Staff Software Engineer - Backend

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

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

401(k)

Job summary

ZeroDrift is looking for an experienced backend engineer to help build the infrastructure that lets AI apps query policy in milliseconds. You will own connecting agents to ZeroDrift, the policy backend, and the low-latency backend that enforces rules in real time.

This hands-on IC role offers early equity, a hybrid NYC office three days a week, and the chance to shape a new category in enterprise AI safety.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building production backends at scale.
• Strong in a modern backend language (Go, Python, Java, or Node).
• Solid with APIs, distributed systems, databases, queues, and caching.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Skills

Backend development

Go/Python/Java/Node

Distributed systems

Latency focus

Cloud & CI/CD

Job description

About ZeroDrift

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

Bonus points

• Low-latency or real-time systems
• Built SDKs, proxies, or developer-facing infrastructure
• 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.