Fullstack AI Engineer (Staff) - IFS Logistics

About IFS Logistics

IFS Logistics (built and launched as 7bridges, now part of IFS) is an AI-native enterprise logistics platform. We unify transport data, optimise carrier spend, and automate execution for enterprise shippers and logistics companies. We are a small, dedicated product and engineering team inside IFS, reporting into the commercial organisation rather than central R&D. Pure SaaS, zero consultancy: if a customer needs us to operate the software for them, we have failed.

The role

This is not a traditional "add AI to an existing system" role. You will set the technical direction for our Experience squad — the layer where the whole platform meets the customer: SSO and identity, IFS Intelligence integration, the demo environment, and the cross-product surface that ties Data Connect, TPAO, Shipper TMS and Revenue Protect into one product.

You start from the user's problem, not the system's. You will understand how a logistics team actually works with the product, and let that shape what you build and how.

The squad does not exist yet. You will help build it, set its architecture and standards, and be accountable for what it ships. You stay hands-on — this is not a management-only role. You are the squad's technical voice to the VP Product and Director of Software Architecture.

Your depth is backend and platform. Every engineer here is expected to be genuinely fullstack; the profile describes where your depth is, not a boundary you stay inside. You will review React as readily as Django.

What you'll work on

• The end-to-end user journey across four product areas: one identity, permission and navigation model, and one experience from first login to the shipment resolved.
• The technical architecture that connects Experience to every other integrated system, with clear service boundaries and contracts, written down and defended.
• Working with the Product and UX Lead from the problem onwards, and seeing what customers do with what you ship.
• SSO, tenancy and permissions done once, properly — "all data visible by default, restricted only by exception".
• A demo environment that is a real product surface, not a fixture — commercially load-bearing and used every week.
• IFS Intelligence and IFS Cloud integration, including the embedding path opened up by Project Oliver.
• Where the agent sits in each new surface, and the guardrails, observability and cost controls that make agentic behaviour safe to ship.

What we're looking for

• Around eight years or more building and running production software, with real depth in Python/Django REST API design, data modelling and service reliability.
• You have set technical direction for a team: chosen the approach, written it down, defended it, and changed it when you were wrong.
• Strong on performance, cost and observability. You have owned the pager as well as the design doc.
• Genuinely fullstack and user-minded — comfortable in React, you think about how a change feels to the person using it, and you raise the bar on frontend work even if you do not write it yourself.
• You raise other people's standards. Review, pairing and honest feedback are things you do by default.
• AI-native in practice: you build with Cursor and Claude daily, you know how to give an agent the right context, and you can tell when its output is wrong.
• You form and state a view. Ambiguity is part of the job, not a blocker.

Nice to have

• Multi-tenant enterprise SaaS, SSO/identity, or ERP integration experience.
• LLM agent orchestration, RAG or evals in production.
• Shipped agents into a product for real work, like agentic audit or agent-managed fulfilment rules, with a view on where an agent earns its place and where it does not.
• Simulation or scenario modelling: synthetic data or replay used to prove out logic before it ships.
• BigQuery, dbt, Pub/Sub, GCP, Kubernetes, Terraform.
• Logistics, supply chain or freight.

Tech stack

• Frontend: React, TypeScript, Node.js.
• Backend & APIs: Python, Django REST Framework.
• Data & analytics: BigQuery, dbt, Cube Cloud, Superset.
• Streaming & ingestion: Pub/Sub, Datastream.
• Cloud & infrastructure: GCP, Kubernetes, Terraform, GitLab CI/CD.
• AI: LLMs, RAG, agent frameworks, evals.
• Developer tooling: Cursor + Claude, Notion (SDD Central), Jira.

What success looks like — first 6 months

• The Experience squad has a written technical approach that the rest of engineering uses as a reference point.
• The end-to-end user journey is mapped, and the worst breaks in it (hidden data, creeping navigation) are fixed in production.
• You have spoken with customers and the people who support them, and what you heard has changed what the squad builds.
• The integration architecture to all connected systems is agreed, documented and used as the reference by other squads.
• The surfaces the squad owns are in production, observable, and within cost budget.
• SSO and cross-product permissions are shipped and self-serve.
• Code review on all merge requests and no direct-to-prod are real in your squad, not aspirational.
• The engineers in the squad are visibly better than when they joined.

Why this role exists now

We are shifting from feature-driven engineering to agent-led product architecture. The Experience layer is where that shift is most visible and where it currently hurts most: navigation has crept, data is hidden that should not be, and agent-first thinking is not yet applied systematically. That gap is the job. We are honest about it — and we need someone who will set the direction rather than wait for one.

You'll need to be based in either the UK or the Netherlands - we're a remote team with clusters of people in London and Amsterdam.

We embrace flexibility and hybrid work opportunities to support diverse needs and lifestyles, while also valuing inclusive workplace experiences. By fostering a sense of community, we drive innovation, strengthen connections, and nurture belonging. Our commitment ensures you can work in a way that suits you best, while also engaging with colleagues to share ideas and build meaningful relationships.