AI Innovation Engineer

As AI Innovation Engineer at 829, you'll work across the organization — partnering with VPs, directors, sales leadership, and subject matter experts — to drive operational excellence through AI-native tools and workflows. Your work directly impacts the team's ability to deliver cutting-edge services to clients, building technology with real impact internally and externally.

** This is not a traditional AI strategy role. ** You'll write Python, build agentic workflows, ship MCP integrations, and use coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) as daily workflow. We're hiring a builder/coach who ships production AI work and earns adoption from subject matter experts. We are not hiring a strategist who delegates implementation, an AI evangelist without an operating record, or a researcher whose work doesn't practically reach the operating teams that need it.

This is a foundational role reporting directly to the President/COO. You'll have autonomy on execution, ownership of 829's AI stack and skill library, and workflow architecture. You must be comfortable being scrappy, resourceful, and hands-on, while also operating cross-functionally to influence the broader organization.

What Success Looks Like

6 Months:

- You’ve established a draft playbook around agentic workflow development inclusive of testing, implementation and adoption.

- You’ve successfully crafted 3 - 5 workflows that have met adoption criteria.

- You are able to quantify the success of 1 - 2 workflows through quantitative and qualitative data.

- You have crafted a system to catalogue workflows, skills, and AI tools that enables shorter time-to-value and reduces sprawl.

- Your peers, colleagues and 829’s Leadership Team regularly seek your counsel in relation to AI Service Enablement.

12 Months:

- You have a pressure-tested playbook that details the agentic workflow implementation process and ongoing management.

- You have established a framework for evaluating the performance of workflows.

- You have integrated multiple workflows into a custom frontend in coordination with 829’s Head of Apollo and Engineering Resources.

- You have supported the growth of the innovation function as a center of excellence and / or an extension of 829’s Data Platform, Apollo.

Responsibilities and Duties

Workflow & Agentic Engineering (60%)

Architect and build proprietary AI agents and automation workflows. Using company-specific data to drive defensible competitive advantage.

- Playbook: Develop and manage a playbook that includes discovery, pilot, improvement, implementation, adoption and measurement phases to execute work.

- Pilots & Proof of Concept: Lead pilots across multiple disciplines to test approaches and technology, using results to inform production workflows and gain buy-in.

- Integrations & Data Pipelines: Develop and maintain integrations between AI tools and core business systems and advertising platforms, including API builds, validation frameworks, and data pipelines.

- SME Collaboration: Collaborate closely with subject matter experts to ensure solutions and workflows deliver value, enable team members to produce their best work, are usable, and access that appropriate data.

- Leadership Collaboration: Collaborate with senior leaders to ensure that workflows accomplish desired strategic and quality objectives.

- Adoption & Enablement: Ensure that workflows and systems are consistently improved and adopted through systems and cadences that check outputs, measure progress towards goals, and revisit training and adoption mechanisms.

AI Stack Curation / Governance / Documentation (15%)

Own the substrate of 829’s AI Innovation Initiatives.

- AI Stack Documentation: Build and maintain 829's AI stack — tool inventory, vendor strategy, build-vs-buy posture, integration map, and shared-context architecture.

- Skill Library: Develop reusable patterns, agentic workflows, and MCP integrations that provide strategic value and compound across workflows.

- Build vs. Buy: Consult on agency decisions to build workflows and tools vs. buy point solutions to achieve objectives.

General Enablement & Service-Model Translation (25%)

Guide and advise a technically competent team of marketing professionals to achieve shared objectives.

- Internal Enablement: Run lightweight internal training, Office Hours, and troubleshooting clinics to upskill team members on AI-augmented work.

- Service-Model Translation: Advise/consult on revised service-model artifacts: scope-of-work content, pricing implications, policies, and marketing collateral.

- Compliance & AI Policy: Advise and actively contribute to AI policies designed to encourage and enable use, establish SOPs, and mitigate risk to clients, staff, and the business.

Qualifications and Skills

Must Haves:

- 5+ years of professional experience with at least 2 years of exposure in the marketing / agency space.

- Engineering foundation strong enough to evaluate tools, build agentic workflows, ship MCP integrations, and use coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) as daily workflow.

- Working knowledge of security and performance best practices in traditional software and agentic environments.

- Hands-on fluency with Python and at least one of TypeScript, SQL, or relevant scripting environments.

- Systems thinking: ability to map a business workflow end-to-end and identify where AI creates leverage

- Comfort with ambiguity; you diagnose problems, propose solutions, and move without being told exactly what to build

- Demonstrated track record of shipping production AI work that earned adoption — used, not demoed-and-shelved.

- Strong written and verbal communication; can explain technical architecture to a non-technical executive and translate strategic intent into a shipped workflow.

- Demonstrated success in influence-without-authority scenarios in which your work has driven outcomes.

Nice to Haves:

- Experience with React/Node and custom front-end applications.

- Understanding of common paid, earned and owned media tools and systems.

- Familiarity with data-warehouse infrastructure (BigQuery, DBT, DLT & GCP).

- Public track record of shipped AI work - open-source contributions, technical writing, or production case studies.

Benefits and Perks We Provide

- Remote Workplace. You have the option to work at our office in Boston or remotely in one of these states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, ID, IL, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, SC, OH, OK, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VA.

- Paid Time Off. Receive generous paid vacation benefits that increase each year you’re with us, 12 Company Holidays, and Summer Fridays from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

- 401K + Match. 401K plan with 4% Safe Harbor employer match after one year of employment and financial literacy services provided through our retirement provider.

- Life Insurance Benefit. No-cost coverage to ensure peace of mind for your family.

- Short Term Disability Benefit. We've got you covered if you need to be OOO with an illness or injury that keeps you out of work.

- Healthcare. Choose from several competitive healthcare plans for you and your family with 80% employer coverage for all medical and dental premiums, 100% employer coverage for vision, and the option to participate in the FSA program.

- Commuter Benefits. Allocate pre-tax funds towards your commute to save up to 40% per year in transportation expenses.

- Continuing Education. Access to monthly team-led webinars, exclusive 829-cohort based learning, digital course platforms, and funding opportunities to attend national conferences and events.

What We Believe

At 829 Studios, we boldly embrace diversity, inclusivity, and equal opportunity. Our goal: a team rich in backgrounds, perspectives, and talents. Why? Because inclusivity powers our brilliance and client success. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, religion, creed, color, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, disability, mental illness, age, ancestry, genetic information, military service, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws.

Who We Are

829 Studios is a Boston-based integrated digital marketing agency with a mission to propel organizations to unlock their full potential and accomplish their most ambitious goals. We harness the power of logic with magic – a balance of data-driven strategy and brand-focused creative. We partner with diverse organizations across various industries and our client list encompasses venture-backed start-ups, publicly traded companies, non-profits, and more. By committing not only to our growth as a company, but the development of our employees and teams’, we have created a collaborative environment that fosters ingenuity and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging values within our community. 829 has been recognized as one of the nation’s top agencies by the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Privately Held Companies, Adweek 100 Fastest-Growing Digital Agencies, Boston Business Journal's Fast 50 (Massachusetts' 50 Fastest-Growing Private Companies), HubSpot's Top Digital Agencies list, and a we are and employee-certified Great Place to Work six years in a row.

Salary Range: $110,000 - $135,000

We determine compensation based on experience, demonstrated skills, and current market conditions at the time of hire to ensure fairness and consistency across roles. Actual compensation will depend on experience and may be adjusted based on skills, qualifications, and alignment with the scope and impact of the role.