Staff Software Engineer

GTMnow; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Growth opportunities

Ownership

Remote work stipend

401(k) match

Health insurance

Job summary

Esper is hiring a Staff Software Engineer to own significant platform areas with hands-on leadership, focusing on reliability, security, and compliance for government customers. You will influence architecture, mentor teammates, and drive end-to-end delivery in a fast-growing GovTech environment.

You will work across product, design, and auditors to ship features and improve modeling of government processes. A strong background in distributed systems, cloud, and modern languages is essential.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience.
• Proficient in Java; comfortable with Python/Go/Rust.
• Experience owning services in production, including deployment and observability.
• Experience with distributed systems and asynchronous or long-running workflows.
• Experience with domain/data modeling and evolving models as products grow.
• Experience building production software on AWS or a comparable cloud provider.
• Familiarity with Docker and infrastructure as code such as Terraform.
• Strong communication and collaboration with multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate core services end-to-end from data model to API to production systems.
• Set technical direction and roadmaps for your areas with engineering leadership.
• Collaborate with product and design from ambiguous problem statements to shipped features.
• Model the domain of government agency work and evolve the model as the product grows.
• Provide technical mentorship and design reviews to other engineers.

Skills

8+ years software engineering

Java

Python

Go

Rust

AWS

Docker

Terraform

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

At Esper, we’re on a mission to empower dynamic and responsive policymaking in government. We’re building the platform that connects existing data, stakeholders, and public policy goals into a single dynamic system, transforming bureaucracy into infrastructure that encourages innovation and collaboration.

As a fast-growing GovTech company, Esper is at the intersection of two powerful forces: the modernization of government operations and the transformative potential of data-driven decision-making. Our customer base is expanding rapidly, and we’re building the team that will define how public policy is shaped for decades to come.

What You’ll Do

Esper is looking for an experienced Staff Software Engineer to join our team and take technical ownership of significant areas of our platform. This is a senior individual contributor role without direct reports. Because Esper’s customers include state, local, and federal government agencies, the reliability, security, and compliance posture of our platform is central to the business.

As a senior member of the engineering team, you’ll make a direct impact through:

• Designing, building, and operating core services and product features end to end, from data model through API to the systems that run them in production
• Setting technical direction and roadmap for your areas in partnership with engineering leadership
• Participating fully in product development, working with product and design from an ambiguous problem statement through to a shipped feature
• Modeling the domain our customers work in — the entities, relationships, roles, and processes that make up a government agency and its work — and evolving that model as the product grows
• Providing technical mentorship and design review to other engineers

Skills and Experience

• 8+ years of software engineering experience
• Strong programming skills in a language such as Java, Python, Go, or Rust, and willingness to work primarily in Java
• Experience owning services in production, including their data stores, deployment, and observability
• Experience with distributed systems and asynchronous or long-running workflows
• Experience with domain and data modeling, and the judgment to know when a model needs to change
• Experience building production software on AWS or a comparable cloud provider
• Familiarity with Docker and infrastructure as code such as Terraform
• Genuine interest in the product, not just the systems underneath it
• Strong communication skills — you will be working closely with all of engineering, as well as with product, design, auditors, and customer security teams
• Ability to write clear, detailed technical documentation

Bonus Points

• Experience shipping LLM-backed or agentic features to production users
• Hands-on experience with agent frameworks such as Strands Agents, the Vercel AI SDK, LangChain4j, Spring AI, LangGraph, Pydantic AI, or the OpenAI Agents SDK
• Experience with workflow orchestration platforms such as Temporal, Cadence, or Step Functions
• Experience with Amazon Bedrock or AgentCore, or with deploying agents into a managed runtime
• Experience building evaluation, tracing, or quality monitoring tooling for LLM systems
• Experience with ontology modeling or knowledge graphs
• Experience with Kubernetes, GitOps pipelines, and cloud architecture best practices
• Experience implementing technical controls for SOC 2, ISO 27001, or a comparable framework, including direct participation in audits
• Experience taking a product through a FedRAMP or StateRAMP authorization
• Experience at a govtech or other compliance-driven organization

Perks and Benefits

• Being a part of an innovative and collaborative team that will both support and challenge you
• Significant opportunity for growth and ownership
• Ability to shape Esper for the long-term
• Paid holidays & unlimited PTO
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous parental & sick leave
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Short/Long term disability & life insurance
• Flexible spending account (FSA)
• Work anniversary equity grants
• Quarterly bonuses
• Monthly stipend to offset remote work expenses
• Office equipment allowance
• Paid Time Off to participate in volunteer/community events