Lead People Systems Engineer

At Klaviyo we value the unique backgrounds experiences and perspectives each Klaviyo (we call ourselves Klaviyos) brings to our workplace each and every day. We believe everyone deserves a fair shot at success and appreciate the experiences each person brings beyond the traditional job requirements. If youre a close but not exact match with the description we hope youll still consider applying. Want to learn more about life at Klaviyo Visit see how we empower creators to own their own destiny.

Klaviyo is building an AI-first companyand that starts with how we support and scale our people.

Were looking for a Lead People Technology Engineer to be the first dedicated AI engineer within our People Technology (KPPL) team. As an early leader in this space youll reimagine how our People teams operate in an AI-first world by shaping our architecture standards and long-term vision.

Youll partner across People Operations Talent Acquisition Talent and Finance to design and build intelligent systems that transform how we hire develop retain and support Klaviyos globally. This role is not just about applying AI its about defining how AI becomes embedded into the employee lifecycle at Klaviyo.

What Youll Be Doing

AI-First People Systems & Architecture

• Reimagine core People workflows (recruiting onboarding performance daily tasks) through an AI-first lens not just incremental automation
• Design and build AI-powered workflows copilots and agents that automate and augment People processes across the employee lifecycle
• Architect and implement systems that integrate across SaaS such as Workday Greenhouse Sana and internal Klaviyo platforms
• Partner with our internal IT AI team and establish best practices for:
• Prompt engineering and evaluation
• LLM system design and orchestration
• Versioning testing security and observability of AI systems
• Enable AI Use Cases (copilots assistants automated workflows) that drive faster execution and better decision-making for People teams
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business problems into scalable AI solutions

Driving an AI-First Operating Model

• Identify high-leverage opportunities to replace manual workflows with AI-native solutions
• Define and track success metrics tied to efficiency gains time savings and operational effectiveness
• Help the People organization shift toward AI-augmented ways of working
• Act as a thought partner to People leadership on whats possible with AI not just whats requested

• Responsible AI Privacy & Governance: Design systems that handle sensitive employee data with security privacy and trust at the core
• Partner with Security Legal and Global IT to ensure compliant and ethical AI deployment

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Enablement

• Work closely with Security IT and GTM Systems to align on shared AI infrastructure and standards
• Contribute to and adopt company-wide AI patterns tooling and best practices
• Enable People teams to leverage AI by building:
• Reusable frameworks and workflows
• Playbooks and training materials
• Help non-technical stakeholders confidently use and iterate on AI-powered tools

Technical Leadership

• Advocate for scalable well-governed AI systems that integrate cleanly into Klaviyos broader tech ecosystem
• Act as a key voice in shaping how Klaviyo becomes AI-first internally starting with People systems

What Makes You a Great Fit

• Passion and Curiosity to experiment and reimagine People workflows
• 7 years of engineering or data engineering experience with 2 years building AI/ML or LLM-powered delivering tangible business outcomes
• Proven ability to set technical direction and build 01 systems with meaningful organizational impact
• Strong experience with but not limited to:
• Python SQL and modern APIs
• LLM platforms (OpenAI Claude Gemini etc.)
• LangChain and LangGraph
• Designing AI-powered workflows agents or copilots
• Experience integrating with enterprise SaaS systems (HRIS ATS etc.)
• Experience designing scalable systems automation frameworks and internal tools
• Experience working with sensitive data and implementing responsible AI practices
• Strong ability to translate ambiguous business problems into scalable technical solutions

Bonus Points

• Experience with People/HR systems (Workday Greenhouse Sana)
• Familiarity with workflow automation platforms (e.g. n8n Workato Zapier)
• Experience in high-growth SaaS environments
• Contributions to AI governance internal AI platforms or experimentation frameworks

Why This Role Matters at Klaviyo

This is a foundational role in defining how Klaviyo becomes an AI-first company from the inside out.

You wont just be implementing AI youll be:

• Shaping how People teams operate with AI
• Defining standards for responsible scalable internal AI systems
• Building the blueprint for how AI is embedded across the business

If youre excited about building from scratch influencing across functions and applying AI to core business workflows this role offers a unique opportunity to have outsized impact.