Staff Software Engineer - AI & Intelligent Tooling

Plaid; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 208,000 - 307,000; Full time

Job summary

Plaid is evolving into an AI-first company, with the Intelligent Tooling team building the technical foundations and internal platforms powering AI in the software lifecycle. You will own major parts of the surface, ship durable tooling, and improve developer experience across Plaid’s engineering teams.

This hands-on Staff Software Engineer role emphasizes ownership, reliability, and measurable adoption of AI-enabled tooling, collaborating with engineers and cross-functional partners to

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Experience building developer tooling or internal platforms.
• Exposure to AI systems, automation, or agentic workflows.
• Strong problem-solving and collaboration, with tendency to lead through influence.
• Interest in leveraging AI to improve developer productivity and velocity for large engineering org.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate internal tools and services used by Plaid’s engineers.
• Integrate AI-powered tools and workflows into core engineering processes.
• Improve reliability, usability, and performance of internal platforms.
• Own systems end-to-end, including production support and iterative improvement.
• Collaborate with teammates and stakeholders to deliver practical, high-impact solutions.
• Set technical direction for major areas of the Intelligent Tooling surface and mentor other engineers

Skills

8+ years experience

Dev tooling

AI systems exposure

Problem solving

AI-driven productivity

Tools

CI/CD

Cloud infrastructure

Observability tooling

AI-powered dev tools

Job description

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.

Team Description

Plaid is evolving into an AI-first company, and Intelligent Tooling sits at the center of that transformation. The Intelligent Tooling team is being built from the ground up, and our mission is to establish the technical foundations, operating model, and internal platforms that embed AI deeply into Plaid’s coding tools, internal systems, and the entire software development lifecycle.

When we are successful, engineers across Plaid will delegate lower-leverage work to AI agents, move faster with confidence, and spend more of their time designing and inventing for customers. Intelligent Tooling owns the platforms and systems that make this possible - from AI coding integrations and SDLC agents to the internal tools that power Plaid’s operations.

Role Description

As a Staff Software Engineer on the Intelligent Tooling team, you will build and operate internal systems that directly impact how engineers across Plaid do their work, and own the technical direction for major parts of that surface. This is a hands-on role with significant ownership, where success is measured by real adoption, reliability, and improvements to developer experience.

You will work on AI-powered tooling, internal platforms, and developer workflows, collaborating closely with other engineers and cross-functional partners to ship durable, high-leverage systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate internal tools and services used by Plaid’s engineers.
• Integrate AI-powered tools and workflows into core engineering processes.
• Improve reliability, usability, and performance of existing internal platforms.
• Own systems end-to-end, including production support and iterative improvement.
• Collaborate with teammates and stakeholders to deliver practical, high-impact solutions.
• Set technical direction for major areas of the Intelligent Tooling surface and mentor other engineers

Must-haves

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Experience building developer tooling, internal platforms, or infrastructure
• Exposure to developing AI systems, automation, or agentic workflows, and hands-on experience using AI-powered developer tools.
• Strong problem-solving and collaboration skills, with a track record of setting technical direction and leading through influence.
• Strong interest and excitement in leveraging AI to meaningfully improve developer productivity and engineering velocity for a broader engineering organization.

Nice-to-haves

• Familiarity with CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, or observability tooling.

Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!

Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].

Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.

Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

Compensation Range: $207.6K - $306.6K