Staff / Principal Platform Engineer — AI Platform

About the Opportunity

Oscar Faye is partnering with a $~30B alternative investment manager to hire a founding-level Staff / Principal Platform Engineer for a brand-new AI function. The firm invests across several traditional and niche assets, and is known for a first-principles research culture, proprietary datasets across every vertical it operates in, and one of the most selective engineering bars in the industry.

This role is one of the first three hires on a team being built from the ground up and reports directly to a newly-appointed Head of AI.

The Role

You will architect and build the reusable platform layer that every AI and agentic system across the firm runs on top of. The mandate is broad and opportunity-driven: take what is being prototyped once across the business and turn it into platform primitives that can support variations. This is a hands-on IC seat. You are responsible for both designing systems and shipping them. Not a manager. Not a pure architect. A builder with senior judgment.

Think of it as a startup inside a roughly $30B firm. Full ownership of the platform layer, zero politics, proprietary data across verticals most engineers never get to touch.

What You'll Do

• Architect and build reusable platform components for AI and agentic systems across the firm's business lines
• Translate ambiguous, open-ended problems into system designs at the right scale
• Ship production systems in a regulated, security-conscious environment
• Partner with the Head of AI on technical direction as the team scales
• Evaluate and integrate frontier AI technologies as the firm's needs evolve

What We're Looking For

• Senior IC track record at reputable engineering organizations — staff, principal, or founding engineer caliber, regardless of title
• Strong Python
• Working experience with at least one compiled language (Rust, Go, or Java)
• Proven experience designing and building platform or backend systems end-to-end
• Comfort with ambiguity and a demonstrated ability to self-organize open-ended mandates into shipped work
• Interest in agentic systems and learning velocity that matches how quickly the AI landscape is moving
• Comfort working in a regulated environment where security matters

What We're Not Looking For

• Pure management profiles, or ICs who haven't shipped in years
• Design-only architects
• Candidates who need narrowly scoped tickets and heavy direction

Why This Role Stands Out

• One of the first hires on a net-new AI function at a ~$30B firm
• Direct partnership with a founder-operator Head of AI
• Long-term equity participation tied to the holding group's performance
• Genuine ownership of the platform layer from day one
• Proprietary data across five business lines most engineers never get to work with
• Competitive compensation, up to $500K all-in based on overall experience, level, and tenure