Indian-Origin Engineer's AI Career Revolutionized by San Francisco Startup Move
The decision to relocate to San Francisco and join a rapidly expanding artificial intelligence startup has fundamentally transformed the professional trajectory of 24-year-old Indian-origin engineer Jai Raj Choudhary. He asserts that the city's demanding work culture has accelerated his growth beyond what any conventional corporate position could offer.
Currently serving as an AI engineer at StackAI, a company providing a no-code platform for building AI agents, Choudhary describes his transition from a traditional software and data background to the high-intensity startup ecosystem as career-defining. "We work 9-to-9, six days a week," he revealed, characterizing the relentless pace of life in California's premier technology hub, according to Business Insider.
The Genesis of an AI Professional
Choudhary's journey into artificial intelligence commenced during his graduate studies. Between 2023 and 2025, he pursued a Master's degree in AI, initially entering the field through data-focused roles. This period coincided with large language models transitioning from theoretical concepts to practical, real-world applications.
"AI began to feel less like a purely research-driven discipline and more like an engineering challenge that could be built and deployed at scale," Choudhary explained, highlighting the field's evolution during his academic years.
His path to StackAI involved determined persistence. As a student already utilizing the company's platform, he initiated repeated LinkedIn communications with the co-founder, sharing product feedback, posting about the platform, and suggesting enhancements. When the company entered a phase of accelerated growth, Choudhary applied and navigated six rigorous interview rounds before securing his position in July.
Architecting AI Solutions with a Data Foundation
In his current role, Choudhary focuses on designing architectures for AI agents. He believes his foundational experience in data analytics provided a distinct advantage, enabling him to comprehend:
- Data quality requirements
- Client edge cases
- Performance metrics
- Failure modes in AI and large language model systems
Surprisingly, his formal academic credentials played a minimal role during the interview process. "I know back-end, I know how to talk to data, and I understand the patterns that it follows," he told interviewers, who responded that this background was ideal for his development into an AI engineer.
The evaluation process included assessments of his Python coding skills and a take-home assignment demonstrating his problem-solving approach. Only after joining the company did colleagues inquire about his academic background. While valuing his university experience for exploration purposes, Choudhary acknowledges that much of his graduate coursework doesn't directly apply to his daily responsibilities.
San Francisco: The Catalyst for Accelerated Growth
The relocation to San Francisco proved instrumental in his professional evolution. "Moving to San Francisco made a huge difference in my career. This city is a different beast," Choudhary emphasized.
He elaborated on the cultural shift: "When you come here, it's a whole different culture because we don't work 9-to-5, cushy jobs. We work 9-to-9, six days a week. You wake up, you think about the problem that a client had, and you sleep thinking about what isn't fixed yet."
The city's ecosystem revolves around ambition, where casual coffee outings frequently transform into networking opportunities. "In San Francisco, even if you go out for a coffee, you'll meet at least two founders who are working on something related to what you're doing," he noted, describing how constant exposure to peers tackling similar technical challenges has refined his thinking and problem-solving methodologies.
Continuous Learning Amidst Demanding Hours
Despite extensive office hours, Choudhary dedicates substantial time to ongoing education. "Even if I spend 12 hours in the office, seven to eight of those hours I'm studying, and then three to four hours, I'm actually writing the code," he shared.
While the proliferation of AI courses and resources can be overwhelming, he concentrates on practical insights from founders and builders. Online content, including YouTube lectures, facilitates continuous learning during commutes and exercise sessions.
For Choudhary, joining a startup before feeling completely prepared represented a calculated risk with significant rewards. "The best decision I made for my career was joining a startup for a job that I didn't quite have the experience in and learning at StackAI," he concluded, affirming the transformative power of immersive startup environments for ambitious technology professionals.
