Staff Software Engineer, Backend

The rise of generative AI is fundamentally changing how people search for information and discover brands online. Conductor is the only end-to-end, AI-first platform that enables enterprises to create high-performing, valuable content at scale and ensure their brand is found everywhere customers are looking—from Google to generative AI engines like ChatGPT. Recognized by Forrester as a Leader and #1 rated by customers on G2 and TrustRadius, we are committed to building a workplace where our people can grow and make a positive impact.

Conductor is a mission-driven company with a commitment to innovation, customer success, and culture. For Conductor, success is improving the lives of everyone in our orbit—our customers, our customers' customers, our employee-owners, and our communities.

About the Role

Reporting to the Engineering Director, the successful candidate will take on a strategic leadership role in designing, developing, and implementing innovative solutions to our customers' problems, while adhering to the standards and principles of our R&D department. The Staff Engineer will work closely with AI/ML engineers, product managers, application developers, UI/UX designers, and other stakeholders to create scalable, high-performance, reliable, and secure SaaS applications. The ideal candidate is passionate about solving problems, influencing strategic thinking, and mentoring others within the team.

Reporting to the Engineering Director, this engineer’s key responsibilities are: 

Your Tasks:

• Lead the technical architecture, design, and implementation of large-scale distributed systems and data platforms to support customer needs and business growth.
• Oversee the planning, execution, and successful delivery of complex engineering projects, ensuring adherence to engineering best practices and quality standards.
• Design and build scalable, high-performance backend systems and APIs that handle millions of requests and large datasets efficiently.
• Architect robust data processing pipelines and ETL workflows using modern cloud technologies and distributed computing frameworks.
• Drive technical decision-making across the engineering organization, evaluating trade-offs and establishing engineering standards and practices.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with product, AI/ML engineering, data engineering, and infrastructure teams to deliver comprehensive solutions.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines, monitoring systems, and deployment automation to ensure reliable software delivery.
• Implement AI/ML capabilities including LLM integration, vector databases, and intelligent content processing workflows.
• Mentor senior and junior engineers, fostering technical excellence and knowledge sharing within the engineering organization.

Who you are:

• Completed studies in Computer Science, Mathematics, engineering or a related field or equivalent professional experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development, with experience in product-driven companies
• Strong expertise in system design, distributed computing, and scalable architecture patterns for handling large datasets and high-throughput applications.
• Proficiency in multiple programming languages with strong Python coding skills. Experience with Java is highly valued.
• Strong database experience including both SQL and NoSQL systems, with knowledge of data modeling and optimization techniques.
• Experience with AI/ML technologies including LLMs, vector databases (e.g., Milvus), embeddings, and ML frameworks.
• Knowledge of MLOps practices, model deployment, and AI system integration in production environments.
• Experience working across the full software development lifecycle including CI/CD, monitoring, testing, and production deployment.
• Proven track record of technical leadership, mentoring engineers, and driving engineering excellence within teams.
• Up-to-date with rapidly-evolving technologies and demonstrated ability to evaluate and adopt new tools and frameworks.
• Analytical, proactive, structural and implementation-oriented thinking, combined with a solution- and goal-oriented hands-on personality, who is comfortable working across stacks in an organization without silos and taking ownership of end-to-end problem-solving.
• Professional verbal and written communication skills in English, with the ability to clearly articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

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Compensation: Conductor maintains competitive, performance-based compensation programs. 

The NYC base salary range for this role is currently $160,000 - 190,000 per year. Placement within that range will be dependent on experience.

Benefits: Conductor offers the following attractive benefits and perks including: 100% covered employee medical plan, a dental & vision plans, 401(k) with employer contribution, an unlimited vacation policy, 10 sick days, short-term disability, long-term disability, generous paid parental leave, employee assistance program, flexible savings accounts, paid holidays, life and accidental death insurance, and a host of perks.

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Conductor LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Bringing in diverse perspectives and challenging our assumptions is the clear key to growth; it drives innovation, creativity, faster problem-solving, and stronger decision making. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, train, discipline, or discharge, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. 

Conductor does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, or other characteristics protected by state or federal law or local ordinance.  In addition, it is the policy of Conductor to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees who have protected disabilities to the extent required by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances where a particular employee works.