standards, or SDLC process improvements. Experience with e-commerce platforms, product catalogs, or high-traffic consumer applications. Exposure to MLOps tooling or model deployment pipelines. Experience working in globally distributed teams. Track record of documenting architectural decisions, writing RFCs, or contributing to engineering wikis. Equipment Knowledge: Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) Experience with Google Business Suite (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms) preferred Experience Requirements: Generally requires a minimum of 10+ years of software engineering experience. Education Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field preferred, or a combination of education and equivalent work experience. Judgment/Reasoning Ability: Able to identify, troubleshoot and resolve problems quickly using sound judgment, poise and diplomacy. Ability to use judgment and reasoning skills, and determine when to escalate issues, as required, in a timely manner. Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the Team Member is regularly required to talk and hear. The Team Member is frequently required to sit, walk, climb stairs, use hands and fingers, bend, stoop and reach with hands and arms. Reaching above shoulder heights, below the waist or lifting as required to file documents or store materials throughout the work day. The Team Member may occasionally lift or move office products and supplies up to 25 pounds. Proper lifting techniques required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Work Environment: The noise in the work environment is usually moderate. Other factors are: Hectic, fast-paced with multi-level distractions Professional, yet casual work environment Office / Warehouse environment Ability to work extended hours as required #LI-JC1 The anticipated pay scale for this position can be found below, however the pay range applicable to you may vary by geographic location based on where the job is located or where you work. The final pay offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and years of experience within the job, the type of years and experience within the industry, education, etc. iHerb, LLC is a multi-state employer and this pay scale may not reflect positions that work in other states or locations. Employees (and their families) that meet eligibility criteria as outlined in applicable plan documents are eligible to participate in our medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance programs and may enroll in our company’s 401(k) plan. Employees will also be eligible for Time Off and Paid Sick Leave pursuant to the company’s policies. Employees will enjoy paid holidays throughout the calendar year. Eligibility requirements for these benefits will be controlled by applicable plan documents. Hired applicant may be awarded Restrict Stock Units and receive annual bonuses pursuant to eligibility and performance criteria defined in the respective plan documents and policies. For more information on iHerb benefits, visit us at iHerbBenefits.com. Anticipated Pay Scale: $187,000—$235,000 USD Staffing Agency Submission Notice iHerb does not accept unsolicited 3rd party ("Agency") candidates. If you are an Agency, please send any requests to be considered as a supplier in our Vendor Management System to staffingvendors@iherb.com. Do not contact iHerb employees directly. If requested to work on a role, any Agency candidates would be presented through the internal recruiting organization. About iHerb iHerb is on a mission to make health and wellness accessible to all. We offer Earth’s best-curated selection of health and wellness products, at the best possible value, delivered with the most convenient experience. We’re the world’s largest eCommerce platform dedicated to vitamins, minerals, and supplements, and other health and wellness products. For more than 25 years, we’ve been making it simple for people all over the world to purchase the highest quality products. From supplements to skincare to grocery items, we ship over 50,000 products, from over 1,800 brands direct to our customers in 180+ countries. Our vision is to become the #1 destination for health and wellness across the world. With a passion for wellness and a mind for innovative solutions, iHerb team members share a vision for a healthier world that drives them each day. Our 5 Shared Values unite our global team: Focus on the Customer · Empower Our People · Be Entrepreneurial & Pivot Quickly · Embrace Diversity & Inclusion · Strive for Simplicity iHerb Benefits At iHerb, we are dedicated to offering programs designed to help our employees and their families stay healthy, live well, and plan for their financial future. Built on a strong foundation, our programs provide options and upgrades with flexibility, protection, and security in mind. For the comprehensive benefits list, visit www.iHerbBenefits.com. For our international team members, you may be eligible for benefits depending on the country where you are employed. The Talent Acquisition Partner/local HR representative will go over the benefits you are eligible for. iHerb is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. iHerb provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment.