# Senior Software Engineer - AI Tooling **Company:** [Plaid](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/plaid) As a Senior Software Engineer on Plaid's Intelligent Tooling team, you will design, build, and operate cutting-edge internal systems that empower non-engineering teams to automate workflows with AI. This role offers the unique opportunity to define the first durable AI-native internal tool surface at Plaid, working at the intersection of platform engineering, product development, and AI-powered automation. You will own end-to-end systems from conception through production operation, requiring strong experience building and operating production systems, deep product judgment in ambiguous spaces, and hands-on familiarity with AI-powered development tools and agentic workflows. **Role:** Senior Software Engineer **Seniority:** Senior **Locations:** San Francisco HQ **Salary:** 190800–262800 USD [Apply](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/plaid/3f7a4b9f-50b9-4adf-8475-4a4e6b8f0893) Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/jobs/plaid/senior-software-engineer-ai-tooling --- ## Responsibilities - Design and operate internal platforms for AI-native workflows: Design, build, and operate internal tools and platform capabilities specifically tailored for high-leverage non-engineering workflows at Plaid. Define the architectural patterns, infrastructure requirements, and user experience paradigms that enable non-technical teams to effectively leverage AI-powered automation. This includes making strategic decisions about platform boundaries, extensibility mechanisms, and integration points with existing systems like Retool and Scaffold. - Translate operational pain points into software products: Conduct discovery with Ops, Support, and other internal teams to identify genuine pain points in their workflows. Synthesize ambiguous requirements into clear product specifications, building judgment around which problems warrant custom solutions versus leveraging existing tools. Deliver the first durable versions of solutions that demonstrate clear value to non-engineering users. - Define platform constraints and safety boundaries: Architect authentication, runtime, storage, deployment, and maintenance constraints that ensure internal tools remain safe and maintainable at scale. Establish clear security boundaries for service accounts, constrained execution environments, and internal access patterns. Partner with the Security and Infrastructure teams to create a defensible platform that non-engineers can safely extend. - Execute with strong product and platform judgment: Balance technical flexibility with clear architectural boundaries, making deliberate decisions about what belongs in Retool (configuration-driven automation), Scaffold (low-code development), versus custom AI-native tooling. Own the product layer decisions that determine how non-engineering teams interact with AI capabilities while maintaining system reliability and security. - Cross-functional partnership and stakeholder alignment: Partner closely with Security, Infrastructure, Operations, and Support teams to ship production systems that are reliable, secure, and operationally sound. Act as the embedded engineering point of contact for non-engineering stakeholders, translating their needs into technical requirements and ensuring tight feedback loops during implementation and rollout. - Own end-to-end system lifecycle: Take complete ownership of systems from initial design through implementation, testing, production rollout, ongoing support, and iterative improvements. Monitor system health, respond to incidents, gather user feedback, and drive continuous refinement based on real-world usage patterns. Establish operational playbooks and documentation that enable sustainable long-term maintenance. ## Requirements ### education - {"name":"Computer Science or related field (or equivalent experience)","description":"Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or related discipline. Equivalent practical experience building production systems and demonstrating mastery of software engineering fundamentals is also valued. Plaid values diverse educational backgrounds and encourages applications from self-taught engineers with strong portfolios."} ### technical - {"name":"Backend system design","description":"Experience designing backend systems including API design, service architecture, database schema design, and system scalability considerations. Understanding of synchronous and asynchronous communication patterns, service boundaries, and deployment architectures."} - {"name":"Full-stack platform development","description":"Proficiency across the full stack including backend services, data persistence, API layers, and user-facing interfaces. Ability to own systems end-to-end rather than specializing in isolated technical domains. Strong general programming fundamentals applicable across languages and frameworks."} - {"name":"Security and authentication systems","description":"Solid understanding of authentication, authorization, service accounts, API security, and access control patterns. Experience implementing least-privilege access models, token management, audit logging, and security boundary enforcement. Understanding of how security requirements translate into architectural constraints."} - {"name":"Observability and production systems","description":"Hands-on experience with monitoring, logging, distributed tracing, and alerting systems. Understanding of SLOs, error budgets, and production reliability. Ability to instrument systems for observability and debug complex production issues using telemetry data."} - {"name":"Rapid prototyping and iteration","description":"Strong ability to rapidly prototype solutions, validate assumptions with minimal viable implementations, and iterate quickly based on user feedback. Pragmatic approach to technical debt, knowing when to invest in robustness versus shipping quickly to learn from real usage."} ### experience - {"name":"Professional software engineering experience","description":"5+ years of demonstrable professional software engineering experience building real-world systems. This experience should include shipping features and systems to production, understanding the complete software development lifecycle, and having navigated the complexities of deployed systems."} - {"name":"Production systems design and operation","description":"Strong hands-on experience building, deploying, and operating production systems at scale. Experience should include designing for reliability, implementing monitoring and observability, responding to production incidents, and iterating systems based on operational learnings. Familiarity with production deployment patterns, rollback procedures, and gradual rollout strategies."} - {"name":"Internal tools and platform development","description":"Direct experience building internal tools, developer platforms, or workflow automation software. This could include developer experience tools, CI/CD systems, internal dashboards, workflow orchestration platforms, or other systems primarily used by internal teams. Understanding the unique constraints of building for internal audiences versus external customers."} - {"name":"Product judgment in ambiguous environments","description":"Demonstrated ability to operate effectively with ambiguous requirements, undefined user experiences, and emergent problem spaces. Experience translating vague operational pain points into concrete product solutions, making tradeoff decisions with incomplete information, and building conviction around technical directions in novel domains."} - {"name":"AI-powered tooling and automation","description":"Hands-on professional experience using AI-powered development tools, agents, or automation in real work contexts. This should include practical familiarity with LLM-based coding assistants, workflow automation, agentic patterns, or similar AI capabilities. Understanding of both the capabilities and limitations of current AI tooling."} - {"name":"First-version product building","description":"Strong builder mindset with proven ability to create initial versions of product surfaces that lack industry precedent or established templates. Experience making foundational decisions about user interaction patterns, interface paradigms, and extensibility models when best practices are not yet crystallized. Comfort with necessary iteration as the product category matures."} ## Skills ### required - {"name":"Full-stack software engineering","description":"Ability to design, implement, and deploy complete systems spanning backend services, data layers, APIs, and user interfaces. Demonstrated track record of shipping end-to-end features and products."} - {"name":"Production systems thinking","description":"Mindset oriented toward reliability, observability, and operational sustainability. Understanding of deployment strategies, incident response, capacity planning, and long-term system maintenance."} - {"name":"Product thinking and user empathy","description":"Ability to think like a product manager: understanding user needs, making tradeoff decisions, prioritizing features, and iterating based on feedback. Strong communication skills for translating between technical teams and non-technical stakeholders."} - {"name":"Platform and internal tools architecture","description":"Experience architecting platforms or tools meant for internal user bases. Understanding of how internal tools differ from external products, including different support models, feedback loops, and iteration cycles."} - {"name":"AI workflow understanding","description":"Familiarity with AI-powered automation patterns, LLM capabilities and limitations, agentic workflows, and prompt engineering concepts. Understanding of how to design interfaces and systems that effectively leverage AI capabilities."} - {"name":"Technical communication and collaboration","description":"Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to clearly explain technical decisions, document systems, and collaborate effectively across teams with different technical backgrounds. Strong ability to solicit and incorporate feedback."} ### preferred - {"name":"Developer tooling and DevEx background","description":"Previous experience building developer tooling, internal developer platforms (IDPs), CI/CD systems, or infrastructure automation. Understanding of what makes developer tools effective and the unique considerations for engineering-focused products."} - {"name":"Authentication and authorization systems","description":"Direct professional experience implementing or designing auth systems, including OAuth flows, service-to-service authentication, session management, and fine-grained authorization controls. Understanding of enterprise auth requirements and security isolation patterns."} - {"name":"Constrained runtime environments","description":"Experience with sandboxed execution environments, container security, resource isolation, or similar systems that run untrusted or partially-trusted code safely. Relevant for designing safe automation execution contexts for non-engineering teams."} - {"name":"Internal product development","description":"Background building products or tools primarily intended for non-engineering internal users, such as operations platforms, support tools, business process automation, or cross-functional tools. Understanding of requirements gathering and communication with non-technical stakeholders."} - {"name":"AI and automation workflow design","description":"Practical experience designing workflows that integrate AI capabilities, building with LLM APIs, implementing agentic patterns, or creating automation around AI-powered tasks. Understanding of current AI capabilities, limitations, and user expectations."} - {"name":"Fintech or financial systems","description":"Background working in fintech, financial services, or payments. Understanding of financial data security, regulatory requirements, compliance considerations, and the financial ecosystem. While not required, valuable context for working at Plaid."} - {"name":"Startup or high-ambiguity environments","description":"Experience in early-stage startups or newly-launched internal teams where scope is ambiguous, best practices are undefined, and the ability to navigate uncertainty is essential. Comfort with building organizational capability from first principles."} ## Tech stack ### tools - {"name":"Docker and Kubernetes","description":"Containerization and orchestration for deploying internal services, ensuring consistency across environments and enabling scalable operations."} - {"name":"CI/CD platforms","description":"GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or similar platforms for automated testing, building, and deployment. Deep familiarity with deployment automation."} - {"name":"Monitoring and observability","description":"Tools like Datadog, New Relic, Prometheus, ELK Stack for monitoring system health, tracking performance metrics, and debugging production issues."} - {"name":"LLM APIs and AI frameworks","description":"OpenAI, Anthropic, LangChain, or similar LLM APIs and frameworks for integrating AI capabilities into internal workflows and automation systems."} - {"name":"Version control and collaboration","description":"Git, GitHub, or GitLab for code management, code review, and collaborative development practices."} ### others - {"name":"API design and REST/GraphQL","description":"Strong experience designing clear, consistent APIs that internal teams can consume effectively. Understanding of API versioning, documentation, and backwards compatibility."} - {"name":"System design and architecture","description":"Ability to design systems for scalability, reliability, and maintainability. Understanding of microservices, service communication patterns, and deployment architectures."} - {"name":"Production incident response","description":"Experience responding to and learning from production incidents. Understanding of incident severity classification, communication during incidents, and post-mortem analysis."} - {"name":"AI agent and workflow design","description":"Understanding of agentic patterns, where AI systems make autonomous decisions within defined guardrails. Design of control flows that safely delegate tasks to AI components."} ### databases - {"name":"PostgreSQL","description":"Relational database for structured data storage, transactions, and complex queries. Industry standard for backend systems at scale."} - {"name":"Redis","description":"In-memory data store for caching, sessions, real-time features, and job queues in internal systems."} - {"name":"MongoDB or document stores","description":"Document databases for flexible schema requirements common in workflow and automation systems."} ### languages - {"name":"TypeScript","description":"Modern TypeScript for type-safe backend and frontend development, enabling better developer experience and catching errors at compile time."} - {"name":"Python","description":"Python for backend services, scripting, AI integration, and rapid prototyping. Strong ecosystem for AI and automation workflows."} - {"name":"JavaScript","description":"JavaScript for frontend user interfaces and full-stack development patterns, particularly for building interactive UI layers."} ### frameworks - {"name":"React or similar modern UI framework","description":"Modern UI frameworks for building responsive, interactive user interfaces for internal tools. React ecosystem is widely used at Plaid."} - {"name":"Node.js","description":"Node.js for building scalable backend services and APIs that power internal platforms."} - {"name":"FastAPI or Django","description":"Python backend frameworks for rapid API development and service implementation. FastAPI provides modern async capabilities while Django offers mature ecosystem."} - {"name":"GraphQL","description":"GraphQL for flexible, efficient API design between frontend and backend systems, enabling internal tools to query only needed data."} ## Benefits ### benefits - {"name":"Comprehensive health coverage","description":"Medical, dental, and vision insurance plans with competitive coverage for employees and dependents."} - {"name":"Retirement benefits","description":"401(k) retirement plan to support long-term financial planning."} - {"name":"Equity compensation","description":"Stock options providing meaningful equity ownership and upside participation in Plaid's growth trajectory."} - {"name":"Financial wellness","description":"Access to Plaid's own financial connectivity products and tools for personal financial management and optimization."} - {"name":"Professional development","description":"Support for learning, conference attendance, and professional growth aligned with career development goals."} - {"name":"Inclusive workplace","description":"Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities and valued diversity of background and experience."} ## Compensation - **max:** 240000 - **min:** 165000 - **currency:** USD - **stockOptions:** true ## Interview process ### steps ## Full description We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam. **Team:** Plaid is becoming an AI-first company, and Intelligent Tooling builds internal platforms and tools to lead the transformation. Our biggest opportunity isn't just better tools for engineers, it's extending AI-native internal tooling to the rest of Plaid. Tools built for engineers assume things non-engineers don't have: local toolchains, monorepos, engineer credentials, PR-based workflows. That mismatch means Ops, Support, and other teams can't easily inherit what we build for engineering. They need their own path and we're building that path. **Role:** As a Senior Software Engineer on Intelligent Tooling, you will build and operate internal systems that empower non engineering teams to automate their workflows with AI. You will own the product and platform layer for internal tools, including the constraints and infrastructure that keep those tools safe and maintainable. There's no existing playbook for this at Plaid. You will define what the right non-eng AI surface looks like, ship its first durable versions, and partner closely with internal users to make sure it solves real problems. You will act as the engineering point of contact embedded with non-engineering teams, running discovery and translating their operational needs into shipped software. What you build here becomes how non-engineering teams at Plaid work with AI. **Responsibilities:** * Design, build, and operate internal tools and platform capabilities for high-leverage non-engineering workflows * Translate ambiguous internal pain points into simple, durable software products * Define platform constraints for auth, runtime, storage, deployment, and maintenance so internal tools are safe for broader use * Build with strong product judgment, balancing flexibility with clear boundaries between what belongs in Retool, Scaffold, and a new AI-native internal tool surface * Partner with Security, Infrastructure, and internal stakeholder teams to ship systems that are reliable in production * Own systems end-to-end, including implementation, rollout, support, and iterative improvement **Qualifications:** **Must have:** * 5+ years of professional software engineering experience * Strong experience building and operating production systems * Experience building internal tools, platforms, or workflow software * Strong product judgment and communication in ambiguous spaces * Hands-on experience using AI-powered development tools, agents, or automation * Strong builder mindset; comfortable creating the first version of a product surface that does not yet have a clear industry template **Nice to have:** * Experience with developer tooling, internal platforms, or infra-adjacent systems * Experience with auth, service accounts, constrained runtimes, or internal security boundaries * Experience building products for non-engineering users * Exposure to agentic workflows, automation, or AI-enabled internal applications Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid! Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com. Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice [here](https://plaid.com/legal/#candidate-privacy-notice). Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Plaid provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay is based on factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's work experience and skillset, and location. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.