AI Software Engineer — Build Next-Gen Agent Systems

Cognition; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 260,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base salary above market

Medical, Dental, Vision fully paid

401(k) company match

Private chef, cozy slippers, endlessSn

Job summary

Cognition, an applied AI lab building end-to-end software agents, seeks engineers to tackle open problems in AI-powered systems. You will ship features for Devin and Windsurf, collaborating with researchers to translate model advances into production-ready capabilities.

We value depth in distributed systems, quick delivery with quality, and a pragmatic, curiosity-driven approach to AI. Strong Python skills and a track record at frontier AI labs or developer tools are a plus.

Qualifications

• Experience building reliable distributed systems and production-grade software.
• Ability to ship with high code quality in a fast-moving environment.
• Comfort with vague requirements and rapid learning from results.
• Proven track record of shipping quickly while maintaining quality.
• Curiosity about agents, LLMs and AI-powered systems.

Responsibilities

• Build core agent infrastructure: tool use, context management, multi-step planning, subagent orchestration, sandboxed code execution.
• Improve Windsurf as an AI-native IDE: editor intelligence and agent-in-the-loop workflows.
• Translate model capabilities into shipped features; work with researchers to inform training.
• Own reliability and performance at scale: ensure low latency and high reliability for millions of tasks.
• Help move the category forward by shaping the next generation of AI software engineering.

Skills

Systems engineering

Product instinct

Ambiguity tolerance

Shipping velocity

Agents & AI curiosity

Python proficiency

Industry experience

Education

BS/MS or equivalent in CS/Math/Engineering

Job description

Cognition, an applied AI lab building end-to-end software agents, seeks engineers to tackle open problems in AI-powered systems. You will ship features for Devin and Windsurf, collaborating with researchers to translate model advances into production-ready capabilities.

We value depth in distributed systems, quick delivery with quality, and a pragmatic, curiosity-driven approach to AI. Strong Python skills and a track record at frontier AI labs or developer tools are a plus.