AI Engineer - Croatia

Space Inch is on a new mission, and we’re looking for AI experts and enthusiasts to join us!

We’re building the next generation of B2B AI experiences, and we need an AI engineer to build, own, and operate production-ready LLM-powered services end-to-end. You will build and operate fast, reliable AI systems that power core platform features, enabling accurate, data-grounded recommendations and intelligent workflows with production-grade performance and reliability at scale.

We’re expanding our team and bringing on multiple teammates to contribute across multiple projects built on this stack.

Our Mission, Vision, and Values

At Space Inch, we prioritize alignment with our clients and team, ensuring a deep understanding of their needs. We are committed to delivering exceptional work while supporting the personal and professional growth of our team members. Every team member has access to an executive coach as part of this commitment.

About working at Space Inch

• Our team (70+ people) is primarily based in Croatia, with members in South America, Serbia, and the US. While focus is on working remotely, we do have an office in Zagreb for those who prefer a hybrid approach and are located nearby.
• Occasional travel may be required, including annual company retreats in Croatia.
• We work on end-to-end projects with long-term vision
• We strongly support work/life balance for our team members

Requirements

Our ideal candidate's core tech stack:

• Languages & APIs: Python (FastAPI), TypeScript (Node/Nest BFF), REST/GraphQL, WebSocket/SSE
• Python + FastAPI production experience (async, dependency injection, testing).
• Comfortable integrating with TypeScript/Node
• Built APIs with REST/GraphQL and at least one streaming pattern (SSE/WebSocket).
• LLM & RAG: embedding stores (pgvector / OpenSearch / etc), chunking strategies, re-rank, hybrid search; prompt tooling & templates; guardrails
• Observability & quality: structured logging, tracing, metrics; experiment/eval tooling (e.g., Langfuse-style telemetry), offline/online A/Bs
• Data & pipelines: robust CSV/Sheets ingestion, schema validation, PII handling, backfills, scheduled jobs
• Agentic experience (not day-one usage): familiarity with MCP and agent frameworks, tool design, constrained execution, and safe planning, so you can leverage them when they’re the right fit
• Can work effectively in CET timezone

Nice to have

• LLM serving optimization (vLLM, TensorRT-LLM), quantization/LoRA know-how
• Retrieval eval frameworks, cross-encoder rerankers, response grading
• Experience with cost controls, token budgeting, and prompt compression
• Serving & infra: Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD; model gateways (e.g., LiteLLM/vLLM) and caching; object storage (S3-compatible); message bus (Kafka or equivalent)
• Security & privacy: tenant-aware access controls, secrets management, audit logs, privacy and safety red-teaming basics

Qualifications

• 4-6+ years software engineering (product environments), ideally with hands-on experience in shipping LLM/GenAI to production
• Proven track record owning services end-to-end (design, implementation, rollout, monitoring, and iteration)
• Clear writing, pragmatic decision-making, and comfort collaborating with Mobile, Backend, and Ops (Dev/LLM)
• Experience with technologies

Qualities for success

• Proactive, solutions-driven mindset
• Strong attention to detail and code quality
• Comfortable making technical decisions independently
• Passion for learning and improving
• Ownership mentality, i. e. you care about the end product

Benefits

• Monthly salary: 4.400,00-5.850,00 EUR gross 1, based on experience and skills
• Remote-first setup with optional use of our Zagreb office
• Stay active: Multisport card or wellness subsidy
• Health & Wellbeing: 100% paid sick leave + annual health checkups
• Extra perks: Christmas bonus and referral bonus
• Grow with us: Education budget to fuel learning and professional development

Space Inch is not responsible for any job boards scraping this ad without showing the position as remote, but Croatia exclusive. Applicants from other countries will not be considered.

Space Inch is committed to providing an environment of equal employment opportunity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

This commitment extends to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, and termination. Space Inch believes in treating all employees and applicants with respect and dignity, fostering a workplace where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.