Titlesby GlyphAgent Engineer job title trend since Apr 2011
Engineering · Emerging · in 1.1% of HN hiring posts · 109 open roles at 45 companies · median $271k
Builds LLM agents that plan and call tools, and the harnesses that keep them reliable.
first seen Sep 2016, Hacker Newstook off Jul 2025
Why it exists
Written from the sources below
Once models could reliably call tools, teams started building systems where the model plans and acts over many steps. Anthropic's December 2024 guide separated workflows from agents and set out the patterns, and job boards began naming engineers for that work.
- DefinedBuilding effective agentsAnthropic, Dec 2024 · backs: workflows versus agents, and the patterns for building agents
Where it is posted
Sectors
- AI application39
- AI infrastructure12
- Data platform10
- AI data6
- Infrastructure4
- AI lab4
- Developer tools3
- Software2
Cities
- San Francisco33
- London, United Kingdom15
- New York10
- Palo Alto6
- Zurich, Switzerland5
- Amsterdam, Netherlands4
- Toronto, Canada3
- Singapore3
- Seattle2
- Munich, Germany2
Countries and remote
- United States58
- United Kingdom16
- Netherlands5
- Switzerland5
- Canada4
- Singapore3
- India2
- Israel2
- Germany2
- Poland1
Remote option23%
Posted pay
Middle half $223k to $300k, median $271k from 59 postings that state a base range (USD a year).
Pay by level and city on SalariesWho is hiring for it
Open postings on their own job boards, read 5h ago| # | Company | Open roles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | ||
| 2 | 12 | ||
| 3 | 5 | ||
| 4 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 3 | ||
| 7 | 3 | ||
| 8 | Relativity SpaceA company hiring most for Test Engineer and Systems Engineer. | 3 | |
| 9 | Alpaca.MarketsA company hiring most for Product Manager and Staff Engineer. | 2 | |
| 10 | Anduril IndustriesA company hiring most for Systems Engineer and Test Engineer. | 2 | |
| 11 | 2 | ||
| 12 | 2 |
Open roles
8 of 109; company pages list the restInfra Software Engineer, Agentic Runtime
Costa Mesa, California, United States; Washington, District of Columbia, United States
| Role | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer, Agent Platform | San Francisco | $230k to $385k | |
| Software Engineer, Agent Auth | Hybrid - San Francisco | $196k to $294k | |
| Software engineer, agents | New York City, NY | $132k to $240k | |
| Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Agentic Applications | Mountain View, California | $234k to $322k | |
| Senior Software Engineer (AI Agents)TrabaNew York City, NY$200k to $240k | Traba | New York City, NY | $200k to $240k |
| Infra Software Engineer, Agentic RuntimeAnduril IndustriesCosta Mesa, California, United States; Washington, District of Columbia, United States$191k to $254k | Anduril Industries | Costa Mesa, California, United States; Washington, District of Columbia, United States | $191k to $254k |
| Member of Technical Staff (AI Software Engineer, Agent Engine) | San Francisco | $250k to $405k | |
| Staff/Senior Staff Software Engineer, Agent Infrastructure | Toronto | $240k to $360k |
Lineage
an AI engineer specialised in agents · from how the titles are used
Share of Hacker News hiring posts
70 posts since Apr 2011 · +8% in 6 monthsNovember 2026 3 of 207 postings, 1.4%
Related titles
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About this title
Builds LLM agents that plan and call tools, and the harnesses that keep them reliable.
Also counted: AI agent engineer, agentic engineer
First sighting
Scalyr | Agent Engineer | $110-160K, >=0.3% equity | San Mateo, CA (ONSITE) "Agent Engineer" sounds...
Median posted salary $271k from 59 postings that state a base pay range (the median of their midpoints, USD a year). Not a survey of what people earn.