Strala — Software Engineer

davidjoseph-co; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Meals covered

Productivity tools covered

Job summary

Strala is hiring a Software Engineer to own and build the core technical infrastructure of its AI-native insurance platform — deploying to production on day one and operating with extreme ownership from the start. This role requires creating specs, solving problems, and building with little direction, while contributing to a fast-paced, high-ownership team.

You will work closely with the founding team, scale systems, and own critical components from day one, with growth toward leadership as the

Qualifications

• 2+ years backend development experience.
• Strong Python and production-grade code shipping track record.
• PostgreSQL, vector databases, and core system design ownership.
• REST, GraphQL, GCP, AWS, Docker fluency.
• High agency and extreme ownership mindset.
• Based in or relocating to San Francisco.

Responsibilities

• Ship to production from day one and take full responsibility for your code.
• Own and build core infrastructure, databases (PostgreSQL, vector databases), and architecture.
• Create specs, design systems, and build features end-to-end without heavy direction.
• Scale the existing codebase to support rapid growth across a complex insurance platform.
• Work directly with the founding team in a high-intensity, high-ownership environment.
• Help hire your next teammate and contribute to the engineering culture as the team scales.

Skills

Python

PostgreSQL

Vector databases

REST

GraphQL

GCP

AWS

Docker

Backend development

High ownership

Job description

Strala — Software Engineer

Type: Full-time | On-site | San Francisco, CACompensation: $150,000–$250,000 + 0.1%–0.3% equityHiring count: 3Visa sponsorship: Yes — H-1B, O-1, OPTReports to: Founding team (no named manager specified)

About Strala

Strala is an AI-native insurance platform that automates the entire claims process — intake, fraud detection, and settlement — helping insurers handle claims faster, more accurately, and at lower cost. In under a year they reached multi-seven-figure ARR and are growing ~50% month over month. They have raised two rounds from Tier 1 funds, including Peter Thiel's Founders Fund (led by the partner who was early in OpenAI, Cognition, and Scale AI). The team comes from Harvard, Berkeley, Oxford, Optiver, AMD, and Palantir, with ICPC and NeurIPS backgrounds.

Founded: 2025 | Team size: ~25 (11 engineers), targeting 100 by year-end | Total funding: Two rounds raised; amount not disclosedIndustry: FinTech / InsuranceWebsite: strala.aiOffice: San Francisco, CA

Why Candidates Should Join

• Top-of-market package: Top-quartile salary and equity, full relocation support, all meals and productivity tools/software covered.
• Real ownership from day one: Deploy to production on day one; own core infra, databases, and architecture; write your own specs end-to-end.
• Fast path to leadership: Team scaling from ~25 toward 100 by year-end, with a clear runway into a technical leadership role within ~12 months.

Intake Call Summary

• Intake was delivered via video (not transcribed). No written intake summary is present on the role page — request the transcript or notes from Contrario if needed.

The Role

Strala is hiring a Software Engineer to own and build the core technical infrastructure of its AI-native insurance platform — deploying to production on day one and operating with extreme ownership from the start. This is not a role where you wait for a spec; you create it, figure it out, and build it. Week one is orientation; from month one you are expected to be agentic and self-directing, with a leadership role expected a year out as the team scales.

What You'll Be Doing

• Ship to production from day one and take full responsibility for your code
• Own and build core infrastructure, databases (PostgreSQL, vector databases), and architecture
• Create specs, design systems, and build features end-to-end without heavy direction
• Scale the existing codebase to support rapid growth across a complex insurance platform
• Work directly with the founding team in a high-intensity, high-ownership environment
• Help hire your next teammate and contribute to the engineering culture as the team scales

Tech stack: Python, PostgreSQL, vector databases, REST, GraphQL, GCP, AWS, Docker

Requirements

• 2+ years backend development experience
• Strong Python and production-grade code shipping track record
• PostgreSQL, vector databases, and core system design ownership
• REST, GraphQL, GCP, AWS, Docker fluency
• High agency and extreme ownership mindset
• Based in or relocating to San Francisco

Green Flags

• Raw intelligence signal: IOI, ICPC, NeurIPS, Putnam, or equivalent, this is the clearest indicator of the abstract thinking Strala needs
• Background at Optiver, DRW, Citadel, Jane Street, or equivalent high-signal firm
• Has been a CTO, founding engineer, or early engineer at a startup, understands what extreme ownership actually means
• Exceptional new grad with a top-tier internship at Optiver, Jane Street, or equivalent
• Has shipped production-grade systems fast and takes full responsibility for their code
• Agentic problem solver, does not wait for direction, identifies what needs to be built and goes and builds it

Red Flags

• No raw intelligence signal and no high-signal internship or company background
• Needs heavy specs and direction before executing, this role requires someone who writes the spec
• Only worked in large companies with established engineering processes and no founding or early-stage experience
• Weak Python or backend fundamentals, these are non-negotiable
• Not based in or willing to relocate to San Francisco, fully in-person is required

Role Details

Salary$150,000–$250,000Equity0.1%–0.3%Experience1–5+ yearsOn-site policyFully in-person, San Francisco; relocation fully supportedVisa sponsorshipH-1B, O-1, OPTEmployment typeFull-timeLocationSan Francisco, CA

Screening Questions

• None provided on the role page.

Interview Process

The Contrario pipeline lists a separate stage per interviewer; distilled, the process is: Stage 1 — Application Review Stage 2 — Cultural Fit Interview — culture/values fit with the team. Stage 3 — First Technical Interview Stage 4 — Second Technical Interview Stage 5 — Third Technical Interview Stage 6 — Offer Extended Stage 7 — Candidate Hired — Candidate accepts and starts.

Ideal Companies & Backgrounds

• No dedicated Ideal Companies section on the role page. High-signal firms named in Green Flags / body: Optiver, DRW, Citadel, Jane Street.

Ideal Candidate Profiles

• None provided on the role page.

Rejected Candidate Feedback

• None provided on the role page.