Staff Software Engineer - AI Platform Team (Boston)

About Us:Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.How We Work:At Proofpoint you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values: Bold in how we dream and innovateResponsive to feedback, challenges and opportunitiesAccountable for results and best in class outcomesVisionary in future focused problem-solvingExceptional in execution and impactThe RoleAs a Staff Software Engineer on our Satori AI Platform team, you will drive the architecture of the internal platform that every Proofpoint product team uses to build agentic applications — spanning AI-assisted development, evaluation-based release gates, OpenTelemetry observability for agents in production, and cross-product AuthX for AI workloads. Your direct users are fellow product engineers, and the products they ship protect business-critical communications for Fortune 100 customers 24/7/365. The patterns and primitives you set will define how mission-critical agentic software ships across the company. This is a uniquely-challenging role: we empower small teams to make large impacts, the systems are inherently non-deterministic, and the bar for what we ship to product teams is high.Your day-to-daySet architectural direction for one or more platform pillars: AI-assisted developer workflows, eval-driven release gates, OpenTelemetry for LLM/agent traffic, cross-product AuthX, etc.Design agent runtimes and SDKs on frameworks like LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, Anthropic's Agent SDK, and MCP, in Python (typed) and TypeScript/NodeDefine what release-ready means for an agent at Proofpoint: the eval suites, safety checks, telemetry, and AuthX contracts that gate every rolloutPartner with product team tech leads across the org to land your architecture in their stacks; turn one-off integrations into reusable platform capabilitiesDrive the standards for prompt management, model selection, cost/latency budgets, and observability across productsDesign, code, review, test, and deploy software features in our application stack — Staff engineers at Proofpoint still write codeMentor engineers across the platform and product teams; raise the company-wide bar for what production agentic software looks likeWhat you bring to the teamPrior experience taking agentic or LLM-based systems to production — not just prototypes — including the eval, observability, and rollback storyDeep experience with Python (typed) and/or TypeScript/Node, plus an opinion on which belongs where in the Satori AI PlatformHands-on work with agent frameworks (LangGraph, OpenAI/Anthropic Agents SDK, MCP, LangChain) and eval tooling (LangSmith, Braintrust, promptfoo, or similar)Strong fluency with OpenTelemetry, including the GenAI semantic conventions, and a track record of debugging distributed systems from tracesAbility to see the big picture, collaborate with cross-product teams, and drive architectural conversationsExperience designing, developing, and supporting applications in a microservices cloud environmentExcellent verbal and written communication skills — you can convince another team's tech lead to adopt your platformPassion, curiosity, integrity, and outstanding attention to detail while performing tasksA get it done attitude consistent with a team where everyone writes codeA B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experienceWhy Proofpoint?At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:Competitive compensationComprehensive benefitsCareer success on your termsFlexible work environmentAnnual wellness and community outreach daysAlways on recognition for your contributionsGlobal collaboration and networking opportunitiesOur Culture:Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone.We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to View email address on apply.placed-app.com to ApplyInterested? Submit your application along with any supporting information- we can’t wait to hear from you!Consistent with Proofpoint values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets as set out below. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee. This role may be eligible for variable compensation and/or equity. We offer a competitive benefits package, including flexible time off, a comprehensive well-being program with two paid Wellbeing Days and two paid Volunteer Days per year, plus a three-week Work from Anywhere option.Base Pay Ranges:SF Bay Area, New York City Metro Area:Base Pay Range: 200,300.00 - 293,810.00 USDCalifornia (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska:Base Pay Range: 167,300.00 - 245,355.00 USDAll other cities and states excluding those listed above:Base Pay Range: 152,900.00 - 224,235.00 USDSummaryLocation: Draper, UT; Toronto, Canada; Pittsburgh, PA; MassachusettsType: Full time