Staff Software Engineer

Zencoder; Deutschland; Vor Ort; EUR 80.000 - 120.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Flexible work location

Equity plan

Innovative team culture

Direct feedback from users

Zusammenfassung

A pioneering AI platform company in Germany is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead technical direction and enhance system design quality. The position involves collaborating across teams to simplify complexities and make impactful design choices. Candidates should have over 10 years in software engineering with strong experience in distributed systems and cloud architecture. This is an opportunity to shape the future of software creation in a fast-paced environment that values individual contributors.

Qualifikationen

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering with large-scale production systems.
• Experience with building and scaling distributed systems focusing on reliability and performance.
• Strong background in cloud architecture, particularly in AWS or Google Cloud.

Aufgaben

• Act as a technical thought leader, maintaining high engineering standards.
• Write code for new features and refactor existing code.
• Lead design discussions and architecture reviews.

Kenntnisse

Software engineering

Distributed systems

Cloud architecture

Strong communication

Jobbeschreibung

Zencoder is a universal AI platform focused on integrating generative coding workflows into existing developer tools and infrastructure. Connect any CLI to any IDE, starting with Claude Code, Codex, and Zen CLI, while leveraging Zencoder's proprietary enterprise-grade features like multi-repo intelligence. The platform supports on-premise, hybrid, or cloud deployment, with air-gapped and zero-VPC options to maintain enterprise security. Through modular "Zen Agents," Zencoder codifies team practices into shareable, autonomous workflows that continuously code, test, and deploy.

The Opportunity

As a Staff Engineer, you will help drive the technical direction of aspects of our platform, setting high standards for system design, code quality, best practices, and architectural clarity. You will collaborate across product and engineering to simplify complexity, improve reliability, and make deliberate trade-offs that empower our teams to move fast without sacrificing maintainability.

This is a unique opportunity to join an early-stage company led by serial entrepreneur Andrew Filev (founder of a unicorn startup), and shape a product that is redefining how software is built.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a technical thought leader, setting a high bar for engineering quality.
• Be hands‑on, writing code for new features, prototyping, refactoring existing code to meet best practices, etc.
• Lead design discussions and architecture reviews for high‑impact projects.
• Collaborate with product, design, and research teams to define and evolve user‑facing functionality with real developer impact.
• Evaluate trade-offs thoughtfully across performance, scalability, complexity, and cost and advocate for clear, maintainable solutions.
• Guide and mentor other engineers, helping them grow while raising the overall technical maturity of the team.
• Influence engineering culture, driving best practices in testing, observability, security, and cloud design.

Essential Qualifications

10+ years of experience in software engineering covering multiple large-scale, production‑grade systems.

Experience building and scaling distributed systems with reliability and performance in mind. This should cover both compute and data layers and include best practices on the observability of such systems.

Strong background in cloud architecture and infrastructure design in AWS or Google Cloud environments.

Demonstrated ability to simplify complex systems and reduce unnecessary technical debt while balancing the need to move fast to compete.

Strong communication skills with a track record of aligning stakeholders, leading cross‑functional efforts, and influencing without authority.

A deep shift‑left mindset throughout the entire SDLC, with early integration of security, automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines.

Deep familiarity with AI assistants, a solid grasp of the evolving AI landscape, and the ability to translate trends and capabilities into practical product improvements.

Curiosity, pragmatism, and a willingness to challenge assumptions.

Why Join Zencoder?

• Shape the Future of Software Creation: We’re not just improving how developers write code — we’re redefining how ideas turn into reality. By closing the gap between concept and execution, we’re creating tools that will influence every industry that relies on software.
• Massive Impact, Real Ownership: At Zencoder, you’ll have full visibility into how your work moves the product and the company forward. You’ll ship features that matter, see the immediate impact of your decisions, and get feedback directly from users — fast.
• ICs Are the Core: Individual Contributors are the highest‑status role at Zencoder. Our culture celebrates those who lead by doing — who create momentum, inspire others, and turn ideas into shipped products.
• High‑Caliber Team & Founder: Work alongside exceptional AI and software engineers, and learn directly from Andrew Filev, founder of a unicorn startup, who brings deep expertise in scaling world‑class technology companies.
• Global & Flexible: We hire talent, not coordinates. Work from wherever you’re happiest and most productive — as long as you bring the energy, focus, and results.
• Aligned Incentives: Our equity plan ensures that when we succeed, you succeed. Your impact compounds as the company grows.

Zencoder is an equal‑opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.