Senior/Staff Software Engineer – Tech Lead

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Colombia, +3 more countries.

📋 Description

• Lead the ScreamingFace squad in developing an open-source Python toolkit and a leaderboard for fusion models and benchmark evaluations.

• Take ownership of the squad's technical architecture from design through engineering to deployment.

• Ensure reliable technical capabilities and user experience as the product evolves through its roadmap.

• Facilitate production readiness by implementing deployment monitoring, error handling, graceful degradation, and operational runbooks.

• Establish and guide engineering best practices focusing on modularity, security, reliability, scalability, code quality, and production delivery.

• Collaborate on the core technology stack strategy and identify common organizational primitives and standard interfaces.

• Partner with the product lead to create realistic, scalable, and architecturally sound roadmaps.

• Manage the delivery of engineering quarterly goals and allocate resources for consistent, high-impact results.

• Oversee team output, delivery, productivity, timeliness, morale, and alignment among team members.

• Develop robust tools, processes, and methodologies for delivering high-quality software.

• Provide hands-on technical leadership through individual development contributions, code reviews, pairing, and architectural guidance.

• Create technical documentation and processes that support high velocity and facilitate knowledge transfer.

• Collaborate closely with Kevin McDonough, the Head of Engineering.

⛳️ Requirements

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record in building, shipping, and operating production systems at significant scale.

• Practical experience in developing production software using AI coding agents, such as Claude Code or Cursor, and assisting teams in managing agentic workflows.

• Strong proficiency in Python 3.12+.

• Experience with FastAPI services, async orchestration of concurrent model calls, typed SDK design and packaging, parsers, ASTs, and DAG execution.

• Familiarity with distributed systems and API design, including the design and evolution of interfaces used by multiple independent teams.

• Experience in technical leadership, introducing code review, testing, and CI/CD practices to one or more teams.

• Mentored or managed at least 2 engineers; direct reports are not a requirement.

• Ability to navigate ambiguity and resource constraints.

• Demonstrated commitment, accountability, and ownership.

• Strong written communication skills and the ability to build high-trust relationships across a time zone spread of 6 hours or more.

• Experience in cross-functional collaboration and communication with both engineering and non-engineering/non-technical stakeholders.

• Preferred: practical experience with RAG and information retrieval utilizing vector databases, retrieval pipelines, embedding strategies, and aggregation.

• Preferred: experience with Vue 3 / TypeScript, Rust / Tauri, or cross-platform desktop applications.

• Preferred: background in networking/P2P application development.

🏝️ Benefits

• Mission-Driven Work: Join a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on social impact rather than profit, offering a chance to make a meaningful difference in the world.

• Open Source Contribution: Contribute to an Open Source project that has a positive impact on a wide community.

• Collaborative Global Team: Become part of a dynamic, international team that values collaboration and diversity.

• Flexible Work Hours: Enjoy the freedom to structure your work hours to best fit your life and productivity style.

• Fully Remote Work: Work remotely while adhering to the location requirements for this role.

• Engage as an independent contractor with an initial term of 12 months, expected to renew.

• Commitment of roughly full-time hours.

• Self-set schedule.

• Overlap of working hours with US Eastern business hours.