Innovation Engineer
Mill Valley, CA
Technology /
Full-Time /
Remote
At Yardzen, we believe people are at their best when they’re outside.
Our mission is simple: help people envision the outdoor spaces of their dreams, entirely online, and connect them with trusted local contractors to bring those designs to life. Since our launch in 2018, we’ve empowered thousands of homeowners to transform their outdoor spaces, make sustainable choices, enhance property value, and enjoy life outdoors.
We’re transforming the $200 billion outdoor renovation industry with AI, data, and technology—offering a modern, seamless, and transparent design-build experience. Recognized as a Fast Company Most Innovative Company and named to Inc. Magazine’s Best Places to Work, our work has been featured in Architectural Digest, The New York Times, Sunset Magazine, House Beautiful, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. And we’re just getting started.
Yardzen is hiring an Innovation Engineer to push the boundaries of what's possible at the intersection of software, AI, and user experience. This is a high-impact role for a bold, entrepreneurial engineer who thrives on solving complex challenges, building innovative tools, and exploring new technologies to drive business results. You'll combine strong product-minded engineering skills with a passion for emerging tech—especially AI—to shape our product experience and internal workflows.
While this role requires technical fluency across the stack, we’re especially excited about engineers with a deep empathy for users and a sharp eye for product design and front-end experience.
This is both a builder and a strategic thought partner role. You’ll contribute production-ready code, prototype new features, and lead initiatives that bring scalable, AI-enhanced experiences to life for our clients and teams. You’ll work closely with Product, Design, Engineering, and business leaders to identify high-leverage opportunities and turn them into real, usable solutions.
What You’ll Do:
- Build and Scale Innovative Tools: Lead development of novel, high-impact product features and internal tools that improve client experience, design workflows, and operational efficiency.
- Drive AI-Powered Solutions: Prototype and deploy solutions leveraging LLMs, computer vision, and recommendation strategies to solve key product and business challenges.
- Own from 0→1: Identify opportunities, define requirements, prototype rapidly, and ship iteratively—balancing technical depth with speed to impact.
- Elevate Engineering Practices: Champion scalable architecture, clean code, testing best practices, and developer efficiency, including incorporating AI-assisted development tools.
- Mentor & Uplevel the Team: Serve as a technical mentor and thought leader, fostering a culture of experimentation, learning, and continuous improvement.
- Set Strategy: Help shape Yardzen’s long-term technical strategy and AI roadmap in alignment with business goals and product vision.
Qualifications:
- 7+ years of software engineering experience, including full-stack development.
- Proven success in building and deploying innovative, high-impact features in production environments.
- Strong technical foundation in modern web and mobile technologies and frameworks (e.g., React, Node.js, Python, Ruby/Rails).
- Hands-on experience and deep interest in AI technologies, including LLMs, computer vision, or recommendation systems.
- Track record of working through ambiguity and independently leading projects from concept to delivery.
- A user-centric mindset with deep empathy for end users and an eye for delightful, intuitive UX.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills—you can translate complex technical ideas into plain language for non-technical stakeholders.
- Experience driving architectural decisions, mentoring engineers, and improving dev workflows.
- Curiosity, grit, and a continuous learning mindset—you’re excited by the unknown and driven to figure things out.
Nice To Have:
- Experience with AI/ML frameworks like PyTorch, TensorFlow, or OpenAI APIs.
- Familiarity with MLOps, model deployment, and monitoring best practices.
- Mobile development experience (e.g., React Native, Flutter, or native iOS/Android frameworks).
- Previous experience in a consumer-facing tech company, marketplace, or design/build industry.
- Passion for home design, architecture, or outdoor spaces.
Our Stack:
- React / Next.js
- Node.js / NestJS
- Postgres / Prisma
- AI models and APIs including OpenAI, Claude, and open-source LLMs
What We Offer:
- Remote work, always: We're a remote-first company
- Full coverage for you: 100% paid medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Competitive compensation: Salary that matches your skills and experience
- Support for growing families: 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave
- Monthly perks: Wellness, cell phone, and internet stipends to keep you connected and cared for
$150,000 - $180,000 a year
The posted salary range reflects the target range for this role and is based on factors such as location, experience, and skills. Final compensation may vary depending on individual qualifications and geographic market.
At Yardzen, we’re committed to creating a space where our employees can bring their full selves to work and have equal opportunities to succeed. We are looking for people that will add to our culture, not just fit in. So regardless of race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, origin, ability, age, or veteran status, if joining this mission speaks to you, we encourage you to apply!
If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation as part of the application or the recruiting process, please contact us at recruiting@yardzen.com.
Yardzen is registered as an employer in many, but not all, states. If you are not located in a state where Yardzen is registered, you will not be eligible for employment.
