Lead Software Engineer

Standard Template Labs • New York, NY

163d

About The Position

Standard Template Labs is a stealth-mode, AI-native startup reimagining the future of IT Service and Configuration Management. Backed by leading investors, we're leveraging AI, graph-based architecture, and exceptional design to transform how enterprises manage and engage with their technology ecosystems. We're looking for a highly skilled Lead Software Engineers who thrives on responsibility, solving complex problems, and building at scale. You’ll play a critical role in designing and developing systems that power our products, ensuring they are robust, performant, and maintainable. This is a hands-on role for someone who wants to write world-class code, lead by example, and help shape engineering practices across the team.

Requirements

• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, with proven success delivering large-scale systems
• Experience mentoring and guiding cross-functional engineering teams, fostering technical growth, code quality, and best practices through regular code reviews, knowledge sharing, and one-on-one coaching
• Personal or professional experience using code generation tools (e.g., Claude, Cursor, Windsurf). The role will involve extensive use of AI tooling
• Strong proficiency in at least one modern programming language (e.g., Java, Go, Rust, Python, C++)
• Deep understanding of system design, distributed systems and cloud-native architectures
• Experience with relational and/or NoSQL databases, caching strategies, and scalable storage solutions
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, observability and production system reliability
• Strong problem-solving skills and a passion for writing elegant, maintainable code
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

Nice To Haves

• Experience with microservices architecture and event-driven systems
• Knowledge of containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Prior exposure to high-throughput, low-latency, or real-time systems
• Open-source contributions or a strong portfolio of technical work

Responsibilities

• Take end-to-end ownership of large, complex features and systems—from design and architecture to deployment and monitoring
• Drive technical decision-making, balancing short-term delivery with long-term scalability and maintainability
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (product, design, data, infra) to translate requirements into elegant solutions
• Write clean, efficient, and well-tested code that sets a standard of excellence for the team
• Help define a tech stack
• Design and implement large-scale distributed systems, APIs, and data pipelines
• Conduct thorough code reviews, providing constructive feedback and raising the bar on code quality
• Troubleshoot and optimize performance across high-traffic systems

Benefits

• Build foundational product features for an AI-first enterprise platform
• The opportunity to take ownership of critical systems that scale to millions of users
• A culture that values craftsmanship, autonomy, and technical excellence
• Competitive compensation, equity, and benefits package
• Work from our Midtown Manhattan office alongside the founding team in a focused, collaborative environment. We're in-office five days a week, moving quickly and building together—with easy access to public transportation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time