Applied AI Software Developer

Company Overview

Car Keys Express is the world’s leading automotive key replacement company, operating a nationwide mobile fleet and partnering with major retailers such as Auto Zone, Advance, and Costco. Since our founding in 2002, we have grown revenues more than 10X and built a team of over 1,000 across the U.S. and Canada. We have pioneered numerous industry firsts, including the first online store to sell car keys and remotes, the first discount mobile key service, the first electronic car key recycler, and the first car key vending machine.

Location:

Louisville, KY (Hybrid)

Lead the research, development, and implementation of artificial intelligence solutions that accelerate business growth, improve operational efficiency, and establish Car Keys Express as an AI‑forward automotive services company. Build AI‑powered systems that create real competitive advantage and serve as a force multiplier for the engineering team.

This role is an innovative, self‑directed contributor responsible for identifying, building, and deploying AI‑driven solutions across the business. You will design intelligent systems, automate complex workflows, and collaborate with leadership to shape future AI initiatives.

• Design, develop, and deploy AI‑powered tools, agents, and automation systems that solve real business problems across operations, customer service, sales, and logistics.
• Use AI to accelerate software development — writing, reviewing, and improving code with modern AI coding tools.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and recommend solutions that fit the company’s needs, including assessments of third‑party AI vendors versus internal development.
• Build and maintain integrations between AI systems and existing platforms (internal applications, APIs, and data sources).
• Collaborate with leadership and cross‑functional teams to identify high‑impact automation and AI opportunities.
• Contribute to data architecture decisions that support AI initiatives, including structured data pipelines and reporting infrastructure.
• Document systems, decisions, and implementation approaches for long‑term maintainability.
• Stay current on AI advancements and bring forward‑thinking recommendations to the team.
• Help establish standards and guardrails for responsible, secure, and effective AI use across the business.

• Demonstrated professional experience building and deploying AI‑powered applications or systems in production environments.
• Proficiency with modern AI tools, frameworks, and APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Lang Chain).
• Experience designing agentic systems, multi‑step AI workflows, or AI‑assisted automation pipelines.
• Ability to move beyond prompt usage into system design, orchestration, evaluation, and production implementation.
• Working knowledge of at least one modern programming language (PHP, Python, JavaScript, or equivalent); ability to adapt to an existing tech stack.
• Familiarity with RESTful API design and integration patterns.
• Strong analytical thinking and ability to evaluate trade‑offs between AI solutions.
• Ability to work independently, manage ambiguity, and drive projects from idea to production.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills—able to explain AI concepts and recommendations to non‑technical stakeholders.

• Production‑ready AI tools and automations that measurably improve speed, accuracy, or capacity across targeted business areas.
• Documented evaluations and recommendations for AI solutions, including build‑vs‑buy analysis.
• AI‑assisted development practices adopted by and shared with the broader engineering team.
• Roadmap contributions: ongoing identification and prioritization of AI opportunities across the business.
• Well‑documented systems and implementation decisions that support long‑term maintainability and team knowledge transfer.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• 3+ years of professional experience in software development, with…