Staff AI Software Engineer

Client of Discovered MENA; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 400,000 - 800,000; Full time

Job summary

Client of Discovered MENA is seeking a Staff AI Software Engineer in Riyadh to join a fast-growing startup. The role blends hands-on coding with technical leadership to define best practices, scale services, and guide sprint planning.

You will design distributed microservices, build AI-enabled services with Python, FastAPI, and modern frontend tech, and mentor engineers while delivering high-impact projects in a cloud-native environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience at Staff/Principal/Lead level.
• Strong hands-on experience with Java and Spring Boot.
• Experience building full-stack apps using React, Next.js, TypeScript.
• Proficiency in designing distributed microservices and REST APIs.
• Experience with PostgreSQL and/or MongoDB.
• Familiarity with Docker, Git, CI/CD, and cloud-native development.
• Experience integrating AI/LLM features and AI frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and scale modern full-stack applications with focus on performance and reliability.
• Provide technical leadership through mentoring, code reviews, and enforcing best practices.
• Define software architecture, development standards, and processes to improve quality and consistency.
• Collaborate with Product Managers to shape sprint planning and estimate work.
• Mentor engineers and influence technical direction across teams.

Skills

Java

Spring ecosystem

React

Next.js

TypeScript

Microservices

REST APIs

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

CI/CD

Docker

Cloud platforms

Tools

Docker

Git

CI/CD pipelines

Cloud-native development

FastAPI

Python

Job description

Overview

Discover the Opportunity We re looking for a Staff AI Software Engineer who is equally passionate about building software and elevating engineering standards. This is a 50/50 hands‑on coding and 50/50 technical leadership role where you ll work closely with the engineering team to define best practices, improve development workflows, and help shape sprint planning and technical execution.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and scale modern full‑stack applications with a focus on performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Provide technical leadership by mentoring engineers, conducting code reviews, and championing engineering best practices.
• Define coding standards, software architecture, and development processes that improve quality and consistency across the engineering team.
• Partner with Product Managers and Engineering Leadership to shape sprint planning, break down technical initiatives, estimate work, and improve delivery.
• Work closely with the engineering team to define best practices, improve development workflows, and help shape sprint planning and technical execution.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with experience operating at Staff, Principal, or Technical Lead level.
• Strong commercial experience with Java and the Spring ecosystem (Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, Spring MVC).
• Strong full‑stack development experience using React, Next.js, TypeScript, and modern frontend technologies.
• Experience designing and building distributed, microservices‑based architectures.
• Experience building and consuming REST APIs and event‑driven systems.
• Experience working with PostgreSQL and/or MongoDB.
• Experience with Docker, containerisation, Git, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud‑native development.
• Strong understanding of software architecture, design patterns, scalability, and system performance.
• Experience mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction across multiple teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience building AI‑native products or integrating LLMs into production systems.
• Hands‑on experience with RAG, AI agents, vector databases, LangChain, LangGraph, MCP, or similar AI frameworks.
• Experience with Python and FastAPI for AI services.
• Experience working in high‑growth startups or scaling technology businesses.
• Exposure to cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
• Experience working with AI coding assistants such as Claude, Codex, Cursor, or GitHub Copilot.
• Comfortable working in a fast paced startup environment with a high degree of ownership.