Senior AI Application Developer - Manufacturing

Location: Los Angeles, CA or Seattle WA.

Travel: Up to 30%

Position Summary:

The Senior AI Application Developer is responsible for designing, developing, deploying, and sustaining AI-enabled applications and workflows that improve decision-making and operational performance across two manufacturing divisions. This role is first and foremost an application development position, with a strong emphasis on applied AI, data, and full-stack development. The developer will build production-quality solutions using the PCC data and AI ecosystem, including Databricks, Python-based application frameworks, APIs, AI models, agents, and modern web technologies. Unlike a traditional centralized software development role, this position is expected to develop a strong understanding of the manufacturing environments it supports. The developer will spend time at manufacturing sites working directly with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering, Continuous Improvement, and other functional teams to understand processes, identify opportunities, validate solutions, and ensure applications work in the real operating environment. Travel of up to 30% is expected, particularly to build familiarity with manufacturing sites, processes, data, users, and business challenges across both divisions. The successful candidate will combine strong software engineering capabilities with curiosity about manufacturing and a practical, continuous-improvement mindset.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

AI Application Development

• Design, develop, test, deploy, and maintain AI-enabled applications and workflows supporting manufacturing and business operations.
• Build full-stack applications using Python, JavaScript, and frameworks such as Dash, Streamlit, React, Flask, or similar technologies.
• Develop applications using Databricks Apps and the broader enterprise data platform.
• Build AI agents and AI-assisted workflows that automate analysis, improve access to information, and support operational decision-making.
• Integrate REST APIs, model endpoints, enterprise data services, large language models, and other AI capabilities into production applications.
• Develop reusable application components, services, patterns, and templates that accelerate development across multiple sites and use cases.
• Write maintainable, documented, production-quality code using Git, testing, code review, and CI/CD practices.
• Monitor and improve application reliability, usability, performance, and maintainability.

Manufacturing and Business Partnership

• Work directly with manufacturing sites to understand business processes, operating challenges, data sources, and user requirements.
• Spend time on the shop floor with operators, supervisors, engineers, planners, quality personnel, and site leadership to understand how processes actually operate.
• Translate manufacturing and business problems into well-defined application and AI requirements.
• Identify opportunities where AI, analytics, automation, or improved access to data can materially improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, productivity, or decision-making.
• Validate application outputs against actual operating conditions rather than relying exclusively on system data or stated requirements.
• Participate in pilots, user testing, deployment, training, and adoption of new applications.

Product Ownership and Solution Delivery

• Own solutions through the complete application lifecycle, including discovery, requirements, architecture, development, testing, deployment, adoption, enhancement, and sustainment.
• Work with business stakeholders to define measurable success criteria before development begins.
• Balance rapid prototyping with appropriate production engineering practices based on the scale and criticality of the application.
• Develop intuitive tools that fit naturally into existing business and manufacturing workflows.
• Gather user feedback and translate it into prioritized application enhancements.
• Maintain appropriate application documentation, data definitions, testing, controls, and support processes.

Data and AI

• Work with manufacturing, ERP, supply chain, quality, and operational data to create AI-enabled applications and decision-support tools.
• Collaborate with data engineering, data science, IT, and business teams to access and operationalize required data.
• Integrate enterprise large language model and machine-learning capabilities into applications where they provide measurable value.
• Understand the limitations of AI-generated outputs and design appropriate validation, controls, human review, and escalation into applications.
• Support enterprise AI governance, security, permissions, auditability, and responsible-use requirements.

Experience and Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Five or more years of experience in software development, application engineering, full-stack development, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience developing and deploying production applications.
• Experience developing data-driven or AI-enabled applications strongly preferred.
• Experience working with manufacturing, industrial, supply chain, engineering, or operational environments preferred.
• Experience working directly with business users to translate operational requirements into software solutions.
• Ability to operate independently across multiple sites while maintaining common development standards.
• Strong product mindset with an emphasis on user adoption, maintainability, and measurable business outcomes.

Required Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency in Python.
• Working proficiency in JavaScript/TypeScript and modern web application development.
• Experience with frameworks such as Dash, Streamlit, Flask, FastAPI, React, Angular, Gradio, or similar.
• Experience developing applications on Databricks or comparable cloud/data platforms.
• Strong SQL skills and experience working with relational and analytical data.
• Understanding of REST APIs, application architecture, authentication, and system integration.
• Experience with Git, automated testing, CI/CD, and modern software-development practices.
• Practical understanding of generative AI, large language models, AI agents, model APIs, retrieval-based applications, and AI-enabled workflows.
• Experience integrating AI or machine-learning capabilities into user-facing applications.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure.

Preferred Skills

• Experience developing applications in an aerospace, industrial, or manufacturing environment.
• Familiarity with manufacturing systems and data, including ERP, MES, quality systems, planning systems, SPC, equipment, or other operational sources.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing or Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• Experience building applications used directly by manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, or operations teams.
• Familiarity with data engineering, dimensional/data modeling, and enterprise data architectures.

With more than 120 operations and approximately 20,000 employees worldwide, Precision Castparts Corp. is the market leader in manufacturing large, complex structural investment castings, airfoil castings, forged components, aerostructures and highly engineered, critical fasteners for aerospace applications. In addition, we are the leading producer of airfoil castings for the industrial gas turbine market. We also manufacture extruded seamless pipe, fittings, and forgings for power generation and oil & gas applications; commercial and military airframe aerostructures; and metal alloys and other materials for the casting and forging industries. With such critical applications, we insist on quality and dependability - not just in the materials and products we make, but in the people we recruit.

PCC is relentless in its dedication to being a high-quality, low-cost and on-time producer; delivering the highest value to its customers while continually pursuing strategic, profitable growth.

In 2016, Berkshire Hathaway, led by Chairman and CEO Warren E. Buffett, acquired Precision Castparts Corp.