Staff Software Engineer (Search)

TL;DR

Staff Software Engineer (Search): Architect and lead the core intelligence behind a startup discovery search engine, focusing on data ingestion, ranking, personalization, and LLM-driven evaluation. Focus on designing scalable, reliable distributed backend systems, integrating ML/LLM models, and shaping AI-native product experiences.

Location: New York, onsite

Salary: $210,000–280,000 + Equity

Company

hirify.global building a venture capital startup discovery engine backed by $30M in funding, powering thousands of investors' workflows.

What you will do

• Architect end-to-end sourcing engine including data ingestion, ranking, personalization, and model orchestration.
• Lead experimentation and evaluation of emerging AI technologies and LLM frameworks.
• Shape AI-native product experiences with product and design teams.
• Provide architectural leadership and mentorship across engineering teams.
• Drive cross-team clarity and long-term technical direction for AI-powered sourcing systems.

Requirements

• Location: Must be onsite in New York
• 7-8+ years experience building distributed systems or large-scale backend architecture.
• Experience designing and scaling search, recommendation, or ranking systems.
• Proven ML or LLM integration in production environments.
• Strong technical leadership and mentoring skills.
• Experience with data-intensive, asynchronous, or event-driven architectures.

Culture & Benefits

• Top-tier health, dental, and vision insurance with 100% premium coverage.
• 401k matching program.
• Free lunch and monthly team dinners in office.
• Commuter benefits.

Hiring process

• Recruiter screening (20 mins).
• Technical screening (45 mins).
• Jam session (2 hours).
• Behavioral interviews with Head of Engineering and CEO (30 mins each).
• Reference checks.