Manager of Applied AI Architecture, Startups

Anthropic builds AI systems designed to be reliable, interpretable, and safe for users and society. The team combines researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders focused on creating beneficial AI at scale. As a Manager of Applied AI Architecture for Startups, you will lead a team of technical architects helping early-stage companies build AI-native products using Claude. You'll drive adoption of frontier AI technology by earning the trust of founders and engineers, translating their technical needs into lasting partnerships, and defining what excellent technical support looks like across the startup segment.

About Anthropic

Anthropic operates at the forefront of AI safety and capability research. The company has attracted leading AI researchers and engineers who are advancing the field while maintaining a strong commitment to building systems that remain aligned with human values. Anthropic's Claude platform has become widely adopted by developers and organizations seeking capable, reliable AI assistance. The startup ecosystem represents a critical part of Anthropic's growth strategy, as early-stage companies are among the first to innovate with new AI capabilities and establish long-term relationships with AI infrastructure providers.

What you'll do

• Lead, hire, and develop a team of technical architects who support startup customers, maintaining high standards for technical depth, customer outcomes, and execution velocity

• Own pre-sales engagement with key startup accounts across the full journey from initial technical evaluation through deployment and expansion phases

• Create and refine the playbooks your team follows: technical evaluation frameworks, customer-specific benchmarking, LLM architecture guidance for resource-constrained teams, and competitive positioning strategies

• Drive team performance through structured goal-setting, continuous coaching, and an environment where technical expertise deepens over time

• Partner with sales leadership to shape strategy for the startup segment and expand Claude adoption across the ecosystem

• Gather insights from customer implementations regarding emerging use cases, deployment patterns, and architectural decisions, then translate these observations into product feedback

• Build cross-functional relationships with Product and Engineering to advocate for startup customer needs and influence roadmap priorities

• Establish Anthropic's technical credibility in startup communities through events, workshops, and industry presence

• Stay current with the evolving AI engineering landscape including prompt engineering, evaluation frameworks, agentic systems, and developer tooling

What you'll bring

• Eight or more years in technical customer-facing roles such as Solutions Architect, Sales Engineer, or Forward Deployed Engineer, with at least five years managing pre-sales or technical go-to-market teams

• Proven success building and scaling high-performing Solutions Architect teams with demonstrated hiring, coaching, and development capabilities

• Deep familiarity with startup operations, constraints, culture, and decision-making processes at each growth stage

• Hands-on experience building and deploying LLM applications and genuine credibility with founders and technical engineers

• Working knowledge of prompt engineering, LLM evaluation frameworks, and modern AI architectures with the ability to guide teams and customers through production-grade system design

• Python proficiency and familiarity with LLM frameworks, tools, and integration patterns used in startup environments

• Comfort working in ambiguous settings where you define strategy rather than execute existing playbooks, thriving in fast-moving contexts where both technology and customer needs evolve

• Authentic commitment to developing AI technology that is safe and beneficial for society

Nice to have

• Experience as a technical founder or in founder-led sales processes

• Track record of winning competitive evaluations against other LLM providers

• Experience building team infrastructure including hiring systems, onboarding programs, and coaching frameworks in high-growth environments

• Understanding of how developer infrastructure procurement evolves from seed stage through Series B and beyond

• Visible presence in startup or AI engineering communities through conference presentations, published content, or open-source work

What they offer

• Annual salary range of $315,000 to $380,000 USD

• Full-time employment in San Francisco, CA or New York City, NY