Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, Models)

at Perplexity AI

📍 Palo Alto, United States
📍 San Francisco, United States

USD 220,000-405,000 per year

MIDDLE

✅ On-site

Tech Stack
Tag name is followed by "@" symbol and proficiency level value. About proficiency levels:

1-2 — basic awareness. Minimal hands-on experience, and a rudimentary understanding of the technology's purpose;

3-6 — daily use. Comfortable and regular usage, capable of handling common tasks and challenges related to the technology;

7-9 — you are an expert, you can teach others, you know all the pitfalls and tricks;

10 — exceptional knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and adeptness in all aspects of the technology, including advanced problem-solving. Think twice before claiming or demanding such level.

AI AWS @ 3 Distributed Systems Go @ 5 Kubernetes @ 3 Python @ 5 Rust @ 5

Details

Perplexity is looking for a deeply technical software engineer to own and evolve its model serving platform, which connects products and research systems with inference layers. The platform provides teams with one fast, reliable interface across model providers.

The role operates at the intersection of distributed systems, AI products, and infrastructure. The engineer will make it easier for teams across Perplexity to adopt new models, run rigorous experiments, and ship dependable products. The role involves designing core abstractions, leading high-conviction technical decisions, and writing production Rust and Python for a service handling hundreds of millions of model requests per day.

Perplexity builds products and systems that use AI to help people think, decide, and act. Engineers work across product and infrastructure advancements and are expected to demonstrate craftsmanship, ownership, entrepreneurship, scholarship, and partnership.

Responsibilities

Own and evolve the model serving platform.
Design core abstractions for model serving and inference systems.
Lead high-conviction technical decisions.
Build reliable, high-performance distributed systems and services.
Make it easier for teams to adopt new models, conduct experiments, and ship dependable AI products.
Write production software in Rust and Python.

Requirements

5+ years of experience building and shipping large-scale systems and services with high reliability, availability, and performance.
Strong software engineering skills, with a focus on developer experience and future-proof system design.
Proficiency in a general-purpose backend language such as Python, Rust, C++, or Go.
Experience with cloud infrastructure, including AWS and Kubernetes.
BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Active curiosity about the capabilities and failure modes of frontier models.

Benefits

Equity.
Health, dental, and vision benefits.
Retirement benefits.
Fitness benefits.
Commuter and dependent care accounts.
Comprehensive benefits tailored to the employee's region of residence for international employees.