Are you excited by the opportunity to become a part of a badass team leading the AI-first data revolution?
Do you thrive on solving hard problems (individually and collectively), yet humble and hungry to learn and grow within a team on your path to greatness?
Do you desire to become a part of a close-knit pack led by SV startup veterans who can accelerate your growth 10X (compared to the corporate trajectory/culture)?
If you've answered with 3 resounding "yes", then we want to meet you
You will play a critical role in designing and building our AI-first data computing platform. This is not just an execution role — we're looking for someone who thinks strategically, moves with intention, and can take ideas from concept to production with a balance of technical depth and practical decision-making.
You'll be working across the stack, applying modern technologies to develop performant, secure, and scalable systems. This is an opportunity to help shape the foundation of a platform that powers real-world AI applications at scale.
Tasks
* Systems Architecture:
Design, implement, and scale foundational backend systems and APIs that power decentralized, real-time AI workflows.
* Developer Experience:
Own the end-to-end developer journey by building SDKs, CLIs, and interfaces that make it easy to interact with our platform.
* Cross-Stack Execution:
Rapidly prototype and productize features using tools like Cursor, React, and TypeScript—without sacrificing quality or scale.
* Technical Leadership:
Guide architectural decisions, lead design reviews, and mentor engineers in best practices for distributed, high-performance systems.
* Collaboration:
Partner with product, design, and leadership to align technical execution with company vision and user needs.
* Execution Ownership:
Drive key projects from 0→1 with autonomy, accountability, and a strong bias for action.
Requirements
* Experience:
4+ years in high-performance software environments, with a proven track record of shipping complex systems end-to-end.
* Deep Technical Expertise:
Mastery of one or more systems languages (Go, Rust, Kotlin, etc.) and strong backend engineering fundamentals.
* Architectural Fluency:
Experience designing and scaling distributed systems with performance, reliability, and observability in mind.
* Quality & Testing:
Strong discipline around testing, CI/CD, and long-term maintainability (TDD preferred).
* Builder Mindset:
Ability to turn ambiguity into architecture, and architecture into reliable, extensible code.
* Communication:
Clear, concise communicator who can explain tradeoffs, write technical specs, and mentor junior engineers.
* Bonus:
Experience with edge computing, Web3 protocols, real-time data infra, or AI/ML-powered systems.
Benefits
* Competitive Compensation & Meaningful Equity:
We offer founder-level alignment because this is a founder-level role.
* High-Ownership Role:
You'll directly shape our technical direction and long-term stack architecture.
* Work with Top-Tier Founders & Engineers:
Collaborate daily with a deeply technical, mission-driven leadership team.
* Build the Future of AI Infrastructure:
We're not optimizing yesterday's workflows—we're inventing tomorrow's.
* Zero Bureaucracy, Maximum Autonomy:
We stay lean, move fast, and trust you to lead.
* Remote-First, In-Person When It Counts:
We're distributed across SF and Europe, with monthly hackathons and off-sites to align and build together.
Our Hiring Process
We move fast, stay transparent, and focus on real collaboration. Here's what the process looks like:
* Intro Call –
A quick chat to align on expectations, interests, and team fit.
* Technical Deep Dive –
A focused conversation with our Engineering Manager to explore your systems thinking and past work.
* CEO Interview –
A strategic discussion around vision, mindset, and long-term alignment.
* Reference Collection –
We'll speak with a few people you've worked closely with.
* Paid Trial (~5 Days) –
A short, real-world engagement so we can see how we work together, happening in parallel with offer and terms discussion.
Join CEF AI as a Principal Software Engineer to help design and deliver the future of privacy-first, agentic AI. If you want to work on original systems that will define the next decade of compute - apply now.