Principal Software Engineer

Outsiders Fund; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance-based annual bonus

Meaningful equity awards

Medical, dental & vision

401k plan

Unlimited PTO

Seattle office with gym, sauna, bike停车

Free lunch three days a week

AI infrastructure

Job summary

Gradial is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to drive the architecture and technical vision behind AI-native systems that transform how creative teams build and update websites. You will lead the technical backbone, shape the product direction, and mentor engineers in a fast-growing, high-agency environment.

You’ll work with product and design leaders to redefine interfaces, ensure performance and reliability, and push the boundaries of how language and software intersect with creativity.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience with leadership of complex initiatives.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems, algorithms, and scalable software design.
• Proven track record architecting and shipping systems in fast-moving, high-ambiguity environments.
• Hands-on experience with LLM integration, generative AI frameworks, or AI-native applications.
• Strong communication and cross-functional leadership with ability to influence both technical and non-technical audiences.
• High-agency, ownership-driven mindset with passion for solving real-world problems at scale.
• Background in CS/math/physics/systems engineering.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the technical architecture for AI-native systems.
• Lead design, implementation, and scaling of LLM agents for real-time inference, prompting, memory management, and tool orchestration.
• Set engineering standards and influence system design for performance, reliability, and extensibility.
• Design learning systems that evolve from customer feedback and data.
• Mentor senior engineers, fostering technical excellence and ownership.
• Collaborate with product/design to ensure interfaces adapt to user intent.
• Champion testing, observability, deployment, and operations for scale.
• Own ambiguous problem spaces end-to-end, driving tech and product innovation.

Skills

Distributed systems

Algorithms

Scalable software design

Leadership

LLM integration

Generative AI frameworks

Communication

Cross-functional leadership

Ownership mindset

Problem solving

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or Systems Engineering

Tools

LLM tooling

AI frameworks

Job description

Gradial is the marketing operations system of work that helps marketers and creatives move from idea to execution faster. Our platform orchestrates across martech stacks, workflows, and people to automate marketing execution, cutting execution time, so marketers focus on the work only humans can do: shaping brands, understanding customers, and creating the work that moves people.

Backed by leading investors, we're building software that adapts to the user, not the other way around. We move with urgency, operate with ownership, and solve hard problems from first principles. If you want to do ambitious work, take real responsibility, and help define the future of AI-native content operations, you'll do your best work here.

The Role

Gradial is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to drive the architecture and technical vision behind AI-native systems that transform how creative teams build and update websites. As a foundational technical leader, you'll push the boundaries of how LLMs can power real-world workflows and reimagine the intersection of language, software, and creativity.

You'll work closely with engineering, product, and design leaders to shape not just features, but the technical backbone and strategic direction of the company. This is a rare opportunity to set the blueprint for a fast-evolving product in a high-agency, low-ego environment committed to solving hard problems from first principles.

What You'll Own

• Define and drive the technical architecture for systems that convert natural language into intelligent, multi-step workflows using generative AI.
• Lead the design, implementation, and scaling of LLM agents for real-time inference, dynamic prompting, memory management, and tool orchestration.
• Set engineering standards and influence system design across the stack, with a focus on performance, reliability, and long-term extensibility.
• Design learning systems that integrate customer feedback, usage data, and brand preferences to evolve autonomously over time.
• Mentor senior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, rapid iteration, and ownership.
• Collaborate deeply with product and design leaders to rethink how interfaces and features dynamically adapt to user intent.
• Champion best practices in testing, observability, deployment, and operational excellence to ensure system health at scale.
• Own critical, ambiguous problem spaces from end to end, advocating for technical and product innovation.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including significant leadership of complex technical initiatives.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems, algorithms, and scalable software design.
• Proven track record architecting and shipping systems in fast-moving, high-ambiguity environments.
• Hands-on experience with LLM integration, generative AI frameworks, or building AI-native applications.
• Strong communication and cross-functional leadership skills, with the ability to influence technical and non-technical audiences.
• High-agency, ownership-driven mindset with a passion for solving real-world problems at scale.
• Background in technical fields such as computer science, mathematics, physics, or systems engineering.

Nice to Have

• Experience building or scaling AI agent architectures for production environments.
• Prior experience in early-stage startups where you owned both strategy and execution.
• Passion for designing systems that blend technical sophistication with elegant, intuitive user experiences.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $160,000 - $250,000 annually. Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as experience, skills, and qualifications. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for performance-based bonuses and equity awards. Gradial offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental & vision insurance, 401K retirement plan, paid time off, paid sick leave and other employee wellness programs.

What we offer

• Performance-based annual bonus
• Meaningful equity awards
• Medical, dental & vision (fully covered for employees with 75% for dependents)
• Fertility & family-planning support
• 401k plan
• Unlimited PTO
• A beautiful Seattle office with a gym, sauna, and bike parking
• Free lunch three days a week in our HQ
• A front-row seat to building category-defining AI infrastructure

You’ll thrive here if you

• Learn quickly, actively seek out new challenges, and regularly reconsider "how it's always been done."
• Want to have real impact with zero bureaucracy.
• Have an innate drive for being 1% better than the day before, building towards greatness.
• Embrace AI as a core tool for problem-solving, innovation, and scale.
• Show customer-obsession (internal or external), high ownership/accountability, and bias for action.
• Communicate clearly, directly, with curiosity, and assuming good intentions.
• Thrive in fast-paced, hyper-growth environments where building better > maintaining status quo.

AI Literacy & Interviewing Tools

As an AI-first company, we prioritize AI literacy as a core competency in our hiring decisions. We're excited by candidates who thoughtfully apply AI tools in their work, but during interviews we're focused on you. This is your opportunity to show how you think, communicate, and solve problems. Over-reliance on AI-generated responses during the interview process (especially when it obscures your own voice) will result in disqualification. We want to understand your unique perspective and how you approach challenges, both with and without AI.

Gradial is dedicated to creating an environment where diverse perspectives are valued and all team members can grow. We offer competitive compensation, equity, flexible work hours, comprehensive benefits, and a collaborative culture focused on learning and impact.