Job Details

Join to apply for the Principal Software Engineer role at CEF.AIWe offer highly competitive compensation and founder-level equity for this senior technical position. Your true remuneration will depend on your experience and skill set, so please discuss details with your recruiter.Base pay range$80,000.00/yr - $150,000.00/yrAre you excited by the opportunity to become a part of a badass team leading the AI-first data revolution?Do you thrive on solving hard problems (individually and collectively), yet remain humble and hungry to learn and grow within a team on your path to greatness?Do you desire to become a part of a close-knit pack led by SV startup veterans who can accelerate your growth 10X (compared to the corporate trajectory/culture)?If you've answered "yes" to all three questions, we want to meet you!You will play a critical role in designing and building our AI-first data computing platform. This is not merely an execution role – we're looking for a strategic thinker who can move with intent and translate ideas from concept to production with a balanced mix of technical depth and practical decision-making.You'll work across the stack, applying modern technologies to develop performant, secure, and scalable systems, and help shape the foundation of a platform that powers real-world AI applications at scale.ResponsibilitiesSystems Architecture: Design, implement, and scale foundational backend systems and APIs that power decentralized, real-time AI workflows.Developer Experience: Own the end-to-end developer journey by building SDKs, CLIs, and interfaces that make interacting with our platform easy.Cross-Stack Execution: Rapidly prototype and productize features using tools like Cursor, React, and TypeScript—without sacrificing quality or scale.Technical Leadership: Guide architectural decisions, lead design reviews, and mentor engineers in best practices for distributed, high-performance systems.Collaboration: Partner with product, design, and leadership to align technical execution with company vision and user needs.Execution Ownership: Drive key projects from 0?1 with autonomy, accountability, and a strong bias for action.RequirementsExperience: 4+ years in high-performance software environments, with a proven track record of shipping complex systems end-to-end.Deep Technical Expertise: Mastery of one or more systems languages (Go, Rust, Kotlin, etc.) and strong backend engineering fundamentals.Architectural Fluency: Experience designing and scaling distributed systems with performance, reliability, and observability in mind.Quality & Testing: Strong discipline around testing, CI/CD, and long-term maintainability (TDD preferred).Builder Mindset: Ability to turn ambiguity into architecture, and architecture into reliable, extensible code.Communication: Clear, concise communicator who can explain trade-offs, write technical specs, and mentor junior engineers.Bonus: Experience with edge computing, Web3 protocols, real-time data infra, or AI/ML-powered systems.BenefitsCompetitive Compensation & Meaningful Equity: Founder-level alignment because this is a founder-level role.High-Ownership Role: Directly shape our technical direction and long-term stack architecture.Work with Top-Tier Founders & Engineers: Collaborate daily with a deeply technical, mission-driven leadership team.Build the Future of AI Infrastructure: We're not optimizing yesterday's workflows—we're inventing tomorrow's.Zero Bureaucracy, Maximum Autonomy: We stay lean, move fast, and trust you to lead.Remote-First, In-Person When It Counts: Distributed across SF and Europe, with monthly hackathons and off-sites.Our Hiring ProcessIntro Call: A quick chat to align on expectations, interests, and team fit.Technical Deep Dive: Focused conversation with our Engineering Manager to explore your systems thinking and past work.CEO Interview: Strategic discussion around vision, mindset, and long-term alignment.Reference Collection: We'll speak with a few people you've worked closely with.Paid Trial (~5 Days): Short, real-world engagement so we can see how we work together, happening in parallel with offer and terms discussion.Join CEF.AI as a Principal Software Engineer to help design and deliver the future of privacy-first, agentic AI. If you want to work on original systems that will define the next decade of compute, apply now.Seniority levelAssociateEmployment typeFull-timeJob functionInformation TechnologyIndustriesSoftware DevelopmentJ-18808-Ljbffr