Hybrid role in Calabasas, California for a mid-level AI Product Engineer. PlanetArt focuses on personalized and make-on-demand products. The role involves building AI-powered internal tools and automations to improve company workflows.
Skills / Requirements
- AI Fluency
- AI-assisted Development
- ChatGPT
- Claude Code
- Codex
- Cursor
- Full-stack Development
- JavaScript
- LLM Workflows
- Next.js
- Product Improvements
- Prompt Engineering
- Prototyping
- Python
- React
- Technical Communication
- TypeScript
- User Feedback
- UX Design
- Vibe Coding
Why Apply
This role is ideal for someone skilled in AI-assisted development tools like Cursor, Claude Code, and ChatGPT. You'll use these technologies to rapidly prototype and iterate on internal tools, making it perfect for a vibe coder.
What You'll Be Doing
You'll work closely with internal users to identify workflow issues and develop AI-powered tools to address them. This involves rapid prototyping, user feedback integration, and continuous iteration to refine tools and processes.
Working in Calabasas, California
- Calabasas offers a suburban lifestyle with proximity to Los Angeles, providing access to a large tech job market.
- The area is known for its scenic beauty and outdoor activities, appealing to those who enjoy nature.
- Calabasas has a reputation for safety and a family-friendly environment, making it attractive for professionals with families.
- Commuting to Los Angeles is feasible, offering a balance between suburban tranquility and city opportunities.
Pay and Career Growth
The role offers a competitive salary range of $110,000 - $130,000, with a comprehensive benefits package. The hybrid model provides flexibility, while the focus on AI tools offers a chance to enhance your expertise in emerging technologies.
Benefits and Perks
- competitive salary
- Comprehensive Benefits
- Hybrid work model
- Professional Development
Is This Role Right for You?
Good fit if you...
- You have a strong portfolio showcasing AI-powered tools and prototypes.
- You thrive in environments where you can rapidly prototype and iterate using AI tools.
- You have experience working directly with non-technical users to gather feedback and improve products.
May not be for you if...
- You lack experience with AI-assisted development tools like ChatGPT or Codex.
- You prefer working in a fully remote setup without any on-site days.
- You struggle with rapid iteration and feedback-driven development.
Original Job Description
Description
Company and Vision
PlanetArt’s vision is to be the leading seller of personalized and make-on-demand products worldwide. We provide consumers with unmatched tools and content and an unparalleled end-to-end customer experience that result in high-quality, meaningful finished products and memorable celebrations of life events.
The company’s brands include the popular FreePrints and FreePrints Photobooks apps and the industry leading Simplytolmpress card and stationery site, as well as Personal Creations, Cafe Press and ISeeMe! Visit planetart.com to learn more about our brands.
We have more than 500 team members across multiple offices, primarily in Calabasas CA, San Diego CA, Woodridge IL, Minneapolis, MN and Pleasanton, CA. We also have team members in two company-owned offices in China, as well as in Europe.
Job Overview
PlanetArt is seeking an AI Product Engineer, Internal Tools to help build the next generation of AI-powered internal tools, prototypes, automations, and workflows across the company.
This is a hands-on builder role working directly with the Head of AI, engineering team members, and business departments across PlanetArt. The ideal candidate is a highly effective AI-native builder who can use tools like Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT, and other modern AI development workflows to quickly turn ambiguous business problems into useful software.
This role is not just about taking requests and building exactly what was asked for. We are looking for someone who can work directly with internal users, understand the real workflow problem, ask sharp questions, prototype quickly, translate feedback into better tools, and know when to simplify, iterate, or push back. Strong UX instincts, technical judgment, communication skills, and a high-agency mindset are essential.
IMPORTANT: A public portfolio is required. Candidates must include links to publicly reviewable portfolio work, such as live apps, websites, GitHub repositories, demos, case studies, or shipped tools. Applications that do not include portfolio links will not be considered.
PLEASE NOTE: Candidates must be local to or willing to relocate to the Calabasas area as we operate on a hybrid work model (3 days onsite, 2 remote).
What You’ll Do
Key Responsibilities
Build AI-powered internal tools, prototypes, dashboards, automations, and workflow applications for teams across PlanetArt
Work directly with departments and internal users to understand pain points, observe workflows, gather feedback, and translate needs into practical software solutions
Use AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT, and similar platforms to rapidly prototype and iterate
Partner closely with the Head of AI and a small team of software engineers to identify high-impact opportunities for internal tooling and AI enablement
Create functional prototypes quickly, validate them with users, and refine them based on real feedback and usage
Design and improve prompts, prompt chains, structured outputs, agent workflows, and AI-assisted processes for internal business use cases
Build lightweight full-stack applications, scripts, integrations, and automations using modern web and AI development tools
Balance speed with quality by knowing when a prototype is good enough, when it needs hardening, and when engineering support is required
Translate vague or incomplete stakeholder requests into clear requirements, user flows, acceptance criteria, and implementation plans
Improve user experience through thoughtful workflow design, clear interface choices, concise copy, and practical usability improvements
Document tools, workflows, prompts, assumptions, and handoff notes so internal teams and developers can understand and maintain what was built
Stay current with emerging AI coding tools, prototyping platforms, LLM capabilities, and applied AI workflows
What You Should Have
Skills, Qualifications, and Requirements
Publicly reviewable portfolio work is required; applications without portfolio links will not be considered
Demonstrated ability to build and ship functional apps, websites, prototypes, automations, or internal tools
Strong hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, v0, or similar tools
Practical full-stack development ability, especially with modern web technologies such as JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Next.js, Python, APIs, databases, or similar tools
Strong prompt engineering skills, including the ability to design, test, refine, and document prompts for real business workflows
Ability to work directly with non-technical users, gather feedback, identify the real problem, and convert that feedback into product improvements
Strong UX and product instincts, with the ability to make tools simple, useful, and easy for internal teams to adopt
Technical judgment to review AI-generated code, debug issues, avoid fragile implementations, and escalate appropriately when production engineering support is needed
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with technical and non-technical audiences
High agency, strong ownership, and comfort operating in ambiguity
Ability to manage multiple small projects, prioritize high-impact work, and move quickly without losing sight of quality
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Human-Computer Interaction, Design, Analytics, or a related field preferred; equivalent practical experience and exceptional portfolio work will be considered
Portfolio Requirement
A strong candidate portfolio may include:
Live apps, websites, or internal-tool-style projects with meaningful functionality
GitHub repositories showing code quality, iteration history, and technical decision-making
AI-powered tools, LLM workflows, prompt systems, automations, or agent-based applications
Case studies showing how user feedback was translated into product changes
Examples of rapid prototypes that solved real business, workflow, operational, creative, or ecommerce problems
Projects with real UX depth, not just landing pages, toy demos, or tutorial clones
Candidates should be prepared to walk through their portfolio, explain what they built, what tools they used, what tradeoffs they made, and how they improved the work based on feedback.
Bonus Qualifications
Experience building internal tools for business operations, ecommerce, marketing, creative, customer service, analytics, or product teams
Experience with AI-assisted product development workflows, rapid prototyping, and vibe coding methodologies
Experience with LLM APIs such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, or similar platforms
Familiarity with structured outputs, RAG, vector databases, embeddings, evals, AI agents, or tool-calling workflows
Experience with low-code or rapid development platforms such as Retool, Supabase, Firebase, Vercel, Airtable, n8n, Zapier, Make, or similar tools
Experience designing simple interfaces, workflows, or prototypes in Figma or similar tools
Experience working with ecommerce, consumer products, personalization, creative production, or make-on-demand businesses
Experience collaborating with software engineers and preparing prototypes for production handoff
What You Can Expect
Working Conditions
Work is performed in an office environment with low to moderate noise levels.
Occasional lifting of up to 20 pounds.
Position requires regular, continuous use of computer.
Position requires regular sitting and standing.
Position requires regular interaction with team members through the following methods: in-person, phone, Zoom, or email.
May require occasional travel.
This is a hybrid position; employees are expected to be in the office three days per week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) with the option of working remotely two days (Wednesday and Friday).
The compensation range for this position is $110,000 – $130,000 annual salary.
PlanetArt offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:
Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
401(k) with matching
Pet Insurance
Mental Health Benefits
Comprehensive Time Off Program, including Vacation, Sick Days, Paid Holidays, and Floating Holidays
Employee Product Discounts