Top 10 Companies Hiring AI Engineers in Billings, MT in 2026

Table of Contents

• The AI Frontier in Billings
• Billings Clinic
• D.A. Davidson & Co.
• Kampgrounds of America
• Montana State University Billings
• Infosys
• Charlie Health
• Akiva
• SKROL AI
• New Charter Technologies
• Welocalize
• Choosing Your AI Career Path
• Frequently Asked Questions

Billings Clinic

As Montana's largest healthcare provider, Billings Clinic is building a data-driven health ecosystem where AI engineers tackle frontier problems. Projects include predictive patient deterioration models using ICU time-series data, reinforcement learning for surgical suite optimization, and NLP systems to parse clinical notes for population health insights.

The technical environment is rigorous, requiring engineers to navigate HIPAA-compliant, hybrid-cloud stacks leveraging Azure AI services and FHIR-based data lakes. This work is central to the state's focus, supported by initiatives like the 406 JOBS program targeting tech integration in high-demand sectors like healthcare.

The mission translates into measurable impact and competitive compensation. Senior AI roles here can reach $130,000, with the culture emphasizing translational research and collaboration with Montana State University Billings. Engineers are integrated into care delivery, moving beyond being a cost center to becoming a core part of improving patient outcomes across a vast regional network.

D.A. Davidson & Co.

This independent financial services firm has made strategic investments in its internal AI & Automation Lab, focusing on intelligent automation to empower wealth management teams. Engineers build systems using Azure AI Foundry and Microsoft 365 Copilot, with key projects for 2026 involving agentic AI that synthesizes market news, research, and client portfolios for hyper-personalized advisor insights.

The role demands a blend of technical and strategic skills, as seen in a recent posting for an AI & Automation Engineer which emphasizes leading the design and maintenance of secure, scalable AI infrastructure. This reflects the industry-wide shift noted by analysts where engineers must own business outcomes and demonstrate judgment.

D.A. Davidson offers the complex data challenges of fintech within a stable, 90-year-old institution. The lean, agile team structure grants significant ownership from concept to deployment. While salaries are competitive and align with national averages for financial AI roles, Montana's lack of a statewide sales tax provides a tangible boost to take-home pay, enhancing the overall value proposition for engineers in Billings.

Kampgrounds of America

Headquartered in Billings, Kampgrounds of America applies AI to the complex, seasonal logistics of outdoor hospitality. Their AI & Operations team works on optimizing dynamic pricing across over 500 franchise locations, managing campground store supply chains, and developing intelligent guest messaging platforms that handle booking and local recommendations.

This translates to real-world engineering with proprietary systems. A current job posting for a Junior Software Developer in AI & Operations cites work on AI prompt engineering and workflow development for their K2 property management and messaging platforms, showing a commitment to growing technical talent locally.

The problems are unconventional and deeply tied to the Montana lifestyle, involving IoT data from campgrounds and distributed business models. For engineers, it offers a unique blend of technical challenge and cultural fit within the outdoor industry, where work on optimization algorithms directly supports the regional passion for recreation and wide-open spaces.

Montana State University Billings

Montana State University Billings serves as the intellectual and collaborative core of the region's AI landscape. Beyond academia, its applied research centers hire engineers for federally and state-funded projects that tackle local challenges, from computer vision for agricultural yield analysis with partners like CHS Inc. to developing educational AI tools for rural school districts.

This work is amplified by state policy, particularly Governor Greg Gianforte’s Executive Order 5-2025, which funnels resources into AI readiness and workforce training, making MSUB a nexus for public-private partnerships. This positions the university uniquely within Montana's growing AI community.

For engineers, MSUB offers a rare blend of access to cutting-edge research without the intense pressure of larger R1 institutions. Roles often combine development with mentorship, providing flexible schedules, strong state benefits, and the direct satisfaction of training the next generation of Montana's tech talent while connecting deeply with the entire regional tech ecosystem.

Infosys

The global IT consultancy Infosys has established a significant presence in Billings, acting as a key talent pipeline for enterprise AI transformation across the Rocky Mountain West. Engineers here deploy solutions spanning industries, from optimizing grid load for energy providers to building predictive maintenance models for railways, with a focus on creating scalable, "AI-ready" hardware platforms and infrastructure.

This role provides immediate exposure to a vast array of business problems and tech stacks, ideal for rapid skill acquisition. As noted in industry tracking of Montana's AI companies, such consultancies are critical nodes in the state's tech growth. The work aligns with the broader accelerating demand for AI and machine learning talent driven by automation integration.

For an AI engineer in Montana, Infosys offers a clear corporate pathway with competitive structure. The average base salary for the role in the state is $93,393, accompanied by defined advancement and certification opportunities. It serves as a launchpad for a career in high-stakes, industrial-scale AI, providing foundational experience that is highly transferable within Billings' diverse tech ecosystem.

Charlie Health

Charlie Health represents a growing trend of mission-driven healthtech companies establishing remote operations in Billings, drawn by the quality of life and emerging talent pool. Their clinically urgent focus is using AI to personalize intensive outpatient therapy for adolescents in mental health crisis, building systems that analyze treatment outcomes and create NLP tools to support clinicians.

The work embodies the accelerating demand for AI and machine learning talent within specialized, high-impact domains. Engineers on this team combine technical rigor with empathy, developing privacy-preserving models to identify at-risk youth, a challenge that requires the "judgment" and decision-making under uncertainty that industry analysts note is the 2026 differentiator.

As a remote-friendly company listed among top Montana AI employers, Charlie Health allows professionals to embed themselves in Billings' community and benefit from Montana's tax advantages while collaborating with a top-tier clinical and engineering team. This model offers a career path defined by profound purpose, directly addressing the critical need for scalable, personalized mental healthcare solutions.

Akiva

Akiva represents the homegrown, AI-native consulting segment thriving in Billings' small-tech startup scene. The firm focuses exclusively on bespoke solutions, taking regional clients from initial strategy through to deployed models, such as custom computer vision for manufacturing or supply chain forecasting for logistics companies. Listed among the top AI companies in Montana, their work exemplifies the market shift toward applied, domain-specific engineering.

Their modern, pragmatic stack built around cloud-based LLMs and MLOps pipelines requires engineers to be versatile problem-solvers. This aligns with the industry's evolution where, as analyst Santosh Rout notes, the differentiator is "judgment - the ability to make defensible decisions under uncertainty and own business outcomes." At Akiva, engineers exercise this judgment across entire client engagements.

For career-seeking engineers, Akiva offers the experience of a full-stack AI entrepreneur within a supportive structure. The small, senior team ensures high collaboration and significant ownership from business development to implementation. It's the antithesis of corporate silos, ideal for self-starters who want their work to directly drive the growth of local and regional businesses, leveraging Billings' cost advantages to build sustainable solutions.

SKROL AI

SKROL AI represents the innovative edge of Billings' startup scene, operating as a specialized product developer targeting niche markets critical to the Intermountain West, such as legal tech, real estate analytics, or resource management. Listed among the top startups to watch in Billings, the company exemplifies the focused innovation emerging from the region's supportive ecosystem.

Working at a startup like SKROL AI means building a product from the ground up with a small, agile team. This environment offers immense learning potential, requiring engineers to wear multiple hats and directly influence technical direction. It aligns with the broader trend of startups aggressively integrating AI and automation into their core operations to drive growth.

The career proposition is high-risk, high-reward, with equity often part of the compensation package. For engineers tired of legacy systems, it offers a clean slate to pioneer applications in underserved markets. The potential salary range for AI roles can be wide, reflecting the startup nature, but the true value lies in the foundational experience and ownership gained while contributing to Billings' reputation as a launchpad for specialized tech ventures.

New Charter Technologies

New Charter Technologies operates as the crucial AI integration layer for Montana's small and medium-sized businesses. Their team of AI Enablement Program Managers and engineers specializes in expertly configuring and customizing existing platforms - like CRM systems with agentic AI or Microsoft 365 Copilot - to solve specific operational problems for a diverse portfolio of local clients. This grassroots "AI solutions architecture" is a vital component of Montana's growing tech ecosystem.

The role demands a unique combination of deep technical understanding and superior communication skills. Engineers become translators and teachers, demystifying AI for business owners across the state. This aligns with the broader market shift where success requires owning business outcomes, a trend highlighted in analysis of the 2026 AI job market toward judgment and practical application.

For an engineer in Billings, this path offers constant variety, direct client interaction, and the tangible satisfaction of driving efficiency for local enterprises. It represents a stable, high-impact career niche that leverages the region's collaborative business culture and provides a clear view of how technology directly fuels the growth of Montana's foundational SMB economy.

Welocalize

Welocalize maintains a key operational center in Billings focused on the essential, often-overlooked backbone of functional AI: data quality and human-in-the-loop refinement. The team of AI Quality Analysts and data specialists designs annotation pipelines, develops performance metrics, and trains large language models for global tech clients, ensuring the systems built elsewhere are accurate and unbiased.

This work is part of the critical infrastructure supporting the broader surge in AI and machine learning talent demand. As noted in regional job activity, Welocalize offers a stable entry point into the industry with clear remote or on-site options for AI data labeling and evaluation roles.

For engineers in Billings, this niche provides a foundational education in the linguistics, ethics, and meticulous evaluation that make AI systems truly work. It's ideal for detail-oriented professionals fascinated by the intersection of technology and human judgment, offering a career path dedicated not to building the next model, but to ensuring the current ones are reliable and effective for real-world application.

Choosing Your AI Career Path

Navigating the top AI employers in Billings is less about chasing a ranking and more about matching your personal compass to the right terrain. The critical question shifts from "which company is best?" to "which company's mission, problems, and culture align with your definition of meaningful work?" As the market evolves toward context engineering and owning business outcomes, your choice should reflect where you want your judgment and technical skills to create tangible impact.

Evaluate each opportunity through the lens of Billings' unique ecosystem: the ability to work on frontier problems in healthcare or finance, the stability and variety offered by consultancies, or the entrepreneurial spark of a startup. The region's economic advantages - no statewide sales tax, a lower cost of living, and initiatives like the 406 JOBS program - amplify the value of a competitive salary, allowing you to invest in the Montana lifestyle.

The trail map of employers is clearly marked. Your climb should be toward the peak that offers not just a role, but a career integrated into the community and landscape of the Yellowstone Valley, where technology serves tangible need and your work is grounded in real-world results.

Frequently Asked Questions