Staff Software Engineer

Ontra; Concord (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Offsites

Flexible time off

Parental leave

Retirement contributions

Phone reimbursement

Learning & development

Insurance options

Job summary

Ontra is hiring a Staff Software Engineer to build AI-powered features that transform unstructured legal text into structured data used by the world’s largest investment firms. You’ll define evaluation frameworks, tackle complex technical challenges, and collaborate with product and design to shape what we build.

You’ll have hands-on experience with AI and LLMs in production, driving architecture and delivery while maintaining a focus on scalability and long-term impact.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with production-grade systems.
• Daily use of AI coding tools and ability to review AI outputs.

Responsibilities

• Build AI-powered product features end-to-end.
• Set technical direction across product areas and balance shipping with scalability.
• Own outcomes across teams and drive initiatives from problem statements to production.
• Raise the engineering bar by establishing patterns and improving tooling.
• Shape product direction by bringing engineering insight to product discussions.

Skills

AI fluency

10+ years experience

Results-driven

Problem solving

Communication

Job description

About Ontra

Ontra is the leader in AI-powered solutions for the private markets. Powered by industry-leading AI, data from over 2 million contracts, and a global network of legal professionals, Ontra automates critical private market workflows across the fund lifecycle. Ontra’s solutions transform unstructured data trapped in static documents into actionable intelligence, enabling firms to accelerate contracts, streamline compliance, and automate entity management. Trusted by more than 1,000 global GPs, investment banks, law firms, and advisors – including nine of the top ten PEI-ranked firms worldwide – Ontra helps firms focus on what’s important.

Our Culture

Ontra is built for people who want real ownership from day one in an environment that’s built to support it. Our customers are sophisticated, and our work reflects that. AI is engrained in how we work, and curiosity about it is part of who we are.

Ontranauts are sharp, genuinely collaborative, and invested in each other’s success. They are excellent at what they do and even better to work with. That combination is rare, and we don’t take it for granted. Learn more about our values.

For this job, we are currently only hiring candidates based in New York and require on-site work at our New York office three days per week. For more information on where we employ, please see below.

About the Role

Ontra is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to work on our innovative purpose-built AI solutions. Contract negotiations once required hours of manual markup. Hundreds of pages of fund documents hide critical obligations in dense legal language. Unstructured legal text needs to become clean, actionable data before it can drive any real decisions.

At Ontra, that’s the work. You’ll build AI-powered features that automatically mark up contracts during negotiations, extract obligations buried in complex fund documents, and transform messy legal text into structured data that some of the world’s largest investment firms rely on to run their business.

This role is a great opportunity for someone who is passionate about tackling complex technical challenges, architecting robust and scalable systems, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. This position is ideal for those who enjoy driving project direction and fostering an environment of continuous improvement. We’re looking for someone who combines deep technical skill with strong product instincts. You’ll partner closely with product and design to shape what we build, not just how.

You’ll have hands‑on experience building with AI and LLMs in production, and should be able to define evaluation frameworks, reason about failure modes, and make strategic calls about where AI creates genuine value in our products, and where it doesn’t.

If you want to do the best work of your career at a company and want to contribute to a culture of learning and growth, we’d love to get to know you!

What You’ll Do

• Build with AI: Ship AI-powered product features and use AI tools across your own workflow, from prototyping to code review.

• Architect and Deliver: Set technical direction across product areas, making architectural decisions that balance near‑term shipping with long‑term scalability.

• Own Outcomes Across Teams: Identify the highest‑leverage problems, ensure the right things get built in the right order, and drive initiatives from ambiguous problem statements through to production.

• Raise the Engineering Bar: Establish patterns, improve tooling, fix systemic quality issues, and use code reviews to level up other engineers.

• Shape Product Direction: Partner with product and design as a technical thought partner. Bring engineering insight into what’s possible, what’s costly, and where technical investment unlocks new value.

What You’ll Bring

• Expertise: 10+ years in software engineering with a track record of designing and delivering complex, production‑grade systems.

• AI Fluency: Daily use of AI coding tools is required, along with the ability to review, verify, and reject AI output and to know when not to trust it. Preferred depth includes having built LLM features in production (RAG, agents, prompting, evals).

• Results‑driven approach: Proven experience delivering features and solutions that have a direct impact on revenue growth, savings, or operational efficiencies.

• Problem Solving Skills: Ability to tackle complex technical problems with creativity and efficiency.

• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication across technical and non-technical team members and stakeholders.

Hiring Locations

We currently hire exclusively in the locations listed below. Select jobs may have more specific location requirements due to business needs.

United States

Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington

APAC

Hong Kong

EMEA

United Kingdom

Benefits Snapshot

• Twice yearly team offsites for in-person collaboration

• Paid flexible time off policy

• Paid parental leave and benefits

• Employer-supported retirement contributions, varying by country

• Monthly phone and internet reimbursement

• Company-sponsored learning and development resources, department budgets for professional development, and a robust onboarding program

• Various options for medical, dental, and vision insurance

Travel

Occasional travel is required for Ontra employees, including typically at least twice per year to attend team and larger group off‑sites for in-person collaboration. For some roles, additional travel may be required based on the requirements of the role and business need.

Inclusivity

Ontra is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Ontra will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [e-mail].

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Note on Employment Verification: All employees hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in their particular location.