Equinix

Staff / Senior Staff Engineer, AI Agent Engineering

Equinix$131K — $181K *
Information Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 6+ years (Staff) or 9+ years (Senior Staff) of professional software engineering experience with a proven track record in production systems
  • Hands-on experience developing LLM-powered applications or agents: prompt and context engineering, tool calling, and multi-agent workflows
  • Experience designing evaluations for AI systems or a strong interest in test engineering for non-deterministic software
  • Strong proficiency in Python or TypeScript, along with skills in API, microservices, and event-driven architecture
  • Fluency in modern engineering practices including Git, automated testing, CI/CD, and working with cloud platforms
  • Ability to discern when to trust automation versus requiring human review, coupled with effective communication skills to explain these decisions.

Responsibilities

  • Design, build, and ship LLM-powered agents that handle the software delivery lifecycle
  • Engineer resilient scaffolding for agents, ensuring effective integration with tools and systems
  • Develop the foundational knowledge layers that guide agent behavior and decision-making
  • Automate evaluation suites that validate agent output across all changes made
  • Establish and implement controls such as human review points to ensure agent autonomy is appropriately managed
  • Monitor and tune agent behavior, focusing on quality, latency, and cost efficiency
  • Contribute to the orchestration and dashboards that facilitate human oversight of agent operations.

Benefits

  • Employee Assistance program available to all employees
  • Comprehensive healthcare coverage that complements provincial systems
  • Life and disability insurance options for employees and eligible family members
  • Access to Equinix-sponsored retirement plans, including Defined Contribution Pension Plan and Group Retirement Savings Plan
  • Generous vacation policy along with personal days and paid holidays to encourage work-life balance.
Full Job Description
Job Summary

Most engineering roles now come with AI tools. This one comes with a mission. Equinix Incubation builds the agentic systems that run the software delivery lifecycle end to end: from intake and business case through design, code, test, release, and value tracking, with humans directing the work and owning every gate.

We are hiring Staff and Senior Staff Engineers to build those agents and the platform they run on. You will not just use AI to code faster. You will design, ship, evaluate, and harden production agents that colleagues across a global organization trust with real delivery work. Your agents will write software; your engineering decides what ships.

Responsibilities

Build Production AI Agents

  • Design, build, and ship LLM-powered agents that execute real lifecycle work: intake triage, estimation, requirements, technical design, coding, testing, release, and operations
  • Engineer the scaffolding that makes agents dependable: tool use via MCP, agent-to-agent handoffs (A2A), event-driven orchestration, and deep Jira and enterprise system integration
  • Build on Equinix's enterprise AI platform: AI gateway, orchestration, audit, and access control, with security and privacy by design


Make Agents Trustworthy: Evals, Guardrails, Gates

  • Design and automate eval suites that measure agent output quality on every change, and make passing evals the release gate for agents
  • Define guardrails, human-in-the-loop approval points, review thresholds, and escalation paths, so agent autonomy is earned, not assumed
  • Instrument agent behavior end to end (quality, latency, cost, adoption), find failure patterns, and tune prompts, context, and configurations until the numbers move


Engineer Context and Knowledge

  • Build the knowledge layers agents depend on: retrieval over process libraries, decision histories, code, and delivery data
  • Establish reusable prompt patterns, context standards, and agent configurations that other teams adopt
  • Own agents through their full lifecycle: instructions, context freshness, performance monitoring, feedback, and retirement


Ship the Platform and Raise the Bar

  • Contribute to the orchestrator, persona consoles, and dashboards that keep humans in command of agent-led delivery
  • Dogfood relentlessly: use agents to build agent systems, and feed what you learn back into the platform
  • Bring strong engineering craft. The fundamentals still decide whether this works: architecture, code quality, testing, CI/CD, and cloud-native design


What Success Looks Like

  • Agents you built are doing live delivery work, with measurable cycle-time and quality gains, and humans confidently in control
  • Your eval suites are the reason people trust agent output; "passes evals" means something because you made it mean something
  • Your context patterns, guardrails, and agent standards are reused by teams you have never met
  • You can explain to an executive, in plain language, what an agent did, why, and how you know
  • The platform gets simpler, faster, and cheaper as it scales, because you treat agent cost and reliability as engineering problems


Level Expectations

  • Staff: You deliver complete agents and platform components within established patterns, own their evals and quality end to end, and are the dependable engine of your pod
  • Senior Staff: You set the patterns. You take the hardest, most ambiguous problems (orchestration, eval design, agent reliability at scale), define the standards others follow, and multiply the team


Qualifications
Required

  • 6+ years (Staff) or 9+ years (Senior Staff) of professional software engineering experience, with a record of shipping and operating production systems
  • Hands-on experience building LLM-powered applications or agents: prompt and context engineering, tool calling, retrieval, or multi-agent workflows
  • Experience designing evaluations for AI systems, or strong test-engineering instincts you are eager to apply to non-deterministic software
  • Strong proficiency in Python or TypeScript, plus solid API, microservices, and event-driven architecture skills
  • Fluency with modern engineering practice: Git, automated testing, CI/CD, observability, and cloud platforms
  • Sound judgment about when to trust automation and when to demand human review, and the communication skills to explain that reasoning


Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with agent frameworks and protocols such as MCP, A2A, Anthropic or OpenAI APIs, Bedrock, Vertex, or LangGraph
  • Experience building developer platforms, orchestration systems, or SDLC tooling, including Jira, GitHub, or ServiceNow integration
  • Knowledge-engineering experience: retrieval systems, embeddings, or enterprise knowledge graphs
  • Experience taking AI features through security, privacy, and responsible AI review in an enterprise
  • Evidence of craft: open-source contributions, technical writing, or internal platforms with devoted users


Core Competencies

Agent Engineering

  • LLM application architecture; prompt and context engineering; tool use and orchestration; multi-agent design


Evals and Trust

  • Eval design and automation; guardrails and human-in-the-loop gates; AI observability; responsible AI governance


Platform Craft

  • API and event-driven design; CI/CD and automation; cloud-native engineering; enterprise integration


Judgment and Impact

  • Systems thinking; pragmatic risk-taking; mentoring and standards-setting; clear communication


Why This Role

Incubation is a durable capability, not a project team: the team persists, and the product rotates. Agentic delivery is product one; the next incubation bets follow. You will help define how AI-first engineering works at Equinix, with the autonomy of a startup and the reach of a global platform company. Few roles let you change how an entire organization builds software. This one exists to do exactly that.

The targeted pay range for this position in the following location is / locations are:

Canada - Toronto Office TRO : 131,000 - 181,000 CAD / Annual

Our pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum target for new hire pay for the full-time position determined by role, level, and location.The pay range shown is based on our compensation structure in place at the time of posting and may be updated periodically based on business needs. Individual pay is based on additional factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and/or training.

The targeted pay range listed reflects the base pay only and does not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Employees are eligible for bonus, and equity may be offered depending on the position.

Equinix Benefits

As an employee, you become important to Equinix's success. We ensure all your benefits are in line with our core values: competitive, inclusive, sustainable, connected and efficient. We keep them competitive within the current marketplace to ensure we're providing you with the best package possible. So, wherever you are in your career and life, you'll be able to enhance your experience and bring your whole self to work.

Employee Assistance Program: An Employee Assistance program is available to all employees.
Canada Core Benefits: - Insurance: You may enroll in healthcare coverage that is designed to complement the provincial healthcare system, along with life, disability and optional benefit plans that are designed for you and your eligible family members. - Retirement: You may also enroll in Equinix-sponsored retirement or savings plans: Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP), Group Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Plan (TSFA). - Vacation and Paid Holidays: Equinix offers both vacation and personal time, along with various paid holidays for you to rest and recharge. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits. Benefits are subject to specific plan or program terms, and to change at Equinix discretion.

About Equinix

Equinix is an internet company that provides data center services for companies, businesses, and organizations. It offers a software application platform designed for digital businesses that help its users to connect to their customers, employees, and partners. The company was founded in 1998 and headquartered in Redwood City, California.

Equinix Careers

Join the vibrant team at Equinix, the world's digital infrastructure company, and be part of a dynamic network of professionals dedicated to redefining the future of the internet. At Equinix, we offer unparalleled job opportunities in an environment that celebrates innovation, leadership, and diversity. Work You’ll Do At Equinix, we empower you to drive your career path forward with a range of employment opportunities, from internships to full-time positions. Our team is at the forefront of digital transformation, providing the infrastructure that powers over 10,000 of the world's leading businesses. Transform your career with Equinix by engaging in work that matters. Our global platform spans across multiple continents, offering you the chance to collaborate with some of the brightest minds in technology and consulting. Lead with Innovation Equinix stands at the intersection of technology, networking, and digital innovation. As a member of our team, you will use your skills to help companies navigate their digital journeys and transform their strategies to thrive in the digital age. Join a team of over 10,000 dedicated professionals worldwide and work on groundbreaking projects that redefine how businesses connect globally. Our leadership in the industry is driven by a commitment to innovation and excellence. Explore Equinix’s Professional Growth and Benefits At Equinix, we believe in nurturing the growth of our employees through comprehensive professional and diversity training programs. Our benefits are designed to support the well-being and continuous growth of our team members, both professionally and personally. Future-proof your career with Equinix’s robust training programs, which are tailored to help you acquire new skills and advance within the company. From technical skills to leadership development, Equinix is committed to your professional growth. Be Part of Our Culture Equinix’s culture is centered on fostering an inclusive and collaborative environment where every team member’s contribution is valued. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Our team thrives on creativity and collaboration, and we believe that every team member brings a unique perspective that is crucial for our innovation and success. Join us and be part of a culture that encourages curiosity, creativity, and continuous learning. Stay Connected with Equinix Careers Discover the exciting career opportunities waiting for you at Equinix. Search open positions that match your skills and interests. We are always looking for passionate, curious, and solution-driven team players. Keep up to date with the latest industry trends, career tips, and insights from Equinix professionals through our Careers Blog. Personalize your experience by subscribing to job alert emails, tailored to your preferences and career goals. Join Equinix and transform your future while shaping the digital landscape. Explore job opportunities, submit your resume, and prepare for an interview that could lead to the next exciting chapter in your career. At Equinix, your potential is limitless. SEARCH EQUIINIX JOBS READ CAREERS BLOG Job Alert Emails Tailor your subscription to receive job alerts, latest news, and insider tips directly related to your career interests. Discover the rewarding opportunities that await at Equinix.
Learn more about Equinix
Size
10,944 employees
Market Cap
$60.3 billion
Industry
Net Income
$369.7 million
Founded
1998
5 Year Trend
+12.9%
Revenue
$5.9 billion
NASDAQ

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