Staff/Principal Software Engineer
- Location
- Mountain View
- Workplace
- Hybrid
- Compensation
- $280k – $350k + equity
About this role
What we're looking for:
We need a Staff/Principal-level backend engineer with 8+ years of experience building and deploying cloud-based services at scale who thrives in a fast-moving startup environment. You should be comfortable working as a strong IC with technical autonomy, have a track record of shipping zero-to-one platform products, and bring adaptability across tools and programming languages. Bonus points if you have experience with AI products, founder experience, or have worked at high-caliber companies like Databricks or similar AI/infrastructure startups.
What you'll do:
Own core backend systems for Inworld Router — an intelligent routing layer across 200+ LLMs with multi-provider failover, cost/latency-based routing, and real-time observability at massive scale
Build and scale API-based model services (TTS, STT, LLM, Knowledge/RAG) powering consumer-facing AI applications with hundreds of millions of end users
Design and implement realtime, low-latency systems for speech-to-speech and Realtime API products
Collaborate closely with PMs, engineers, and sibling ML teams to determine the biggest product needs and ship quickly in a rapidly evolving AI landscape
Drive system improvements and advocate for new technical standards, dependencies, and architectural decisions with considerable technical autonomy
Work on ambitious new products launching later this year, including platformization of new offerings and system-wide infrastructure projects
Key context:
This is a pure IC role — no management responsibilities, but strong ownership expected
Flat team structure reporting to the VP of Engineering (~7-8 person team)
AI tools and agents are embraced in the development workflow and interview process
Startup experience is strongly preferred — candidates from only large tech companies without any startup background are not a fit
Adaptability across tools and languages is valued over deep specialization in a single language
What happens next
Skip the application pile. I get you in front of the people who decide.
Confirm the fit
A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.
I pitch you to the company
I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.
A meeting lands on your calendar
When the company wants to meet, I get the call on your calendar. You just show up.
Culture & values
Fast-paced and ownership-driven culture where people operate with high degree of autonomy
Direct access to senior leadership and CEO without layers of management
Company pays close attention to employee growth trajectory, promotions, and expanded impact
Stagnation is viewed as a red flag internally
Comfortable with ambiguity and energized by change
Culture of transparency and integrity in how company operates
Genuine flexibility around personal circumstances and timelines
Team actively uses AI tools in day-to-day work, not just in products
Startup-minded approach with real systems and processes in place
High degree of mutual respect among team members
Team rewards people who push themselves and the company forward
Tight-knit group of researchers, engineers, and go-to-market operators
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