Staff Software Engineer

Senpilot; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 215,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health benefits

Time off: 20 vacation days + 5 flex

Job summary

Senpilot is seeking a staff engineer to define and drive AI-powered product features across the team. You will set technical direction while shipping production code, leveraging AI coding tools to move fast and raise the bar for reliability.

This AI-native role emphasizes building scalable systems with a genuine multiplier effect on the team. The position requires 5+ years of full stack experience and a track record of leading large, ambiguous initiatives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of full stack experience building and shipping production software, including influencing technical direction.
• Hands-on AI-native engineer capable of production-ready output.
• Experience leading large, ambiguous technical initiatives with multiple stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Define technical strategy and architecture, proactively spotting risks across security and scale.
• Bring clarity to ambiguous problems and connect technology to real-world customer problems.
• Own complex features and cross-team initiatives end to end: scope, design, build, ship, measure, iterate.
• Talk to customers directly and develop deep domain expertise shaping technical and product decisions.
• Own data modeling and schema design initiatives across the team.
• Mentor other engineers and raise standards, tooling, and AI-assisted coding.
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and engineers to improve our products.

Skills

Full stack experience

AI-native engineering

Technical leadership

System design

Technical communication

Mentoring engineers

Tools

Claude AI

TypeScript

Python

Node.js

GCP

Kubernetes

Job description

Senpilot builds AI agents that help utilities operate smarter, faster, and more reliably, automating everything from engineering workflows to regulatory filings and compliance. Our mission is to create the intelligence layer for the modern grid: AI systems that understand utility data, reason across it, and act autonomously to improve safety, resilience, and efficiency.

We are building production-grade intelligence that sits at the heart of how critical infrastructure is planned, monitored, and regulated, helping utilities unlock the next generation of reliability.

Joining Senpilot means joining a small, high-performance team that combines deep expertise in AI systems, data engineering, and energy infrastructure. We focus on generating value and we run toward the hard problems because that's where the value is. If you want to join a fast-growing team and help build the future of intelligent infrastructure, this is the place to do it.

The Role

We're looking for a staff engineer to define and drive how we build AI-powered product features across the team. You'll set the technical direction while still shipping production code yourself and iterating based on real usage. You'll lean on AI coding tools like Claude to move fast across the stack, and you'll help shape how the rest of the team uses them too, raising the bar on what "fast and reliable" looks like for everyone, not just for your own output.

This is an AI-native engineering role. We expect AI to be a core part of how you work, a genuine multiplier for how much you can design, build, and ship, and for how you help others do the same. We care far more about how you build than which stack you've used. If you can take a genuinely ambiguous, cross-cutting problem, without an obvious solution, and turn it into a shipped, maintained system that other engineers can extend, we want to talk to you.

What you will find in our current tech stack: TypeScript, Python, Node.js, GCP, Kubernetes, React, PostgreSQL, clickhouse and Temporal.

What You’ll Do

• Define technical strategy and architecture, proactively spotting and mitigating risks across security and scale
• Bring clarity to ambiguous problems, be the first technical mind on new challenges, connecting technology to real-world customer problems
• Own complex features and cross-team initiatives end to end: scope, design, build, ship, measure, and iterate
• Talk to customers directly and develop deep domain expertise that shapes technical and product decisions
• Own data modeling and schema design initiatives across the team, building pragmatic models that balance flexibility, simplicity, and durability
• Act as a force multiplier, identify high-leverage opportunities, mentor other engineers, and raise the bar on standards, tooling, and AI-assisted coding
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and engineers to create and improve our products

What You’ll Bring

• 5+ years of full stack experience building and shipping production software, including experience influencing technical direction.
• Hands-on experience as an AI-native Engineer and ability to get high-quality, production-ready output
• Demonstrated ability to lead large, ambiguous technical initiatives with multiple stakeholders
• Deep expertise across the stack plus strong system design and architecture judgment
• Strong technical communication skills, able to align both engineers and non-technical stakeholders and a low-ego approach to code review and design.
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and shaping engineering culture/standards

Work Location

We appreciate the flexibility of hybrid work, and we also value the energy that comes from being in the same room. Our team gathers at our office in Brooklyn, NY once a week. If you're able to join us in person on those days, we'd love to hear from you.

Please note that we are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time

What Is In For You

• Competitive Compensation: The estimated base salary range for this role in New York is $215,000 - $265,000 USD with most new hires joining near the midpoint. Actual salaries may vary within the range, or above or below it, based on factors such as experience, skills, location, and business needs.
• Equity
• Comprehensive Health Benefits for you and your dependents
• Time Off: 20 vacation days + 5 flex days around EOY holidays

AI at Senpilot

AI is embedded in how we work, and we encourage our team to lean on it to learn new skills, sharpen their craft, and put their energy toward the work that genuinely moves the needle.

That extends to how we hire. We bring AI into our recruitment process not to take the humanity out of it, but to keep things organized and smooth so the experience feels more personal, not less. It gives our team room to focus on the parts that count: genuine conversations and well thought decisions. Above all, every decision is made by real people, drawing on genuine understanding, and rooted in our values and culture.

Senpilot is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive and diverse workforce. Accommodations are available upon request during the recruitment process.