Full Stack AI Engineer Role - Early Career Growth Path in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This role sits at an interesting intersection: a stable, profitable vertical-market SaaS company (part of a 150+ company portfolio) that is actively investing in AI. For early-career engineers (2–4 years), this is a meaningful differentiator — you're not joining a pre-revenue startup, but you still get greenfield product work.
Skills developed here are in high demand:
- LLM/AI API integration (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) — one of the hottest engineering skill sets of 2024–2025
- React and modern frontend — consistently top-ranked in job demand surveys
- Legacy PHP/Zend refactoring — undervalued but practically essential in enterprise SaaS
- Full product lifecycle ownership — from concept to deployment
Compensation concern: No salary range is disclosed, which is a red flag for transparency. For a full-stack engineer with AI skills at 2–4 years experience, market rates in Canada/US range from $75k–$110k USD. Push for a number early in the process.
Green flags: Direct mentorship from a senior engineer, a stated leadership runway, and a company that is profitable (not burning VC cash). Decentralized Valsoft structure means less corporate bureaucracy.
Watch for: The role spans three product areas simultaneously — legacy maintenance, AI integration, and new product development. Ensure the 50/25/25 split stays honest over time and doesn't collapse into mostly legacy support work.
Headquarters: Canada
Lighthouse Software Group is an operating group of Valsoft Corporation, a global acquirer and operator of vertical market software businesses. Valsoft acquires and builds mission-critical software companies serving highly specialized industries and holds them for the long term.
With 150+ companies and 4,000+ employees across 20+ countries, Valsoft's decentralized model empowers businesses to operate independently while benefiting from operational best practices and long-term capital.
Lighthouse is responsible for sourcing, acquiring, and operating vertical market software companies globally. As we continue to grow, we are seeking driven individuals who want to join the team!
About the Role
We are looking for an AI-native full stack engineer to join one of the leading software companies within our portfolio.
Our platform powers mission-critical workflows for organizations that depend on it every day, and we are actively expanding it through AI capabilities and entirely new software products.
This role is designed for engineers early in their careers who want to build a lot, learn quickly, and take real ownership. You will work across both an established production platform and new AI-driven products.
We are especially interested in people who see themselves as builders. The best candidates are curious, ambitious, and constantly experimenting with new tools. They build side projects, explore AI models, and look for opportunities to improve systems rather than waiting for instructions.
You will work closely with a senior engineer who has built and scaled production systems and will provide direct mentorship as you grow. As the engineering team expands, there is also a clear leadership runway for someone who wants to take increasing ownership and eventually help lead the team.
This is a profitable, stable company with real customers and real infrastructure. The company operates within Lighthouse Software Group, part of Valsoft, a global group of vertical market software businesses with more than 130 companies and 4,000 employees across 20+ countries.
Roles & Responsibilities
You will work across three main areas of the product:
- Core Platform Development (Approximately 25%)
Work within our existing production platform built primarily with PHP, Zend Framework, and JavaScript.- Building and enhancing features within the existing platform
- Debugging and resolving production issues
- Refactoring legacy code to improve maintainability
- Improving reliability, performance, and system quality
- AI Feature Integration (Approximately 25%)
Help bring AI capabilities directly into the platform.- Integrating LLM and AI APIs into product workflows
- Building AI-powered tools and automation inside the platform
- Identifying opportunities where AI can improve user workflows
- Ensuring AI features are reliable and production-ready
- Using AI development tools as part of your workflow is expected
- New Product Development (Approximately 50%)
Build new software products that expand the platform.- Designing and developing new applications and product modules
- Building production-ready systems rather than simple prototypes
- Working across the product lifecycle from concept to deployment
- Contributing ideas that shape future product direction
- Much of this work will involve modern frontend development using React and related technologies
Required Experience
- 2 to 4 years of professional software development experience
- Experience building or contributing to production applications
- Comfort working across frontend and backend development
- Experience using or experimenting with AI APIs, LLMs, or AI development tools
- Familiarity with modern development workflows and cloud-based tooling
- We are particularly interested in candidates who demonstrate a builder mindset — examples include side projects, experimentation with AI tools, open source work, or personal technical projects.
#PortfolioLighthouse
To apply: https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/valsoft-corporation-ai-native-full-stack-product-engineer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this role truly open to applicants anywhere in the world?
What tech stack will I primarily be working with?
Is this role suitable for someone with only 2 years of experience?
Is there any salary information available for this position?
What does the leadership runway mentioned in the posting mean in practice?
