Principal Software Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Staff Engineer or Principal Engineer – Colorado Stealth Startup

About the Opportunity

Join an elite, venture-backed team building next-generation, AI-powered collaboration tools for the enterprise.

Technical Integrity has 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.

Following a recent, substantial, oversubscribed-round of funding (by names you will certainly recognize), the company is expanding its world-class engineering team in Colorado and beyond.

What You’ll Do

• Architect 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 Profile

• Top 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 Work

• We 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 Process

We’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 & Benefits

• Competitive 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 match
• Flexible work arrangements — Colorado-based 1-2 days per week in Boulder.
• Opportunity to collaborate with world-class technical peers on groundbreaking AI systems.

Application Process

To apply, please contact Technical Integrity with your resume and a concise statement of interest.

We value transparency, prompt feedback, and a respectful candidate experience throughout.

If you’re a senior software 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.