> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/2618460-director-of-engineering-ai-platform](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/2618460-director-of-engineering-ai-platform). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Director of Engineering, AI Platform - **Company:** Asana - **Location:** San Francisco, CA, United States (Remote available) - **Experience:** Experienced - **Salary:** $306,000.0 - $360,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Asana, Software Engineering, AI Infrastructure, AI Platforms - **Published:** August 3, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=a929cf25e8174aaf ## About the Role * 12+ years of software engineering experience with 5+ years of engineering leadership, including 2+ years managing engineering managers. You've built organizations, not just teams: you've hired and developed managers, restructured when the mission changed, and held a bar for both. * Proven track record of using AI tools daily, with deep expertise in serving architectures, inference providers, agentic frameworks, RAG architectures, and scale evaluation systems. * Proven experience optimizing infrastructure costs and unit economics at scale with concrete metrics and clear trade-offs. * Platform mindset centered on earning trust, establishing clear standards, providing responsive support, and using data to guide team priorities. * Skilled asynchronous communicator with experience leading distributed teams across time zones using strategy docs and decision memos. * Adaptable decision-maker who takes clear, evidence-based positions but pivots quickly as new data emerges. At Asana, we're committed to building teams that include a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills, as this is critical to helping us achieve our mission. If you're interested in this role and don't meet every listed requirement, we still encourage you to apply. ## Description * Drive Strategy & Execution Across the AI Teammates Pillar: Lead the multi-year vision and technical strategy for Asana's AI platform, covering retrieval and agent context, model serving and inference, model portfolio strategy, and evaluation systems. * Optimize AI Infrastructure Costs: Own cost-per-execution as a primary engineering metric, managing model selection, routing, open-weight versus frontier trade-offs, inference optimization, caching, and prompt efficiency to protect product margins at scale. * Establish AI Evaluation Frameworks: Establish evaluation frameworks, regression prevention, and performance standards that product teams can rely on out of the box, making quality, cost, and latency measurable defaults. * Lead and Mentor Teams: Lead and mentor managers and their teams across San Francisco and New York City, building autonomous owners, recruiting top talent, and maintaining high execution standards. * Manage Model Strategy: Evaluate when to adopt frontier models versus open-weight models and structure provider relationships to prevent vendor lock-in. * Architectural Leadership: Pressure-test architectural decisions, arbitrate build-versus-buy debates with data, and act as the trusted technical authority for AI infrastructure accuracy across the company. * Drive Cross-Functional Partnerships: Partner cross-functionally with product, go-to-market, and finance leaders to tie platform investments directly to business performance, unit margins, and enterprise trust. ## Related Videos - [This App Reached 10,000 Users in One Week. Here's How.](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100329-this-app-reached-10-000-users-in-one-week-here-s-how) - [A Founder's Journey : From Startup Chaos to Purposeful Growth](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1926-a-founder-s-journey-from-startup-chaos-to-purposeful-growth) - [Building the Nervous System of AI - Michael Kagan (NVIDIA)](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2133-building-the-nervous-system-of-ai-michael-kagan-nvidia) - [The New Org Chart: When AI Joins the Workforce](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100036-the-new-org-chart-when-ai-joins-the-workforce) - [AI-Augmented DevOps with Platform Engineering](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1614-ai-augmented-devops-with-platform-engineering) - [From AI Assistance to Agentic Systems: Scaling Sovereign AI in Banking](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100070-from-ai-assistance-to-agentic-systems-scaling-sovereign-ai-in-banking) ## Related Articles - [Navigating the AI Shift](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/629-navigating-the-ai-shift) - [How to Become an AI Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/331-how-to-become-an-ai-engineer) - [What is Software Engineering in the Age of AI?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/640-what-is-software-engineering-in-the-age-of-ai) - [Coffee with Developers - Maria Apazoglou - Making AI understandable for all in production](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/475-coffee-with-developers-maria-apazoglou-making-ai-understandable-for-all-in-production) - [What is Agentic Programming and Why Should Developers Care?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/625-what-is-agentic-programming-and-why-should-developers-care) - [Stephan Gillich - Bringing AI Everywhere](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/489-stephan-gillich-bringing-ai-everywhere)