Chief Engineer

Ucentric People Pty; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 335,000 - 375,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship

Relocation support possible

Equity

Job summary

Ucentric People Pty in San Francisco, CA, seeks a Chief Engineer for AI & Agentic Systems. This hands-on leader will own domain architecture, ship core AI systems, and collaborate with founders on strategic decisions. Visa sponsorship and relocation are possible.

The role requires a Senior/Staff level engineer with 10+ years of experience, strong design skills, and proficiency in Node.js, React, and Python. Equity is offered alongside a competitive package.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• Hands-on leadership role as Staff/Principal Engineer or Technical Founder.
• At least two years of experience in Series A-D startups.
• Strong system design and architecture fundamentals.
• Experience with Node.js, React and Python.
• Deep daily use of frontier AI tools and production AI.
• Degree in Computer Science or related STEM discipline.

Responsibilities

• Own your domain's architecture, engineering standards and outcomes.
• Build and ship core AI systems across runtimes, agents and data platforms.
• Partner with a Domain PM and participate in weekly council with founders.
• Guide engineers while remaining an active individual contributor.
• Embed AI development tools into everyday engineering practice.

Skills

Hands-on leadership

System design

Production-grade AI

Startup experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related STEM

Tools

Node.js

React

Python

Job description

Own core AI systems as Chief Engineer at a funded banking AI company. Hands-on leadership in San Francisco. US$335K-$375K + equity.

02nd November, 2026

Chief Engineer | AI & Agentic Systems

San Francisco, CA (On-site) | US$335,000-$375,000 + equity

Are you a hands-on engineering leader ready to own company-defining AI systems and work directly with the founders? Are you willing to relocate to San Francisco, California? UCentric is supporting a search for a Chief Engineer at a US-based AI company transforming how banks and credit unions serve their customers. Its platform combines conversational AI, voice AI and autonomous agents to handle customer enquiries, support employees and execute banking tasks through integrations with core financial systems. Having bootstrapped to profitability before securing US$30 million in funding, the business is now expanding its engineering capabilities and building the next generation of AI-powered banking experiences. We're keen to connect with engineers already in the US, whether you're based in the Bay Area or open to relocating to San Francisco. Visa sponsorship and transfers can be considered, subject to individual circumstances and employer confirmation. This is the company's most senior technical track, suited to a Principal or Staff Engineer, or a Technical Founder who wants to stay deeply hands-on. You'll own a core domain, write production code and work directly with the founders on some of the company's most complex technical decisions.

The Opportunity:

• Own your domain's architecture, engineering standards and business outcomes.
• Build and ship core systems across AI runtimes, agents, intelligence, data platforms or AI-powered banking experiences.
• Partner with a Domain PM and participate in a weekly council alongside the founders.
• Guide engineers and technical leads while remaining an active individual contributor.
• Embed AI development tools such as Claude Code and Cursor into everyday engineering practice.

What we're looking for:

• Typically 10+ years of software engineering experience, currently operating as a hands-on Staff or Principal Engineer, or Technical Founder.
• Experience taking an ambiguous idea from zero to one and owning critical production systems at scale.
• At least two years of recent experience in Series A-D startups.
• Strong system design, architecture and coding fundamentals, ideally across Node.js, React and Python.
• Deep, daily use of frontier AI tools and credibility building production AI or agentic systems.
• A degree in Computer Science or a related STEM discipline.

Conversational AI, voice AI, fintech or regulated financial services experience would be highly regarded.

This role requires working from the San Francisco office five days per week. Visa sponsorship will be available to the right candidate. Relocation expenses may/may not be covered.