Senior Staff Software Engineer, Cognitive Architecture, Special Projects

Google

Mountain View, CA

JOB DETAILS
SKILLS
Algorithms, Architectural Design, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) Natural Language, Business Growth, Computer Science, Continuous Improvement, Cross-Functional, Data Modeling, Data Processing, Data Storage, Data Structures, Debugging Skills, Distributed Computing, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Information Retrieval, Information/Data Security (InfoSec), Internet Search, Large-Scale Systems, Leadership, Machine Learning, Matrix Management, Mentoring, Modeling Languages, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Network Design, Product/Service Launch, Programming Tools, Reinforcement Learning, Research & Development (R&D), Reverse Engineering, Safety/Work Safety, Scientific Research, Software Architecture, Software Architecture Design, Software Development, Software Engineering, System Integration (SI), Systems Scalability, Team Player, Technical Leadership, Testing, User Interface Design
LOCATION
Mountain View, CA
POSTED
7 days ago

Minimum qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
  • 8 years of experience in software development.
  • 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products, and 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
  • 5 years of experience with one or more of the following: speech/audio (e.g., technology duplicating and responding to the human voice), reinforcement learning (e.g., sequential decision making), machine learning infrastructure, or specialization in another machine learning field.
  • 5 years of experience with ML design and ML infrastructure (e.g., model deployment, model evaluation, data processing, debugging, fine tuning).

Preferred qualifications:

  • Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
  • 8 years of experience with data structures and algorithms.
  • 3 years of experience in a technical leadership role guiding project teams and setting technical direction.
  • 3 years of experience working in a matrixed organization involving cross-functional or cross-business projects.

About the job

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

Our special projects team within Google Tech and Society is dedicated to mechanistic artificial intelligence research. We are a collaborative group with interconnections to research and development teams throughout the company. Our focus is on the basic science of mechanistic interpretability, striving to reverse-engineer the internal computations of large language models to ensure their safety, alignment, and reliability. We push beyond traditional approaches to understand the compositional and structural mechanisms within models.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $207,000-$300,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

  • Design, architect, and implement cognitive architecture primitives that form the foundation of future agentic artificial intelligence systems.
  • Guide the development and integration of these cognitive systems, leveraging agentic programming tools (e.g., Antigravity/Jetski, full-stack vibe coding) to accelerate production and deployment.
  • Partner with stakeholders, product managers, and research scientists to ensure system implementation is aligned with objectives and ethical guidelines.
  • Serve as a technical leader, mentoring engineers and researchers, and setting standards for engineering excellence and scalable artificial intelligence systems.
  • Deliver continuous improvement in core infrastructure and development workflows, and serve as a team foundation on scaled evaluation and the piloting of artificial intelligence capabilities.
Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also Google's EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form.

About the Company

G

Google

Build for everyone

Since our founding in 1998, Google has grown by leaps and bounds. Starting from two computer science students in a university dorm room, we now have thousands of employees and offices around the world. These Googlers build products that help create opportunities for everyone, whether down the street or across the globe.

It starts with how we work together. We’re building a company where people of different views, backgrounds and experiences can do their best work and show up for one another. A place where every Googler feels like they belong.

So whether you develop new technology or creative campaigns, craft beautiful products or breakthrough partnerships, your work here is a chance to accomplish things that matter. Bring your insight, imagination, and healthy disregard for the impossible. Bring everything that makes you unique. Together, we can build for everyone.

Benefits

We strive to provide Googlers and their loved ones with a world-class benefits experience, focused on supporting their physical, financial, and emotional wellbeing. Our benefits are based on data, and centered around our users: Googlers and their families. They’re thoughtfully designed to enhance your health and wellbeing, and generous enough to make it easy for you to take good care of yourself (now, and in the future). So we can build for everyone, together.

Learn more about Google’s benefits on this site featuring Googlers’ experience.

How we Hire

Google’s hiring process is an important part of our culture. Googlers care deeply about their teams and the people who make them up. In order to  build for everyone, we know that we need a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and a fair hiring process is the first step in getting there.

Learn more about our hiring process.

COMPANY SIZE
10,000 employees or more
INDUSTRY
Computer Software
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Paid Sick Days, Performance Bonus, Professional Development, 401K, Stock Options, Employee Events, Retirement / Pension Plans, Tuition Reimbursement, Work From Home, Life Insurance, On Site Cafeteria
FOUNDED
1998
WEBSITE
https://goo.gle/4dbno6V