System Instruction Designer

Important: This role will be onsite out of our Westlake Village, CA corporate offices on a hybrid basis (2-3 days per week) 

About the Role: 

At Guitar Center, we’re on a mission to help musicians and music lovers find their sound, whether they’re picking up their first guitar, building a home studio, or getting ready to hit the stage. We blend decades of retail expertise with cutting-edge digital experiences, including new AI-powered Assistants that help both customers and employees explore, learn, and work in innovative ways. 

From helping customers discover the right gear, trade in equipment, book lessons, compare products, or build out a professional rig, to empowering our internal teams with fast, reliable day-to-day operational experiences, our AI initiatives aim to redefine what shopping and working at Guitar Center feels like. As an AI Prompt Engineer / System Instruction Designer, you’ll lead the creation of the system instructions, prompts, and conversational frameworks that power these transformative experiences. 

What You’ll Do: 

Prompt & System Instruction Design 

• Craft system instructions and prompts to guide AI Assistant responses with accuracy, musical expertise, and operational relevance. 

• Develop few-shot examples and structured prompt strategies to shape Assistant behavior in both customer-facing and internal contexts. 

Conversational Experience Development 

• Design and refine dialogue flows that reflect the tone and credibility of a trusted gear advisor or internal knowledge assistant. 

• Uphold and evolve Guitar Center’s brand voice within AI conversations, ensuring authenticity and alignment with company values. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration 

• Work closely with product managers, engineers, UX designers, and employees to integrate AI across web, mobile, retail, and internal platforms. 

Testing, Measurement & Iteration 

• Analyze real interactions to improve Assistant performance in terms of reliability, musical credibility, and overall helpfulness. 

• Continuously iterate based on data to enhance the customer and employee experience. 

Innovation & Emerging Trends 

• Monitor developments in generative AI and conversational design. 

• Explore opportunities like multi-agent orchestration to expand Assistant capabilities for both external and internal use. 

Standards & Documentation 

• Contribute to internal playbooks, documentation, and best practices to establish Guitar Center’s standards for prompt engineering and system instruction. 

Qualifications

To join our band, you'll need the following experience: 

Music & Industry Knowledge 

• Strong passion for music, whether as a player, hobbyist, composer, or gear enthusiast. 

• Familiarity with music retail or the broader music industry is highly valued. 

AI & Language Model Experience 

• Hands-on experience with large language models (LLMs), including: 

• Prompt design 

• System instruction writing 

• Few-shot example creation 

• Conversational flow development 

• Experience using platforms such as ChatGPT, Anthropic, Gemini, or similar. 

Technical & Analytical Skills 

• Solid understanding of AI, machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP) concepts. 

• Analytical mindset with a strong grasp of language structure, semantics, and grammar. 

• Ability to evaluate, test, and refine AI outputs to ensure quality, factual accuracy, and brand consistency. 

• Familiarity with AI model deployment and how prompts to integrate into broader technical systems. 

Communication & Documentation 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 

• Skilled in documenting and explaining prompt strategies, conversational frameworks, and technical decisions to diverse audiences. 

Creative & Strategic Thinking 

• Strong creative problem-solving ability with a customer- and employee-centered design mindset. 

• Ability to think beyond conventional approaches to create engaging and effective conversational experiences. 

Collaboration & Teamwork 

• Proven ability to collaborate cross-functionally with engineers, product managers, marketers, and retail stakeholders. 

• Comfortable working in fast-paced, iterative environments to launch and evolve AI-driven solutions. 

Bonus Experience 

• Background in conversational UX, content design, or technical writing, especially in consumer or retail environments. 

Disclaimer:      

While this job description outlines primary responsibilities, it is not a comprehensive list of all tasks. Duties may change or new responsibilities may be assigned as business needs evolve.      

Pay Rate: $130,000 - $160,000/yr. dependent on background and experience.    

Why Guitar Center Company? Here’s just some of the rewards:     

For our employees who are musicians we offer the unique opportunity of gig leave—take time off to share your music with the world and return to your job after your tour! Guitar Center offers robust benefits and perks, including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K plus company match, mental health support, paid sick/holiday/vacation time, employee discount program, and tuition reimbursement options.     

This position is eligible to participate in the Guitar Center Company bonus program based on Company performance. The job posting is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee, which is always dependent on actual experience, education, and other factors. The pay range(s) listed are provided in compliance with state-specific laws. Pay ranges may be different in other locations.     

Why join us?     

With a career at Guitar Center, you become part of the world's largest multichannel musical instrument retailer. Whether at our Stores, Contact Centers, Distribution Centers, or Support Center, Guitar Center employees have a common goal: to help people find their sound and fill the world with more music.     

Love this gig and want to apply?     

Send your resume and cover letter today along with salary expectations.

Guitar Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides fair and equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status prohibited under Federal, State, or local laws. All employment decisions are based on valid job‐related requirements.     

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our website, you may request a reasonable accommodation to express interest in a specific opening. You can request reasonable accommodation by sending an email to recruiting@guitarcenter.com.