Software Development Lead | Building the AI-Native Future of Critical Infrastructure
Preferred locations: Chicago, Austin, Nashville (Open to Remote)
I’m partnered with an early-stage AI startup building agentic systems for the energy and utility sector; developing real, production-grade AI that powers predictive operations and real-time optimization at scale.
They’re replacing decades-old legacy systems with secure, intelligent, cloud-native platforms and are looking for a Software Development Lead who wants to build real-world systems that actually power society, not just dashboards.
This is a hands-on leadership role for a builder who’s excited to bring AI into production at scale and lead a small, high-impact engineering team.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Lead and scale a high-impact engineering team while partnering closely with product and leadership
- Design and build APIs, services, and distributed systems that form the backbone of a next-generation AI platform
- Integrate models, embeddings, and agent services into secure, enterprise-grade backend systems
- Transform legacy workflows into scalable, cloud-native architectures
- Ship meaningful features in weeks, not quarters, without sacrificing reliability or security
- Build systems that meet the bar for regulated, mission-critical environments
What They’re Looking For
- 10+ years of backend engineering experience in SaaS or enterprise environments
- 3+ years leading engineering teams
- Strong system design and distributed architecture skills
- Comfort working with AI APIs and productionizing model outputs
- Ownership mindset with a track record of building and leading from the front
Tech Environment
- Backend: Python, Golang, or Java
- Frontend: React
- Cloud: AWS, Azure, or GCP
- Data and Systems: SQL/NoSQL, message queues, distributed services
- AI: API-driven models, embeddings, and agent frameworks
Why This Role
- Competitive compensation and meaningful equity
- Direct impact in a mission-critical industry
- Small, high-caliber team with real ownership and autonomy
- Full benefits, remote flexibility, and 401k match
- Front-row seat to the AI transformation of critical infrastructure
