Staff or Principal Engineer for AI Startup backed by Anthropic, Stripe and More

Staff Engineer or Principal Engineer – Colorado Stealth StartupAbout the OpportunityJoin an elite, venture-backed, proven team building next-generation, AI-powered collaboration tools for the enterprise. The oversubscribed round was funded by partners include Anthropic, Stripe, Matchstick, Menlo, and Greycroft.We have been retained to lead the search for a rapidly growing startup developing AI systems that improve how large organizations think, communicate, and make decisions. Their product uses cutting-edge AI to identify and resolve coordination gaps automatically — helping teams operate more intelligently and efficiently at scale.The company is expanding its world-class engineering team in Colorado and beyond.What You’ll DoArchitect and implement core systems for an AI-powered enterprise collaboration platform, as a core engineer.Define, design, and deliver innovative solutions in distributed systems, backend logic, and AI integration.Collaborate closely with product, design, and AI research peers to shape both strategy and implementation.Ensure infrastructure reliability, scalability, and security through modern cloud and Kubernetes technologies.Work with other Senior Staff Engineers to foster a culture of technical excellence, autonomy, and curiosity.Ideal Candidate ProfileTop 20% Engineer: Strong analytical ability, judgment, and breadth of experience. You think from first principles and have a track record of solving complex, real-world problems.Hands-On Builder: You’re happiest writing code and shipping production systems in a fast paced startup — not just managing others.Self-Directed & Autonomous: You thrive in a lightly structured environment, decomposing ambiguous problems and independently driving them to completion.Backend, Security & Systems Focused: Most work centers on backend and business logic development and integrations. Security-centric SRE experience is preferred. Frontend development is helpful but not central.Startup & Enterprise Experience: You balance startup agility with enterprise-scale thinking and rigor.Smart, Not Hard: You work efficiently and sustainably, typically producing exceptional results within a 45–50 hour workweek.AI & LLM Experience: You’re excited by building in an AI-native environment, leveraging Claude Code and other LLM-assisted tools to enhance development velocity and creativity.Collaborative & Solution-Oriented: No lonewolves. You communicate thoughtfully, contribute positively to discussions, and pair every critique with a constructive solution.How We WorkWe value leverage over brute force — working smart, not long hours. Engineers are trusted to define their own work, prioritize high-impact projects, and deliver results with minimal oversight.The team collaborates through lightweight, peer-driven conversations rather than rigid sprint cycles or daily standups. You’ll work alongside senior peers solving challenging systems problems in a small, high-trust team where every hire makes a visible impact.This is an environment for creative, disciplined problem solvers who thrive in freedom and accountability.Technical Environment and required experience:AI-native development using Claude Code and LLM-assisted tools.Work at the bleeding edge of containerization, Agentic platforms, MCP, and distributed systems.A modern, cloud-first infrastructure built on Knowledge Graph using Neo4J and Terraform and Kubernetes.High-impact autonomy: engineers research, design, and deliver major systems end-to-end.Interview ProcessWe’ve designed a focused process that balances technical rigor with respect for candidates’ time.Step 1: Introductory conversation with Technical Integrity.Step 2: Real-world coding exercise (typically ~4 hours).This is the main part of our interview process and replaces multiple rounds.It reflects our AI-native environment and requires use of Claude Code and modern containerization tools.Candidates often find it a valuable preview of what day-to-day work feels like here.Step 3: Three collaborative interviews with engineering leadership.This process gives both sides a deep sense of technical fit and working style.Compensation & BenefitsCompetitive salary and meaningful equity packages.Recent offers for comparable roles have ranged from $185,000–$250,000 base, plus meaningful signing bonuses and equity stakes. (Equity is the big story- take time to learn about that story throughout your interviews and you will be glad you did).Very solid Health benefits (Medical, Dental, and Vision)401K matchFlexible work arrangements — Colorado-based 1-2 days per week in Boulder.Opportunity to collaborate with world-class technical peers on groundbreaking AI systems.Application ProcessTo apply, please apply with your resume and a concise statement of interest.We value transparency, prompt feedback, and a respectful candidate experience throughout.If you’re a Staff Engineer or Principal technologist who thrives on autonomy, deep technical challenges, and building at the frontier of AI-assisted engineering, we’d love to hear from you.