Staff Software Engineer

interface.ai; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 260,000 - 310,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Equity option

SF office in 44 Montgomery

Daily meals provided

Commuter benefits

Wellness stipend

Job summary

interface.ai is building the infrastructure layer for AI-powered financial services in San Francisco. We seek a Staff Software Engineer to set the architectural direction for our core platform, and to own outcomes across multiple engineering streams while partnering with leadership.

You’ll define scalable, production-grade AI systems and codify standards that scale from 30 to 300 engineers. You’ll mentor senior engineers, drive cross-functional initiatives, and embed AI-native development

Qualifications

• BS/BA in CS required; MS/PhD in CS/AI is a meaningful plus.
• 8+ years in software engineering with architectural direction.
• Expert-level proficiency in TypeScript and Python; strong JavaScript; full-stack capable.
• Deep platform engineering: distributed systems, event-driven architectures, cloud-native infrastructure, multi-tenancy.
• AI engineering depth: understanding LLM internals, context management, tool-use patterns, latency/cost trade-offs.
• Design for uncertainty: systems that evolve with changing requirements; ownership culture.
• Radical ownership: problems get solved, delegated, or escalated within 24 hours.
• Full-time SF presence — you are a force multiplier in the room.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the technical architecture of interface.ai's platform — multi-modal APIs, real-time event systems, AI orchestration layers, and data infrastructure
• Lead cross-functional technical initiatives: decompose ambiguous product bets into engineering roadmaps, mitigate systemic risks before they materialize, and drive resolution when they do
• Architect scalable, production-grade agentic AI and conversational AI systems — including LLM integration layers, retrieval pipelines, tool-use orchestration, and evaluation frameworks
• Establish the engineering standards that will hold as we scale from 30 to 300 engineers: service contracts, data models, deployment patterns, observability, and reliability targets
• Serve as the technical bridge between product vision and engineering reality — you translate ambition into architecture, and architecture into shipped systems
• Deeply embed AI-native development (Claude Code, Cursor) into engineering practice and help your peers build faster with it
• Mentor and elevate senior engineers — your job is to make the team around you better, faster, and more autonomous
• Operate in-person, in SF, 5 days a week — influence happens in rooms, on whiteboards, and in code reviews, not async threads

Skills

TypeScript

Python

JavaScript

Distributed Systems

Cloud-native Infra

LLM-based systems

Architectural leadership

Mentoring

In-person SF presence

Claude Code

Cursor

Education

BS/BA in Computer Science

MS/PhD in CS/AI

Job description

About Interface.ai

Interface.ai is building the infrastructure layer for AI-powered financial services. Our agentic AI platform enables credit unions and community banks to deliver intelligent, real-time member experiences at scale — the kind of service that was previously inaccessible to most Americans. We're Series A ($30M), cash-flow positive, and past the point where engineering is about survival. Now it's about building something that lasts.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Staff Software Engineer role at interface.ai is for someone who has already proven they can build — and is now ready to define how we build. You'll set the architectural direction for our core platform, operate as a technical authority across multiple engineering workstreams, and work in close partnership with our VP of Engineering, CTO and Co-Founder Bruce Kim, and CEO Srinivas Njay. You won't have a manager hovering over your next decision. You'll be making the decisions — and owning the outcomes. This role has outsized influence on the company's technical trajectory, product velocity, and the careers of the engineers around you.

What You'll Work On

• Define and own the technical architecture of interface.ai's platform — multi-modal APIs, real-time event systems, AI orchestration layers, and data infrastructure
• Lead cross-functional technical initiatives: decompose ambiguous product bets into engineering roadmaps, mitigate systemic risks before they materialize, and drive resolution when they do
• Architect scalable, production-grade agentic AI and conversational AI systems — including LLM integration layers, retrieval pipelines, tool-use orchestration, and evaluation frameworks
• Establish the engineering standards that will hold as we scale from 30 to 300 engineers: service contracts, data models, deployment patterns, observability, and reliability targets
• Serve as the technical bridge between product vision and engineering reality — you translate ambition into architecture, and architecture into shipped systems
• Deeply embed AI-native development (Claude Code, Cursor) into engineering practice and help your peers build faster with it
• Mentor and elevate senior engineers — your job is to make the team around you better, faster, and more autonomous
• Operate in-person, in SF, 5 days a week — influence happens in rooms, on whiteboards, and in code reviews, not async threads

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of software engineering, with the last several in roles where you set technical direction — not just executed it
• A clear record of architectural wins: systems you designed that scaled, survived production, and that others still rely on
• Expert-level proficiency in TypeScript and Python; strong JavaScript for full-stack contributions; comfort working across the stack when the problem demands it
• Deep platform engineering expertise: distributed system design, event-driven architectures, cloud-native infrastructure, multi-tenancy, and horizontal scale
• AI engineering depth: you understand the internals of LLM-based systems — context management, tool-use patterns, latency/cost trade-offs, evaluation strategy, and the emerging architecture of agentic AI
• The ability to design for uncertainty — you build systems that can evolve as requirements change, not systems that assume stability
• BS/BA in Computer Science required; MS or PhD in CS, AI, or a related field is a meaningful plus
• Radical ownership: problems don't sit on your desk — they get solved, delegated, or escalated within 24 hours
• Full-time SF presence — you're a force multiplier in the room

BONUS POINTS

• Architected production conversational AI systems, voice AI, or real-time NLP pipelines
• Deep domain experience in fintech, payments, core banking, or financial data infrastructure
• Experience as a founding or early-stage engineer at a startup that shipped at scale
• Published work, open-source contributions, or recognized technical writing in AI systems or platform engineering

What This Role Is — And Isn't

This is not a principal-in-title-only role. You'll write code, review systems, and make judgment calls that affect the entire company. You'll partner directly with leadership — not through layers of management — and your architectural decisions will ship to production in weeks, not quarters. If you want to work at a place where your decisions can be felt, this is it.

Benefits

• 100% paid health, dental & vision care
• 401(k) & financial wellness perks
• Daily meals on us
• Commuter benefit
• Monthly wellness stipend
• Claude Enterprise + frontier AI tools for every employee — build with the best
• Brand-new 21st-floor SF office at 44 Montgomery — floor-to-ceiling views, worth showing up to
• Discretionary PTO + paid parental leave
• Mental health, wellness & family benefits
• A mission-driven team shaping the future of banking

Why interface.ai

Series A

• $30M raised
• Cash-flow positive — we're not burning cash hoping the product works. It works. Customers are live, revenue is real, and the mission is one you can explain to your family without a slide deck.

You'll work directly with Bruce Kim (CTO / Co-Founder), who sets the technical bar and goes deep on the hardest problems, and Srinivas Njay (CEO), who is hands-on daily across product and engineering. Founding-team-tier equity, top-of-market base, comprehensive benefits, and a modern San Francisco office worth showing up to. The team is small enough that your judgment shapes everything, and the market is large enough that what you build will matter for a long time.

interface.ai is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees

Compensation Range: $260K - $310K