Staff Software Engineer (AI & Intelligent Tooling)

• Plaid is evolving into an AI-first company, and Intelligent Tooling sits at the center of that transformation. The Intelligent Tooling team is being built from the ground up, and our mission is to establish the technical foundations, operating model, and internal platforms that embed AI deeply into Plaid’s coding tools, internal systems, and the entire software development lifecycle
• When we are successful, engineers across Plaid will delegate lower-leverage work to AI agents, move faster with confidence, and spend more of their time designing and inventing for customers. Intelligent Tooling owns the platforms and systems that make this possible - from AI coding integrations and SDLC agents to the internal tools that power Plaid’s operations
• As a Staff Software Engineer on the Intelligent Tooling team, you will build and operate internal systems that directly impact how engineers across Plaid do their work, and own the technical direction for major parts of that surface. This is a hands-on role with significant ownership, where success is measured by real adoption, reliability, and improvements to developer experience
• You will work on AI-powered tooling, internal platforms, and developer workflows, collaborating closely with other engineers and cross-functional partners to ship durable, high-leverage systems
• Design, build, and operate internal tools and services used by Plaid’s engineers
• Integrate AI-powered tools and workflows into core engineering processes
• Improve reliability, usability, and performance of existing internal platforms
• Own systems end-to-end, including production support and iterative improvement
• Collaborate with teammates and stakeholders to deliver practical, high-impact solutions
• Set technical direction for major areas of the Intelligent Tooling surface and mentor other engineers

Benefits

• Vibrant offices in SF, NYC, and Raleigh-Durham—with catered meals, happy hours, and clubs to keep you connected
• Competitive pay, comprehensive health benefits, and support for fertility, mental health, and parental leave
• Lifestyle perks including home office stipends, daycare support, and commuting benefits like CitiBike and Lyft- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Experience building developer tooling, internal platforms, or infrastructure
• Strong problem-solving and collaboration skills, with a track record of setting technical direction and leading through influence
• Strong interest and excitement in leveraging AI to meaningfully improve developer productivity and engineering velocity for a broader engineering organization
• Exposure to developing AI systems, automation, or agentic workflows, and hands-on experience using AI-powered developer tools
• Familiarity with CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, or observability tooling
• We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn’t fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!