Senior Engineer

The Role

We are looking for an experienced engineer who wants to build software that matters. You will help design and build new tools at the intersection of democracy and AI, shaping how people understand and engage with today’s rapidly evolving information environment.

The role involves working across the stack—building new tools, integrating modern AI capabilities, and evolving systems as they move from early prototypes to production software.

The ideal candidate is comfortable operating in small, fast-moving teams, enjoys working in environments where projects evolve quickly, and is excited to use modern AI tools both within the systems being built and within their own development workflows.

Key responsibilities for this role include the following:

Build and Ship Software

• Design and implement software used in civic and social-impact contexts
• Work across the stack, from backend services and APIs to frontend interfaces
• Take ownership of features and systems from early concept through production
• Rapidly prototype and iterate on new tools and product features
• Improve reliability, usability, and scalability as early tools grow into production systems

AI & Intelligent Systems

• Integrate modern AI capabilities such as LLMs, retrieval systems, and embeddings into applications
• Build tools that help users navigate and work with complex information
• Contribute to systems that combine data pipelines, search, and AI-driven functionality
• Use AI tools as a core part of your core development workflow to prototype, build, and iterate rapidly.

Systems & Infrastructure

• Contribute to system architecture spanning data ingestion, transformation, and application delivery
• Build and maintain services that integrate multiple data sources and external APIs
• Help design systems that balance rapid iteration with long-term reliability and maintainability

Collaboration

• Work closely with product managers, designers, and researchers to develop useful tools
• Contribute to technical decisions and engineering practices within a small team
• Share knowledge and help establish effective engineering workflows

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• A minimum of 8 years of engineering experience and a track record of designing, building, and shipping production software used by real users
• Experience building products or systems from 0→1, owning the process from early concept through design, development, and production launch.
• Experience with modern web development frameworks, APIs, and cloud infrastructure
• Be familiar with modern engineering workflows, including CI/CD, containerization, and observability
• Be comfortable incorporating AI tools into development workflows
• Bring interest in civic technology, social impact, or public-interest work

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Full-Stack Engineering Experience: Experience designing and shipping software used by real users
• AI Integration Experience: Familiarity with LLMs, retrieval-based systems, or modern AI tooling and comfort using AI tools to accelerate development and experimentation
• Data Systems Familiarity: Experience working with APIs, data pipelines, and structured or unstructured datasets
• Systems Thinking: Ability to design systems that can evolve and scale over time
• Collaborative Development: Ability to work closely with cross-functional teams in a fast-moving environment