Staff Software Engineer, Rapid Innovation

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Staff Software Engineer, Rapid Innovation based in United States.

This is a fully remote opportunity to join a rapid innovation team focused on turning ambitious, loosely defined ideas into working software.

You’ll operate as a hands-on technical leader, moving quickly across backend, frontend, desktop, infrastructure, security, AI, and developer tooling as projects demand.

The role offers significant autonomy to shape architecture, prototype solutions, validate feasibility, and determine which concepts are ready for productization.

You’ll work closely with senior technical, product, and subject-matter leaders while solving high-priority strategic challenges.

The environment rewards technical curiosity, experimentation, pragmatic decision-making, and the ability to learn unfamiliar technologies quickly.

Successful projects will transition to long-term engineering teams, allowing you to continuously tackle new problems and emerging opportunities.

This is an ideal role for a broad, experienced engineer who thrives on ambiguity and wants to build what comes next.

Accountabilities:

• Rapidly design and build functional software for new product concepts, technical experiments, and strategic initiatives, taking ideas from early discovery through validation.
• Translate loosely defined requirements into practical technical approaches, making architecture and implementation decisions with appropriate tradeoffs between speed, security, reliability, and scalability.
• Work across backend, frontend, desktop, platform, integration, and infrastructure technologies according to the needs of each initiative.
• Develop backend services and APIs using Java and other appropriate technologies, while building modern web experiences with JavaScript, TypeScript, React, and related frameworks.
• Evaluate unfamiliar technologies, frameworks, APIs, and codebases and become productive quickly enough to keep innovation efforts moving.
• Explore and integrate AI models, APIs, agents, and emerging AI capabilities where they can create meaningful value, collaborating with specialized AI and machine learning teams when needed.
• Identify technical risks, test assumptions, validate feasibility, and determine whether prototypes are ready to advance toward productization.
• Create appropriate technical documentation, architecture guidance, reusable components, and handoff materials so validated initiatives can transition effectively to long-term engineering teams.
• Establish shared AI development patterns and tooling, including reusable approaches for prompts, tools, evaluation, monitoring, logging, and orchestration.
• Mentor engineers, contribute to design reviews, and raise technical standards through hands-on collaboration and technical guidance.
• Partner directly with senior technology and product leaders and subject-matter experts to understand problems, shape solutions, and drive initiatives forward.
• Use AI-assisted development tools extensively for research, coding, debugging, testing, prototyping, and technical exploration.

Requirements:

• 9+ years of professional software engineering experience, demonstrating broad expertise across multiple areas of software development.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals with the ability to design and build complete applications, services, APIs, integrations, and supporting systems.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical architecture and execution for complex software initiatives.
• Proven ability to independently take ambiguous or minimally defined ideas from concept through functional implementation and technical validation.
• Strong backend development experience, preferably with Java and modern service-oriented architectures.
• Experience developing modern frontend applications using JavaScript or TypeScript, React, or comparable frameworks.
• Experience designing and integrating APIs, backend services, databases, and third-party technologies.
• Excellent debugging, problem-solving, and systems-thinking abilities, including the ability to work effectively within unfamiliar codebases.
• Demonstrated ability to rapidly learn new programming languages, frameworks, technologies, and technical domains.
• Sound judgment when balancing rapid experimentation with longer-term considerations such as scalability, security, reliability, and maintainability.
• Strong technical curiosity and a demonstrated history of experimenting with or building new technologies.
• Proven ability to influence technical direction and mentor engineers without requiring formal people-management authority.
• Hands-on experience using AI-assisted engineering tools to accelerate software development, research, debugging, and prototyping.
• Clear communication skills, with the ability to explain technical findings, architecture decisions, risks, and handoff requirements to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience with hackathons, open-source projects, technical side projects, startups, innovation labs, or other highly experimental environments is a plus.
• Experience with Python and/or Rust, AI/LLM integrations, agent workflows, cybersecurity, developer tooling, desktop software, infrastructure, or platform products is preferred.

Benefits:

• Fully remote work opportunity across the United States.
• Hybrid work option for eligible candidates located in the Chicago, Illinois or El Dorado Hills, California metropolitan areas.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, including domestic partnerships.
• Employer-paid life insurance, with supplemental life coverage available for employees, spouses, and children.
• Voluntary short-term and long-term disability insurance.
• Traditional and Roth 401(k) options.
• Generous paid time off program, including paid bereavement and jury duty leave.
• Above-market annual bonus opportunities.
• Equal opportunity workplace committed to diversity, inclusion, and a respectful work environment.