Software Engineer, Data Infrastructure & Acquisition - Manchester, United Kingdom

United States Digital Space LLC; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fast-growing environment

Entrepreneurial-minded team

Asynchronous culture

Impactful, life-changing product

Job summary

United States Digital Space LLC is building AI-powered text-to-speech datasets in a distributed environment. We are hiring a Software Engineer to own data collection and ingestion, collaborating with researchers and cloud engineers to scale our pipeline on GCP and Terraform.

You will source audio data, maintain ingestion infrastructure, and help drive a dataset roadmap to power next-generation products. The role requires 5+ years of software development, Python/bash, Docker, and strong

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science or related field.
• 5+ years of industry software development experience.
• Proficiency with bash/Python scripting in Linux.
• Docker and Infrastructure-as-Code with at least one major cloud (GCP).
• Experience with web crawlers or large-scale data processing is a plus.
• Strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Source audio data for ingestion into the pipeline.
• Operate and extend ingestion infrastructure on GCP using Terraform.
• Collaborate with Scientists to improve cost, throughput and data quality.
• Collaborate with AI Team leadership to craft dataset roadmaps.

Skills

Python

Linux

Docker

Terraform

GCP

Data ingestion

Data processing

Communication

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Terraform

Job description

The mission of the company is to make sure that reading is never a barrier to learning.

Over 50 million people use the company's text-to-speech products to turn whatever they're reading – PDFs, books, Google Docs, news articles, websites – into audio, so they can read faster, read more, and remember more. the company's text-to-speech reading products include its iOS app, Android App, Mac App, Chrome Extension, and Web App.Google recently named the company the Chrome Extension of the Year and Apple named the company its 2025 Design Award winner for Inclusivity.

Today, nearly 200 people around the globe work on the company in a 100% distributed setting – the company has no office. These include frontend and backend engineers, AI research scientists, and others from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, leading PhD programs like Stanford, high growth startups like Stripe, Vercel, Bolt, and many founders of their own companies.

Overview

We're looking to hire for our Data side of our AI team at the company. This role is responsible for all aspects of data collection to support our model training operations. We are able to build high-quality datasets at petabyte-scale and low cost through a tight integration of infrastructure, engineering, and research work. We are looking for a skilled Software Engineer to join us.

What You'll Do

• Be scrappy to find new sources of audio data and bring it into our ingestion pipeline
• Operate and extend the cloud infrastructure for our ingestion pipeline, currently running on GCP and managed with Terraform.
• Collaborate closely with our Scientists to shift the cost/throughput/quality frontier, delivering richer data at bigger scale and lower cost to power our next-generation models.
• Collaborate with others on the AI Team and the company Leadership to craft the AI Team's dataset roadmap to power the company's next-generation consumer and enterprise products.

An Ideal Candidate Should Have

• BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science or a related field.
• 5+ years of industry experience in software development.
• Proficiency with bash/Python scripting in Linux environments
• Proficiency in Docker and Infrastructure-as-Code concepts and professional experience with at least one major Cloud Provider (we use GCP)
• Experience with web crawlers, large-scale data processing workflows is a plus
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and adapt to changing priorities.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.

What we offer

• A fast-growing environment where you can help shape the company and product.
• An entrepreneurial-minded team that supports risk, intuition, and hustle.
• A hands-off management approach so you can focus and do your best work.
• An opportunity to make a big impact in a transformative industry.
• Competitive salaries, a friendly and laid-back atmosphere, and a commitment to building a great asynchronous culture.
• Opportunity to work on a life-changing product that millions of people use.
• Build products that directly impact and support people with learning differences like dyslexia, ADD, low vision, concussions, autism, and more.
• Work in one of the fastest-growing sectors of tech, the intersection of artificial intelligence and audio.

the company is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.

the company does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.