Lead Software Engineer, .AI; Remote

We're building platforms that serve thousands of students and teams in production:

• Time Back:
  Educational platform supporting Alpha School's 2-hour learning model (99th percentile test results).
• Incept:
  Content generation platform producing all personalized educational content for multiple learning applications deployed at Alpha School.
• Crossover: AI-powered hiring platform handling tens of thousands of applicants per month, staffing schools and companies globally.

You'll take ownership of one of these platforms and dedicate most of your time to implementing the complex components of the codebase with a small team (3-5 strong engineers, no juniors). The architecture decisions you make will determine whether other teams can quickly build new applications, integrate seamlessly, and deliver value to students. Correct decisions unlock massive leverage. Poor decisions generate integration failures and destroy velocity across multiple teams.

You design what you build and operate. You define quality standards and patterns for your platform. We operate spec-driven: you design before implementing, always plan before building. High autonomy, no committees, no review boards. Small tight-knit team, where you're accountable for what you deliver.

• Technical Leadership:
  Define strategic architectural decisions and establish technical patterns for the team to adopt.
• AI Leadership:
  Champion adoption of new AI workflows and develop high-impact playbooks.
• Implementation:
  Construct the complex, high-stakes components of the codebase alongside your team.
• Quality Reviews:
  Verify your team adheres to established patterns and maintains quality standards.

• Acting as an architect without writing code
• Spending time in endless meetings
• Managing people (this is a technical leadership role, not a people management function)
• Working on legacy maintenance or internal IT systems

Lead Software Engineer key responsibilities

• At least 5 years of professional software development experience building software products
• At least 3 years as either a lead engineer (reviewing others' work) or architect (making key technical decisions)
• Experience working on platform-level products where other teams consumed your APIs
• Deep engagement with AI tools, actively experimenting and pushing boundaries

Learn With.

AI is an edtech startup that leverages AI and subject matter experts to cultivate a new way of learning. Our unique approach leverages 50+ years of learning science, cutting-edge data analytics and AI-powered coaching. In doing so, we can help students learn more, learn faster, and learn better - and have fun while doing it. We are a remote-first company that hires globally via Crossover.

There is so much to cover for this exciting role, and space here is limited. Hit the Apply button if you found this interesting and want to learn more. We look forward to meeting you!

This is a full-time (40 hours per week), long-term position. The position is immediately available and requires entering into an independent contractor agreement with Crossover as a Contractor of Record. The compensation level for this role is $100 USD/hour, which equates to $200,000 USD/year assuming 40 hours per week and 50 weeks per year. The payment period is weekly. Consult  for more details on this topic.

Crossover Job Code: LJ-5106-PT-Porto-Lead Software En .
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