The weaponization of AI is driving a paradigm shift in the cyber security industry from proactive to preemptive security: clients must now invest more intelligence and effort in understanding their vulnerabilities before their adversaries do (Open AI). The only way to achieve this is to simulate future attack scenarios at scale, and to run them in high fidelity digital replicas of production environments (Gartner/Forrester). SimSpace serves as the AI Proving Grounds to generate hypersynthetic data which pressure tests controls, tools, teams, and agentic capabilities in full kill chain attacks hidden in realistic environmental traffic and patterns of life.
About the RoleSimSpace builds the environments where the world's leading organizations train, test, and operationalize their cyber capabilities with confidence. We want the engineering teams behind that platform to set the standard for building software in the age of AI, not catch up to it.
As a Staff Software Engineer, you'll be a senior technical leader on one of our engineering teams, with influence well beyond it-setting the standards for how teams build with AI, driving cross-team projects forward, and contributing directly to the code. You'll practice spec-driven development with AI agents yourself, show teams how to do the same, and partner deeply with Product Managers, UX Designers, QA, platform teams, and engineers across the organization.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role, not a people-management one, and it carries a high degree of agency. You'll work as a true partner to your Engineering Manager, with the latitude to act on what you see. We're looking for an experienced engineer who wants real ownership-of the technical direction, of the outcomes, and of how teams build in the age of AI.
What You'll DoSet the Standard for AI-Native Development- Define and model how teams build software with AI-how work is specified, how agents are directed, and how AI-generated code is reviewed, tested, and owned.
- Champion spec-driven development: write clear specs, plans, and acceptance criteria up front, direct AI agents to implement against them, and help teams make it their default way of working.
- Turn what works into durable standards, playbooks, and templates that teams adopt because they make the work faster, not because they're mandated.
- Evaluate emerging AI tools and workflows pragmatically, adopting what improves delivery and retiring what doesn't.
- Create documentation, examples, and internal talks that help engineers across the organization adopt AI-native workflows effectively.
Drive Projects Forward Across the Organization- Lead complex, cross-team initiatives end to end-from problem framing and specification through architecture, delivery, and rollout.
- Build alignment across Product, Engineering, QA, and platform teams, and resolve cross-team technical dependencies directly rather than escalating them by default.
- Spot stalled or drifting work early, unblock it, and make the hard technical calls needed to land it.
- Keep stakeholders informed of progress, risks, and trade-offs before they have to ask.
Raise Quality & Accelerate Delivery- Drive the maturity of end-to-end testing in CI/CD pipelines so faster, AI-assisted delivery never comes at the cost of quality.
- Help teams ship small changes frequently and with confidence, backed by fast feedback loops and quality gates they trust.
- Find where AI agents-including headless agents running in CI/CD or on event triggers-can take toil off teams, and build or adopt them with the guardrails that make their output trustworthy.
- Set and uphold standards for code health, testing, and documentation-including for AI-generated code-and model them in your own code reviews.
Partner with Your Engineering Manager- Act as the technical counterpart to your Engineering Manager, owning the team's technical direction and execution so they can focus on team health and org-wide initiatives.
- Break large efforts into clear, incremental deliverables, sequence the work, and keep delivery predictable.
- Bring risks forward early with a proposed path, not just a problem.
- Mentor engineers through code reviews, pairing, and design walkthroughs, growing their technical judgment and their fluency with AI-native workflows.
What You BringRequired Qualifications- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including a track record of leading technical projects end to end across teams.
- An AI-forward or AI-native way of working: you use AI coding agents daily, direct them effectively, and can show how they've changed the way you and your teams deliver.
- Familiarity with spec-driven development using AI agents-writing specs, plans, and acceptance criteria that agents implement and reviewers verify against.
- Demonstrated ability to set and raise engineering standards that multiple teams adopt.
- Proven cross-organization collaboration, driving shared initiatives to completion with Product, QA, platform teams, and engineers on other teams.
- Deep, hands-on software engineering expertise-ideally in TypeScript, React, or Kotlin-sufficient to set architectural direction, make hard technical calls, and review AI-generated code critically.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain trade-offs to non-engineering partners.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience building headless coding agents that run without an IDE or a human at the keyboard-in CI/CD pipelines, on event triggers, or as background workers.
- Experience driving the maturity of end-to-end testing in CI/CD pipelines, making suites fast, reliable, and trusted enough to gate a release.
- A track record of moving fast with teams: small batches, short feedback loops, and frequent releases without lowering the quality bar.
- Experience with the practices that make speed safe, such as trunk-based development, feature flags, progressive delivery, and fast rollback.
Who You Are- You have high agency: you see what needs to happen and make it happen, without waiting for a ticket, a meeting, or permission.
- You're AI-native by instinct: you direct agents with clear specs and verify their output with the same rigor you'd apply to your own code.
- You move fast and bring teams with you, preferring momentum and iteration over big-bang plans.
- You make the people around you more effective, and you close loops without being chased.
- You set the bar through systems and standards, not heroics.
- You're comfortable leading initiatives end to end without formal authority, influencing through craft and collaboration.
- You're ambitious about what AI can do, but realistic when it comes to trade-offs.
Why This Role MattersAI is changing how software gets built, and the teams that learn to direct it well-specifying clearly, verifying rigorously, and shipping in fast, safe increments-will set the pace. As a Staff Software Engineer, you'll define what that looks like at SimSpace: the standards, workflows, and quality gates teams build on, and the cross-team momentum that turns plans into shipped outcomes. By owning the technical side of your team, you also free your Engineering Manager to invest in team health and org-wide initiatives-so your impact compounds across people, teams, and product.
Our Tech Stack IncludesCodex, TypeScript, React, Kotlin, Git/GitHub, Docker, Kubernetes, ArgoCD, and Playwright.
We're proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive package designed to support your well-being, growth, and success:- Compensation. Base salary range: $180,000 - $260,000, reflecting our confidence in your expertise and impact, with the opportunity for annual bonuses tied to company performance and individual contributions.
- Health & Wellness. Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, plus savings plans-coverage starts on day one!
- Mental Health Support. Access to company-paid counseling, coaching, and resources for you and your family through Spring Health.
- Financial Well-Being. Plan for your future with a 401(k)-retirement savings plan featuring a company match.
- Flexible Time Off. Take the time you need with unlimited vacation and dedicated health & wellness days. SimSpace provides flexible solutions to meet the diverse work-life needs of team members.
- Parental Leave. Paid leave plans to support you and your loved ones during life's most important moments.
- Ownership Opportunities: Equity stock options at hire, with annual performance-based grants-become an invested stakeholder in our shared success.
- Referral Rewards: Earn $1,500-$3,500 for every qualified hire through our employee referral program.
- Peloton Interactive Wellness Program: Full- and partial- subsidized membership plans and equipment discounts to help you reach your personalized fitness goals.
- Continuous Learning: Access a LinkedIn Learning membership to prioritize your personal and professional development.
- Social Connections: Monthly reimbursements for meaningful connections with teammates through our SocialSpace Community.
- Extra Perks: Legal plan coverage, pet insurance, wellness reimbursements, and more to simplify life's details.
