Member of Technical Staff, Applied Engineering - Government

Member of Technical Staff, Applied Engineering - Government

Palo Alto, United States | Posted on 09/24/2025

• Salary $200,000 - $450,000 + Bonus & Equity
• State/Province California
• Country United States

$200,000 - $450,000 + Bonus + Equity (Dependent on Experience)

We are an elite team of engineers and researchers led by the world's foremost entrepreneur working on advanced artificial intelligence with the mission of accelerating human understanding and discovery. Our group is small, highly motivated, and built on a culture of engineering excellence, curiosity, and impact. We maintain a flat organizational structure where initiative and delivery earn leadership. Everyone is expected to be hands‑on and contribute directly to the mission.

Joining this team means working directly with the notable CEO of the organization and be aligned with his vision for the world, providing unparalleled exposure to high‑level strategy and hands‑on technical execution.

Applied Engineers partner directly with end customers—including federal government and enterprise partners—to own strategy and execution of mission‑critical AI solutions. This role mirrors the scope and responsibility of a hands‑on startup CTO: you’ll operate in small, agile teams delivering high‑stakes projects, often in secure or regulated environments.

• Driving the development and enhancement of the core product and underlying models, while collaborating cross‑functionally to deliver end‑to‑end AI solutions.
• Identifying pain points, scoping specifications, and building LLM‑powered software tailored to government or enterprise missions.
• Benchmarking models and building evaluation frameworks to ensure robustness, reliability, and compliance.
• Enhancing model performance through system prompt tuning or fine‑tuning for secure, scalable deployment.
• Analyzing request logs, prompt data, and system outputs to ensure reliability, auditability, and explainability.
• Designing internal tooling to automate workflows and accelerate delivery in secure environments.
• Refining SDKs and developer documentation for usability and adoption in government or enterprise contexts.

• A passion for solving complex, real‑world problems—particularly tied to government missions or enterprise objectives.
• Ability to ship high‑quality, secure code in challenging, ambiguous environments.
• Adaptability to shifting priorities and requirements in a fast‑paced, mission‑driven startup environment.
• Exceptional communication skills to interface with customers and stakeholders, translating technical needs into actionable solutions.
• Expertise in designing, implementing, and maintaining robust, scalable, and compliant AI‑driven systems.

2+ years of software engineering experience in high‑reliability / security environments.

• Active U.S. security clearance (Top Secret required).
• Proven experience implementing AI/ML products and APIs.

Strong academic background in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or Data Science.

• Proficiency in Python and/or Type Script for AI/ML implementation.
• Familiarity with infrastructure‑as‑code tools (e.g., Pulumi, Terraform).

High alignment with the mission and values of the organization.

Traits to avoid: candidates without true hands‑on technical experience.