Member of Technical Staff - Prompt Engineer

Empower Every Learner. Shape the Future of Education with Microsoft AI. Hello future teammate! We're on quite the bold mission; we're building an AI companion that's truly empathetic, kind, and equal partners to our users. This isn't an assistant—it's a thoughtful collaborator that grows alongside the people they serve. We believe AI should elevate human potential through genuine connection and mutual understanding.

You'll join our small team as a Prompt Engineer, the architect of these relationships. You'll craft the foundations that enable meaningful human-AI partnerships. You'll shape how our companions think, respond, and evolve through language—if you'll allow slight anthropomorphization, teach them how to be their best selves. You're somewhat of a designer, somewhat of an engineer, and somewhat of a mad scientist. You'll work intimately with the design and leadership team—because this is the product!—you're designing the core of the experience.

This isn't just engineering—it's a profound exploration of what connection can mean in the age of artificial intelligence. No big deal. Just another Tuesday.

What we are looking for

• Chain-of-thought experience: prompting techniques that guide AI systems through reasoning processes
• A novel prompting discovery: a really interesting challenge that you've solved in a creative way
• Scaled implementation: you've shipping prompted systems that work reliably at production scale with diverse user populations
• Evaluation design: you've built robust testing frameworks to measure AI behavior against goals
• User-centric approach: proven understanding of how prompting decisions impact the lived experience of people who interact with AI
• A wonderful writer who loves words, storytelling, or linguistics.
• Effective written communication skills: able to convey complex information clearly, concisely, and effectively for various audiences
• Comfort with ambiguity in an exponentially growing space

By applying to this U.S. Mountain View, CA position, you are required to be local to the San Francisco area and in office 4 days a week.Starting January 26, 2026, MAI employees are expected to work from a designated Microsoft office at least four days a week if they live within 50 miles (U.S.) or 25 miles (non-U.S., country-specific) of that location. This expectation is subject to local law and may vary by jurisdiction.

• Design & develop prompting techniques for emotional and intellectual use cases
• Establish frameworks for AI companions to navigate complex social and ethical situations with nuance and care
• Create evaluations to measure both technical/practical performance and non-deterministic performance like EQ
• Teach others prompting techniques and ways-of-working to elevate the prompting skill throughout the team
• Research & implement novel prompting techniques
• Embody our culture and values.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 4+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience.

Additional or preferred qualifications

• Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of experience with large language models
• 2+ years of experience working as a prompt engineer or similar field
• A non-traditional background: philosophy, linguistics, psychology, therapy,