Staff Software Engineer

TENEX is an AI-native, automation-first, built-for-scale Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider. We are a force multiplier for defenders, helping organizations enhance their cybersecurity posture through advanced threat detection, rapid response, and continuous protection. Our team is composed of industry experts with deep experience in cybersecurity, automation and AI-driven solutions. Backed by leading investors, we are rapidly growing and seeking top talent to join our mission of revolutionizing the AI-Native MDR landscape.
We’re a fast growing startup backed by industry experts and top tier investors led by Crosspoint Capital Partners and also backed by Shield Capital, DTCP (formerly Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners), Deepwork Capital, and the Florida Opportunity Fund. Seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). As an early employee, you’ll play a meaningful role in defining and building our culture. Get in on the ground floor. We’re a small but well-funded team that just raised a substantial round – joining now comes with limited risk and unlimited upside.

We are seeking an experienced Staff Software Engineer to join our core engineering team. In this role, you will drive the technical vision and execution of our platform, ensuring that it is reliable, scalable, and secure as we grow. You’ll lead architecture design, guide complex technical decisions, and mentor engineers while remaining deeply hands-on.

As one of the most senior engineers on the team, you’ll balance strategic impact with technical depth—setting the standard for engineering excellence while directly contributing to our codebase. We value proactive builders who thrive in ambiguity, enjoy tackling hard technical problems, and can influence both product and engineering direction.

Location: This role will require Monday - Thursday onsite in any of our locations. WFH Friday.

Culture is one of the most important things at TENEX.AI—explore our culture deck at culture.tenex.ai to witness how we embody it, prioritizing the irreplaceable collaboration and community of in-person work.

• Own and drive architectural decisions for core systems and services, balancing speed, scalability, and security.

• Lead design and development of distributed backend systems, APIs, and integrations.

• Provide technical leadership across the stack, from backend services to frontend applications.

• Mentor, coach, and up-level engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and pairing.

• Collaborate with product, design, and leadership to shape technical roadmaps.

• Identify and address cross-cutting concerns such as observability, reliability, and performance.

• Champion engineering best practices, ensuring code quality, testing, and maintainability.

• Stay ahead of industry trends in AI, automation, and security, bringing innovative approaches into our platform.

• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, including leadership in designing and scaling complex systems.

• Strong foundation in software engineering principles and distributed systems.

• Expertise in at least one backend language such as Go, Python, or equivalent.

• Experience with modern frontend frameworks (React, Next.js, TypeScript, or similar).

• Proficiency with relational databases such as PostgreSQL or MySQL.

• Experience with cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, or equivalent).

• Demonstrated ability to lead technical direction and mentor other engineers.

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

• Experience with containerization technologies like Docker and orchestration tools like Kubernetes.

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines.

• Exposure to AI/ML concepts and technologies, such as:

• Prompt Engineering

• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

• Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT)

• Vector Databases

• Experience working in an early-stage startup environment.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

• GCP certifications such as Professional Cloud Developer or Professional Data Engineer are a plus.

• Opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI-driven cybersecurity technologies and Google SecOps solutions.

• Collaborate with a talented and innovative team focused on continuously improving security operations.

• Competitive salary and benefits package.

• A culture of growth and development, with opportunities to expand your knowledge in AI, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies.

If you're passionate about combining cybersecurity expertise with artificial intelligence and have experience with Google SecOps and Chronicle, we encourage you to apply!

We practice pay transparency and reward performance. Offers reflect equity, experience, skills, education, and certifications. Base salary for this position in San Jose: $160,000 - $230,000