Senior Software Engineer

About this role

Apply for Senior Software Engineer at Shepherd AI

Senior Software Engineer

Hybrid (United States; San Francisco, CA)

Engineering

Full-time

$150,000 - $180,000 / yr

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The Opportunity

• We're seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our founding team. This isn’t just a job- it’s a chance to help build and shape the future of legal services from the ground up.
• You’ll work directly with the founding team, collaborating closely with product, legal, and go-to-market leaders to design and build the core systems that power Shepherd. You will play a critical role in defining our technical architecture, product experience, and the AI infrastructure that enables faster, more accessible legal services.
• As an early member of the team, you’ll have meaningful ownership over both the product and the underlying systems- from how we build and ship features to how we scale a secure, reliable, AI-native platform.
• This is a rare opportunity to combine deep technical work with building a category-defining company at the intersection of AI and legal services.

What You'll Do

• Design, build, and maintain Shepherd’s core platform, including backend systems, APIs, and user-facing applications
• Develop and integrate AI-powered workflows (LLMs, RAG pipelines, document processing, etc.) into real-world legal use cases
• Architect scalable, secure infrastructure for handling sensitive legal data and workflows
• Collaborate with legal and product teams to translate complex workflows into intuitive software experiences
• Build internal tools that improve efficiency for attorneys and enhance client experience
• Own key technical decisions across architecture, tooling, and development processes
• Implement best practices for performance, reliability, and security (SOC 2 readiness, data privacy, etc.)
• Contribute to rapid prototyping, iteration, and continuous product improvement based on user feedback
• Help recruit and mentor future engineers as the team grows

What We're Looking For

Required

• 5–10+ years of software engineering experience, ideally in high-growth startup environments
• Strong proficiency in modern backend and/or full-stack development (e.g., Python, Node.js, TypeScript, React)
• Experience building and scaling production systems and APIs
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or similar) and modern DevOps practices
• Experience working with or integrating AI/LLM-based systems (OpenAI, Anthropic, embeddings, vector databases, etc.)
• Strong understanding of system design, data modeling, and performance optimization
• Ability to operate independently and make high-quality technical decisions

Preferred

• Experience building AI-native products or working with RAG, fine-tuning, or agent-based systems
• Background in workflow automation, document processing, or enterprise SaaS platforms
• Experience with security and compliance frameworks (e.g., SOC 2, data privacy best practices)
• Prior experience as an early engineer or founding team member
• Interest in legal tech, fintech, or regulated industries

Essential Qualities

• Entrepreneurial mindset- You thrive in ambiguity and enjoy building from zero
• Builder mentality- You take ownership and ship quickly without sacrificing quality
• Collaborative spirit- You work closely across disciplines to solve complex problems
• Product-oriented- You care deeply about user experience, not just code
• Systems thinker- You design for scale, reliability, and long-term evolution
• Adaptable- You’re comfortable with rapid iteration and evolving requirements

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation: $150,000 – $180,000 base salary
• Meaningful equity: Early-stage ownership with significant upside
• Full autonomy: Remote work with flexible scheduling
• Direct impact: Shape the product, architecture, and technical direction from day one
• Cutting-edge tools: Work at the forefront of AI-native application development
• Professional growth: Opportunity to grow into a technical leadership role as the team scales
• Mission-driven work: Help democratize access to high-quality legal services for startups

Our Core Values

Be Bold & Take Intelligent Risks

We believe ambitious outcomes are possible. We explore unconventional ideas, test them rigorously, and act on the data- learning fast without distraction or comparison.

Demand Excellence

Mediocrity has consequences. We set the highest standard in our execution, judgement, and how we show up everyday- because excellence compounds.

Execute Relentlessly

Speed and urgency are habits that when modeled consistently and scaled through automation, become contagious across the team, the product, and our customers.

Earn Trust Through Action

Legal work runs on trust, not features. We earn trust by being responsive, transparent, and accountable to our customers- particularly when it’s uncomfortable.

Be a Good Person

We pair high standards with empathy and ambition with humanity. Respect and integrity are NOT separate from winning- they are how we win.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.