Senior Software Engineer

Who we are

Makai Labs builds software that automates entire companies. We work across a diversified portfolio, which means our systems touch a wide range of domains, processes, and operational constraints. Our engineering team is small, senior, and high-output. We move fast, hold high standards, and trust each other to take ownership without being managed.

What we're looking for

A senior engineer with deep experience building and operating large-scale systems. You've shipped production systems that had real consequences when they broke. You've made hard architectural tradeoffs and can explain why. We write detailed, well-reasoned tickets - we expect you to execute on them with autonomy and raise the bar on what gets shipped. We also value the experience you bring: senior engineers are expected to contribute to shaping tickets and influencing direction, not just execute on them.

If you have interest in contributing across the stack, we welcome it and have domain experts who provide review and guidance on the areas where you're less seasoned.

What we care about most

• Systems thinking: distributed architecture, fault tolerance, scalability, observability

• Engineering fundamentals that transfer across languages and frameworks

• A track record of ownership - projects you drove, not just contributed to

• The instinct to go further than asked

The Stack

Our backend is Python. If you come from a different backend language, we expect the transition - and we will invest in supporting it. What we will not compromise on is the depth of your systems experience and your drive to do excellent work.

Our frontend is React.

Qualifications and skills

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience

• Strong backend engineering depth, including hands-on experience building production systems in Python and Flask

• Experience designing and operating reliable, scalable, and maintainable systems

• Strong full-stack instincts, with the ability to contribute across backend, frontend, and adjacent technical domains when needed

• Hands-on experience with APIs, SQL databases, cloud platforms, Docker, and CI/CD workflows

• Strong engineering fundamentals that transfer across languages, frameworks, and problem domains

• Sound judgment around architectural tradeoffs, technical quality, and what is worth building

• Strong written and verbal communication in English, especially in remote and asynchronous environments

• High degree of autonomy, accountability, and follow-through

• Experience using AI-assisted development tools effectively is a plus

What the role is not

This is not a people management role. We are a flat team of senior engineers who collaborate as peers - leadership here means raising the quality of the work, not the size of your org chart.

What we offer

• Flexible schedule - we care about output, not hours. Work when you do your best work, within reasonable overlap with US time zones.

• Compensation that grows with your impact. We don't do annual review cycles - when you raise the bar, we recognize it. High performers move fast here.

Our process includes:

• Recruiter call

• Short asynchronous technical exercise

• Technical interview with the team

• Final conversation with our CTO