Staff AI Engineer

About the Position

We are seeking a Staff AI Engineer to support the development and delivery of complex, integration-heavy platforms at Robots and Pencils. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who thrives in hands-on development, can confidently own features and deployments, and contributes to team leadership within a pod.

Responsibilities

• Development

  • Build and maintain backend services using Python and Node.js, including serverless architectures (e.g., AWS Lambda, API Gateway)
  • Develop and integrate APIs that support frontend applications and external systems
  • Contribute to frontend features and ensure smooth integration across the stack
  • Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code with strong unit testing practices

• Workflow & System Orchestration

  • Support the development and maintenance of workflows using orchestration tools (e.g., Sequencer / workflow engines, state machines)
  • Contribute to event-driven processes and asynchronous system operations (e.g., SQS, EventBridge)
  • Assist in improving reliability through better error handling and retries

• Backend & API Engineering

  • Develop RESTful APIs and support the BE architecture
  • Integrate with third-party services and internal systems, including AI-driven platforms
  • Assist in optimizing performance and scalability of services using DynamoDB single-table design patterns (composite keys, transactional writes)
  • Implement secure and reliable data handling practices

• System Reliability & Support

  • Troubleshoot issues in production environments with guidance from senior team members
  • Contribute to logging, monitoring, and debugging efforts
  • Support deployment and release processes in cloud-native environments (AWS, Docker)

• Collaboration & Growth

  • Work closely with cross-functional teams across global locations
  • Participate in code reviews and team discussions
  • Take ownership of assigned features and tasks, delivering end-to-end solutions
  • Continue developing technical skills and leveraging AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code)

Requirements

• Core Skills

  • 6+ years of professional software engineering
  • Strong experience with Python and Node.js
  • Experience with AWS cloud environments, including Lambda, DynamoDB (and Single-Table design), S3, SQS, EventBridge, Step Functions, etc.
  • Experience building and maintaining fullstack applications
  • Exposure to workflow orchestration tools (e.g., Sequencer or similar systems)
  • Solid understanding of API design and backend systems
  • Familiarity with databases (SQL and/or NoSQL, including scalable design patterns)
  • Experience working in production environments
  • Strong unit testing practices and maintainable test strategies
  • Experience with containerization (e.g., Docker)

• Nice to Have

  • Demonstrated ability to reason about system-wide impacts of changes, including downstream effects across services and data layers
  • Demonstrated ability to identify design gaps in requirements and raise them before they reach development
  • Experience with Langfuse, synthetic AI testing, token cost optimization, reasoning effort configuration, Step Functions for AI workflows

Locations

• Newark, NJ
• Canada (Remote)

About the Company

At Robots and Pencils, we build meaningful, scalable digital products that solve real business problems. By joining us, you leverage our Advanced AWS Partnership and the highly exclusive AWS Patterns Partnership, a distinction held by only 11 companies worldwide out of 190,000.