An AI engineer builds product features on top of large language models and other machine learning services. They connect models to your data, design prompts and retrieval, build agents and evaluation pipelines, and get AI features from a demo to something customers can rely on.
A great AI Engineer does not just complete tasks. They own a function that directly frees you to grow. Here is what that looks like in a scaling business:
01Build LLM features, agents and retrieval (RAG) pipelines into your product
02Connect models from OpenAI, Anthropic and open-source providers to your data and APIs
03Write evaluation sets and tests so you know whether a change made the AI better or worse
04Control latency and model costs as usage grows
05Work with product to decide where AI actually helps users, and where it does not
How this hire moves your business forward: Most AI features stall between a promising demo and a dependable product. An AI engineer closes that gap, so the features your sales team is promising actually ship and keep working.
Why LatAm
Why LatAm Produces Great AI Engineers.
LatAm has a deep bench of strong backend and data engineers, and many have spent the last two years building LLM features for US startups. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico all have active AI communities and engineers with production Python experience.
The timezone overlap with the US is strong. LatAm professionals work within 1 to 3 hours of US Eastern time, so there is no async lag, no late-night handoffs, and no communication gap.
Skills & tools
Know What a Great AI Engineer Actually Brings to the Table.
Beyond the resume, here are the skills, tools, and traits that separate strong performers from strong interviewers.
Hard Skills
Python and TypeScript
LLM APIs, prompting and tool use
Retrieval (RAG) and vector search
Evaluation and testing of model output
Backend APIs and data pipelines
Common Tools
OpenAI / Anthropic APIs
LangChain / LlamaIndex
pgvector / Pinecone / Weaviate
AWS / GCP / Azure
Docker and CI/CD
Soft Skills & Traits
Measures results instead of trusting demos
Explains model limits plainly to non-engineers
Product sense for where AI helps users
Comfortable with fast-changing tools
Writes things down
Compensation
AI Engineer Salary: US vs Latin America.
Based on Sur market data and regional benchmarks. Figures reflect total cash compensation.
Seniority
US Annual
LatAm Annual
You Save
Entry
$125,000
$52,800
$72,200 / yr
Mid level
$170,000
$72,000
$98,000 / yr
Senior
$220,000
$93,600
$126,400 / yr
Spot the right hire
What to Look For, and What to Watch Out For.
Green Flags
Can show an AI feature they shipped to real users and how they measured it
Talks about evaluation and failure cases before you ask
Has solid software engineering habits, not only notebooks
Knows when a simple rule beats a model
Red Flags
Only prototypes and hackathon demos, nothing in production
Cannot explain how they would test whether a prompt change helped
Reaches for fine-tuning or agents before trying something simpler
Our process
Our Process for This Role.
We do not post and wait. Every AI Engineer search we run is built from scratch around your business, your stage, your team, and your goals. And at every step, we are thinking about how this hire helps you grow.
1
Onboarding Call
We start by understanding what you actually need.
2
Role Scoping and Assessment Design
We build a precise role profile and design the custom skills assessment before we search for anyone.
3
Sourcing
We source actively across LatAm and the Caribbean and through our network.
4
Prescreening and Phone Screen
Every candidate is internally screened then put through an English phone screen.
5
Your Shortlist
3 to 5 candidates delivered early in the process with background, audio clip, and our team's recommendation.
6
Skills Assessment
Shortlisted candidates take a custom assessment built to replicate the actual work of the role.
7
Hire and Guarantee
We support the offer, help structure compensation for retention, and back every placement with a 90-day guarantee.
Most placements are made within 21 days of the onboarding call.
Most LatAm professionals work within 1 to 3 hours of US Eastern time.
All Sur placements speak fluent English. We screen for language ability on every search.
Around $72,000 a year at mid level, compared with about $170,000 in the US. Senior hires run around $93,600.
A machine learning engineer usually trains and deploys models. An AI engineer usually builds product features on top of existing models, using prompts, retrieval, agents and evaluation. Many teams need the AI engineer first.
Yes. Agent work is mostly software engineering: tool definitions, state, error handling and evaluation. We screen for engineers who have shipped agent or LLM features to real users.
If your hire does not work out within the first 90 days for any reason, we replace them at no additional cost.
Ready to Hire an AI Engineer Who Actually Moves the Needle?
Let us design the role together and find you the right person from LatAm.