Staff Software Engineer - Backend

ZeroDrift; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

401(k)

Job summary

ZeroDrift is hiring a senior backend engineer to scale our enforcement infrastructure and own the integration layer that lets AI agents talk to ZeroDrift. You will shape the architecture and own the policy backend, with equity upside and visibility across the company.

This is a hands-on IC role with a focus on latency, reliability, and secure handling of sensitive data; three days per week in the New York City office (4 World Trade Center) and the rest remote, in a flexible hybrid setup.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building and running production backends at scale.
• Proficiency in a modern backend language (Go, Python, Java or Node).
• Experience with APIs and distributed systems.
• Comfort with cloud, containers and CI/CD.
• Focus on latency, reliability and clean code.
• Experience with low-latency or real-time systems.
• Experience handling sensitive or regulated data.

Responsibilities

• Build the layer that connects AI agents and developer frameworks to ZeroDrift: proxies, SDKs, and agent tooling.
• Own the policy backend: connectors, rule ingestion, and the engine that tracks rule changes.
• Build controls determining what each agent can do.
• Ensure low latency and high reliability under enterprise load.
• Maintain strong security and data protection for sensitive content.

Skills

Back-end systems

Backend languages

APIs

Distributed systems

Cloud

Containers

CI/CD

Latency

Reliability

Low latency

Real-time

Regulated data

Job description

ZeroDrift is building the AI-native enforcement infrastructure for enterprise communication. We are the first platform that enforces the rules before an AI message is ever sent, fixing violations in real time across every channel where AI speaks for the business. Everything goes out clean. Nothing dangerous comes in.

As AI starts to communicate on behalf of entire organizations, the gap between what compliance requires and what companies can actually enforce is widening fast. Every existing solution monitors after send, once the risk is already out the door. ZeroDrift enforces before send. Enforcement did not exist as a category. We created it.

We are backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and other world-class VCs, and built by a team from Microsoft, Google, and Goldman Sachs, led by a repeat AI founder.

The role

You build the systems that let any app or AI agent ask ZeroDrift, in milliseconds, whether a message is allowed. You own how agents and developers connect to us, and the backend that keeps every rule current. This is a hands-on, individual-contributor role with real say over the architecture. You will be one of our first engineers, shaping the architecture of a new category, with the ownership and equity upside to match.

What you will own

• Build the layer that connects AI agents and developer frameworks to ZeroDrift: proxies, SDKs, and agent tooling
• Own the policy backend: the connectors, the ingest of rule sources and restricted lists, and the engine that tracks when rules change
• Build the controls that decide what each agent is allowed to do
• Hit low latency and high reliability under enterprise load, since we sit in the path of every message
• Hold a high bar for security and data protection on sensitive content

What you bring

• 5+ years building and running production backends at scale
• Strong in a modern backend language (for example Go, Python, Java, or Node)
• Solid with APIs, distributed systems, databases, queues, and caching
• Comfortable with cloud, containers, and CI/CD
• You care about latency, reliability, and clean code in equal measure
• Low-latency or real-time systems
• Worked with sensitive or regulated data

How we work

We are hyper-focused on speed of execution and on owning our work end to end. This is a full-time hybrid role: three days a week in our office at 4 World Trade Center in New York City, and the rest remote.

Compensation and benefits

Base salary $180,000 - $220,000. Meaningful early-stage equity. Top-tier medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus a 401(k).

ZeroDrift is an equal opportunity employer. You must be authorized to work in the United States.