Principal Software Engineer - Python - AI Safety

Strativ Group; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 270,000; Full time

Job summary

Frontier AI Safety is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to turn novel AI safety research into robust, scalable software. This hands-on role focuses on building core Python systems that support cutting-edge safety research and working closely with researchers to translate ideas into reliable, production-grade software.

You will set engineering standards, shape the architecture as the company grows, and tackle technically challenging problems where established approaches often do not exist.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong Python experience and scalable software design skills.
• Experience at elite engineering orgs or high-growth startups desired.

Responsibilities

• Design and build core Python systems for AI safety research.
• Collaborate with researchers to translate ideas into production-grade software.
• Set engineering standards and influence architecture as the company scales.
• Tackle technically challenging problems where established approaches may not exist.

Skills

Python

Job description

Frontier AI Safety | Python | Research-Driven Engineering

We're working with a frontier AI safety startup pushing the boundaries of interpretability, alignment and explainability. Founded by former researchers from Anthropic, DeepMind and Meta Superintelligence, the team is tackling some of the hardest problems in making increasingly capable AI systems safe and understandable. The business is already generating eight-figure revenue, with late-stage commercial discussions that could take this into the mid-nine figures.

We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to help turn novel research into robust, scalable software. This is a hands-on role for an exceptional engineer who wants to work at the intersection of software engineering and frontier AI research.

You'll design and build core Python systems that support cutting-edge AI safety research and will work directly with researchers to translate novel ideas into reliable, production-grade software. You'll also set engineering standards and shape the architecture as the company scales and will tackle technically challenging problems where established approaches often don't exist.

What we're looking for

• 7+ Years experience - exceptional software engineering ability, strong Python experience.
• A track record at elite engineering orgs, high-growth startups or similarly demanding environments.
• Strong academic foundations and the ability to work through complex technical problems.
• A genuine interest in interpretability, alignment and making frontier AI systems safer.

This is an opportunity to work alongside some of the leading minds in AI research, with the engineering challenges, commercial traction and technical ambition to match. If you want to do genuinely difficult engineering work that contributes to the future of AI safety, we'd love to hear from you.