Staff / Senior Software Engineer (Agentic Search) – Runtime

About This Opportunity

We are representing a confidential AI infrastructure organization in their search for a Staff / Senior Software Engineer to work on runtime systems for an agent-native search platform. This is a high-impact role building low-latency, high-throughput systems that serve search queries designed specifically for AI agents rather than human users.

Based in London, you'll work on performance-critical systems that handle thousands of requests per second under strict latency budgets, optimizing every layer from request handling to data access and response assembly.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and operate core runtime services for serving search queries at scale
• Build and optimize request flows, including query processing, retrieval orchestration, and response assembly under strict latency budgets
• Develop systems that maintain performance and predictability under high load
• Optimize CPU, memory, and data access patterns in performance-critical paths
• Ensure reliability, observability, and predictability across production services
• Build well-tested systems with clear responsibilities and interaction contracts, while remaining flexible as architecture evolves
• Define and implement observability primitives, including structured logs, metrics, traces, and latency breakdowns
• Monitor throughput, latency, and resource usage, and drive improvements in performance and cost efficiency
• Collaborate with indexing and ML teams to integrate retrieval and ranking components, keeping ML logic decoupled from core system internals
• Support experimentation and iteration through controlled rollouts and rigorous benchmarking

What We're Looking For

Required qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience as a software engineer working on production backend systems
• Strong hands-on expertise in C++ or Rust in real-world, high-load services
• Proven experience building and operating high-load, low-latency user-facing systems handling thousands of RPS under strict latency constraints
• Deep understanding of performance at a systems level — CPU, memory, networking, and data access
• Production operations experience: deployed code, debugged incidents, and rolled back changes when necessary
• End-to-end thinking about request flows rather than staying within isolated components
• Ability to balance correctness, latency, and development velocity, making pragmatic tradeoffs when scope or time requires
• Effective collaboration across engineering, ML, and product teams with clear communication in cross-functional settings

Bonus qualifications:

• DBMS internals (open source or SaaS) and cloud infrastructure experience
• High-load web applications or large-scale APIs
• Performance-critical systems such as trading platforms or real-time data pipelines
• Low-level performance tuning and hardware-level optimization
• Open-source contributions or active involvement in the engineering community
• Competitive programming or CTF participation
• Conference talks or technical publications

Note: Coding interviews are part of our talent team's selection process. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United Kingdom and will be required to provide proof of employment eligibility.

How We Work With You

Our talent team at Get A Job.ai partners with leading technology organizations to connect exceptional engineers with high-impact opportunities. When you apply through our platform:

• A dedicated recruiter will review your application and conduct an initial screening
• We'll prepare and submit your profile to our client organization
• We'll coordinate the interview process and provide guidance throughout
• Please do not contact the client directly — all communication flows through Get A Job.ai

Pay

Compensation details will be discussed during the screening process and are competitive for this level in the London market.

Equal Opportunity

Get A Job.ai is committed to inclusive hiring practices. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and provide equal employment opportunities without discrimination.