Staff Software Engineer, Infrastructure Distributed Systems

Staff Software Engineer, Infrastructure Distributed Systems Overview

Anthropic is seeking a highly skilled Staff Software Engineer to join its Infrastructure team, focusing on building and maintaining the distributed systems that support the training, deployment, and security of advanced AI models. The role involves leading complex, multi-month projects from initial conception through to production deployment, making critical architectural decisions that serve as the foundation for other engineering efforts, and working closely with research and product teams to understand and fulfill their infrastructure needs.

The ideal candidate will be responsible for ensuring the reliability, scalability, and security of systems as they grow in usage and complexity. They will define technical standards and strategies for the teamâ??s infrastructure, improve operational processes such as incident response and postmortem procedures, and mentor other engineers to raise the team’s overall technical expertise.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and scope complex infrastructure projects independently, from ambiguous requirements to live systems.
• Make foundational architectural decisions that influence the work of other engineers and teams.
• Coordinate technical strategies across multiple teams, navigating ambiguous problem spaces to establish clear direction.
• Work with research and product teams to translate their infrastructure and computational needs into effective technical designs.
• Ensure the systems you develop are reliable, scalable, and secure, especially as demand and system complexity increase.
• Set and uphold technical standards and strategic direction for your teamâ??s infrastructure.
• Improve operational procedures, including incident management, post-incident reviews, and on-call rotations, fostering continuous learning.
• Mentor fellow engineers to elevate the teamâ??s technical capabilities and standards.

Qualifications and Experience

• Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems or infrastructure in a production environment.
• Proven ability to independently scope and deliver complex projects spanning multiple months.
• Strong skills in making architectural decisions that serve as a foundation for other engineering work.
• Solid software engineering fundamentals with proficiency in at least one programming language such as Python, Rust, Go, or Java.
• Experience working with modern cloud infrastructure, including Kubernetes and infrastructure-as-code tools, on platforms like AWS or GCP.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to align teams and stakeholders.
• Minimum educational qualification of a bachelorâ??s degree or equivalent in a relevant field, demonstrated through coursework, training, or professional experience.
• Experience in large-scale distributed systems or infrastructure in a production setting.

Preferred Qualifications

• Over 10 years of software engineering experience, excluding internships.
• Experience with machine learning infrastructure such as GPUs, TPUs, or Trainium, including related networking technologies like NCCL.
• Low-level systems experience, such as Linux kernel tuning or eBPF.
• Background in security or privacy engineering best practices.
• Previous experience as a technical lead or mentor for engineering teams.

Compensation and Benefits

The annual salary for this position ranges from £325,000 to £390,000 GBP. The company offers a hybrid working model, requiring staff to be in the office at least 25% of the time, with some roles possibly needing more in-office presence. Anthropic provides visa sponsorship support, making reasonable efforts to secure a visa for successful candidates, with legal assistance available. Benefits include generous vacation and parental leave, optional equity donation matching, flexible working hours, and a collaborative office environment in London.

Additional Information

Anthropic is committed to diversity and inclusion, encouraging candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. The company emphasizes the importance of AI ethics and societal impact, fostering a collaborative research environment focused on impactful AI advancements. All communications from legitimate recruiters will come from @anthropic.com email addresses, and candidates are advised to be cautious of scams. For more details on the application process and company policies, visit anthropic.com/careers.

Degree Requirement: Not Specified

Visa Sponsorship Promising