# Software Engineer, Core Services
**Company:** [Cursor](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/cursor)
Cursor is seeking a talented Software Engineer for its Core Services team to develop critical shared infrastructure that powers the company's AI-driven developer productivity tool. The ideal candidate will build scalable backend services, authentication systems, and webhook infrastructure that enable seamless integration and high-performance agent workflows.
**Role:** Software Engineer
**Seniority:** Senior
**Locations:** San Francisco
**Salary:** 150000–250000 USD
[Apply](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/cursor/77bf35db-119c-4533-8187-1e8d5ae08c45)
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/jobs/cursor/software-engineer-core-services
---
## Responsibilities

- Authentication Infrastructure: Design and implement a scalable authentication architecture for a widely-used developer tool, ensuring robust security and access management.
- Agent Backend Development: Own and optimize the infrastructure powering Cursor's agent workflows, focusing on end-to-end performance and reliability.
- Webhook Management: Develop a high-throughput webhook server with robust retry mechanisms, dead-letter queues, and comprehensive observability.
- Source Control Integration: Build resilient abstractions for source control provider integrations to maintain system stability across different third-party platforms.
- System Reliability: Collaborate across teams to improve the entire user action to agent response pathway, addressing complex challenges in AI-powered development.

## Requirements

### education

- {"name":"Computer Science","description":"Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience"}

### technical

- {"name":"Backend Service Development","description":"Proven experience in building and operating critical backend services, including authentication systems, API gateways, and webhook infrastructure"}
- {"name":"Authentication Technologies","description":"Expertise in authentication frameworks such as OAuth, JWT, and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)"}
- {"name":"Architecture Design","description":"Strong understanding of event-driven architectures and platform service development"}

### experience

- {"name":"Systems Engineering","description":"Demonstrated experience with agentic products or infrastructure, with strong opinions on system reliability and performance"}
- {"name":"Full Lifecycle Management","description":"Ability to own the complete lifecycle of production services from design to deployment and maintenance"}

## Skills

### required

- {"name":"Backend Development","description":"Strong software engineering fundamentals with focus on creating clean, well-abstracted service architectures"}
- {"name":"System Design","description":"Ability to create well-defined service contracts and infrastructure that enables other engineers to build effectively"}

### preferred

- {"name":"AI Infrastructure","description":"Experience with AI-driven development tools and agent-based systems"}
- {"name":"Cloud Services","description":"Familiarity with modern cloud infrastructure and scalable service design"}

## Tech stack

### tools

- {"name":"Docker","description":"Containerization for consistent deployment"}
- {"name":"Kubernetes","description":"Container orchestration and scalable infrastructure management"}

### others

- {"name":"OAuth","description":"Authentication and authorization protocol"}
- {"name":"JWT","description":"Secure token-based authentication mechanism"}

### databases

- {"name":"PostgreSQL","description":"Robust relational database for persistent storage"}

### languages

- {"name":"Python","description":"Primary backend development language for infrastructure services"}
- {"name":"Go","description":"Systems programming and high-performance backend development"}

### frameworks

- {"name":"FastAPI","description":"Modern, fast web framework for building APIs"}

## Benefits

### benefits

- {"name":"Innovative Work Environment","description":"Opportunity to work in a flat, talent-dense organization that values creativity and spirited debate"}
- {"name":"Cutting-Edge Technology","description":"Work on groundbreaking AI-powered developer productivity tools"}
- {"name":"Professional Growth","description":"Challenging projects that push the boundaries of software engineering and AI integration"}

## Compensation

- **max:** 250000
- **min:** 150000
- **currency:** USD
- **stockOptions:** true

## Interview process

### steps

- {"name":"Initial Screening","description":"Review of application and background"}
- {"name":"Technical Interviews","description":"2-3 short technical interviews to assess engineering skills and problem-solving abilities"}
- {"name":"Onsite Interview","description":"In-office interview involving a small project, team discussions, and meeting potential colleagues"}

## Full description
Our mission is to automate coding. The first step in our journey is to build the best tool for professional programmers, using a combination of inventive research, design, and engineering. Our organization is very flat, and our team is small and talent dense. We particularly like people who are truth-seeking, passionate, and creative. We enjoy spirited debate, crazy ideas, and shipping code.

## About the Role

As a Software Engineer on the Core Services team at Cursor, you'll own the critical shared services that sit between our product surfaces and the infrastructure layer: auth, webhooks, and the backend systems that power agent workflows. 

Cursor is redefining how developers write code, and your work is what makes that possible at scale. You'll build the systems that every product team depends on, ensuring they are reliable, well-abstracted, and ready for whatever comes next.

### Example projects include...

* Owning authentication: designing and implementing a scalable auth architecture that secures one of the most widely-used developer tools in the world.
* Powering the agent backend: owning the infrastructure behind Cursor's agent workflows, optimizing for end-to-end performance and reliability as agents become central to the developer experience.
* Building a robust webhook server: handling high-throughput event delivery with proper retry semantics, dead-letter queues, and observability so external integrations just work.
* Hardening SCM integrations: building resilient abstractions over source control providers so Cursor stays rock-solid regardless of third-party conditions.
* Driving end-to-end agent reliability: partnering with the client and inference teams to improve the full path from user action to agent response, closing the loop on one of the hardest problems in AI-powered development.

## You may be a fit if

* You have experience building and operating critical backend services, especially auth systems, API gateways, or webhook infrastructure.
* You've worked on agentic products or infrastructure and have strong opinions on reliability and performance of complex multi-step systems.
* You care deeply about clean abstractions, well-defined service contracts, and making it easy for other engineers to build on top of your work.
* You have strong software engineering fundamentals and enjoy owning the full lifecycle of production services.
* Experience with authentication/authorization frameworks (OAuth, JWTs, RBAC), event-driven architectures, or building developer-facing platform services is a plus.

## Applying

If there appears to be a fit, we'll reach out to schedule 2-3 short technicals. After, we'll schedule an onsite in our office, where you'll work on a small project, discuss ideas, and meet the team.

#LI-DNI