AI Automation Engineer

7shifts is a scheduling and payroll platform designed to help restaurant teams thrive. With an easy-to-use app and industry-specific solutions, 7shifts saves time, reduces errors, and helps keep costs in check for over 55,000 restaurants. Our mission is to simplify team management and improve performance for restaurants, with a long-term vision of creating a thriving restaurant industry through the power of connected & engaged teams.

As an AI Automation Engineer at 7shifts, you’ll help teams across the business rethink how work gets done and build the automations that create meaningful capacity and output. Reporting to the CTO, you’ll partner with leaders to identify high-impact opportunities for automation, then design and build the workflows that bring them to life. You’ll be the person who turns “how can we automate this?” into solutions that actually ship, scale, and stick.

This is a hands-on role with broad exposure across the business. You’ll work closely with teams to understand their processes, identify where time and effort are being spent, and build AI-powered workflows and automations that help us work more efficiently and focus on higher-value work.

What you'll do:

• Partner with teams: Work closely with leaders and teams to understand their workflows, translate business needs into automation opportunities, and help shape solutions that create meaningful capacity.
• Redesign processes: Challenge existing ways of working, eliminate unnecessary steps, and design simpler, more scalable processes before introducing automation.
• Build and ship: Turn ideas into practical AI-powered solutions, using LLMs, agents, and other tools to prototype, test, and launch automations that give teams back hours in their day.
• Connect systems: Integrate the tools and systems we already use through APIs and automation platforms to streamline how information and actions move across the business.
• Make it stick: Document solutions, establish clear processes and guardrails, and enable teams to confidently use and maintain what you build.
• Measure impact: Track outcomes like time saved, capacity created, and efficiency gains to understand what’s working and prioritize where to go next.

What you bring:

• Builder mentality: You’re comfortable taking an ambiguous problem from idea to implementation and have a track record of shipping and maintaining what you build - not just prototyping
• AI fluency: You have hands-on experience with LLMs and AI tools like Claude, OpenAI, or similar, and can speak to how you’ve used them to change the way you work or solve business problems.
• Responsible AI mindset: You understand the importance of building AI solutions responsibly, with appropriate attention to data privacy, security, access controls, and the handling of sensitive information. You know when data should, and shouldn’t, be used with AI tools and build with appropriate safeguards in place.
• Technical foundation: You have experience building and deploying AI-powered solutions and connecting systems through APIs. You’re comfortable with Python or a similar programming language, SQL and databases, and automation platforms such as n8n, Zapier, Make, or similar tools. You’re also familiar with modern development and deployment tools such as Git, Vercel, Railway, or cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Business-first mindset: You start with the business problem, not the technology. You can sit with a non-technical leader, understand how their team works, identify where automation can create value, and translate that into a practical solution.
• Process instinct: You question existing ways of working and look for chances to simplify, cut unnecessary steps, and build more scalable processes.
• Strong ownership: You’re comfortable working independently, navigating ambiguity, and driving projects from identifying an opportunity through implementation, iteration, and measuring the impact.
• Enablement mindset: You don’t just build and walk away. You document your work, set practical guardrails, and enable teams to confidently adopt, use, and maintain what you build.

It'd be even cooler if you had:

• Experience with workflow orchestration or RPA tools
• Familiarity with data pipelines or BI tooling
• Restaurant tech or vertical SaaS experience

Our commitment to our Shifties:

• Opportunity: Our product is evolving in exciting ways, and we’re focused on delivering even more value to restaurants. This momentum creates real opportunities to learn and grow. Whether you’re honing your craft or exploring new paths, you’ll be supported and empowered to own your growth and impact a product shaping the future of the restaurant industry.
• Challenge: We’re tackling real problems in a fast-moving, complex industry. The work is scrappy and ambiguous, but meaningful. You’ll think critically, act with intention, and shape solutions that make a real difference for restaurant teams.
• Culture: We’re proud to be recognized among the best workplaces in North America. Guided by our mission and values, we move fast to solve meaningful problems and celebrate wins together. Whether through in-office and remote events, team offsites like Sparks, or everyday moments of connection, we create space for shared growth, collaboration, and fun.
• Equity: We’re a Series C, VC-backed SaaS company, and we believe everyone should share in the success they help create. When we build together, we grow together.
• Health and Wellness: We support Shifties in and outside of work, knowing that what people need can change over time. From day one, you’ll have access to benefits like health and dental, lifestyle spending accounts to a parental leave program built with flexibility in mind, to help you bring your best self to work.
• Flexibility: Our team is intentional around how and where we work, whether remotely, in person, or a mix of both. We prioritize candidates who thrive in a hybrid work environment with offices in Saskatoon and Toronto, ensuring in-person collaboration and connection when possible. Plus, we offer a flexible vacation policy to encourage everyone to recharge when needed. Oh, and our ‘90 Day Shift’ program lets Shift work from (almost) anywhere because who wouldn’t want to trade their desk for a beach view once in a while?
• Support: We set Shifties up for success with the tools they need, like the latest Apple tech, a home office setup, and some 7shifts swag to make it official. But support goes beyond day one. We’re serious about professional growth, offering coaching, feedback, development planning, and opportunities to grow from within.

We know you might not check every box, and that’s okay. If you’re excited about this role, inspired to contribute to a meaningful product, and eager to share ideas that drive real change, we’d love to hear from you. We’re building an inclusive team that reflects the diverse industry we serve, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

We thank you for your interest in joining the 7shifts team!

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