Staff Engineer, AI Native

Sony•San Diego, CA

2d•Remote

About The Position

Sony Engagement Platform Services (SEPS) is seeking an AI-Native Staff Software Engineer to develop applications for the Sony Engagement Platform, which supports digital engagement across Sony’s entertainment ecosystem. The engineer will design and build secure, scalable, high-performing solutions and contribute hands-on to front-end and back-end systems, architecture, implementation, and technical leadership. The role is part of a small AI-native team and involves directing and governing AI agents throughout the delivery lifecycle. The engineer will collaborate with product managers, designers, and other engineering teams to deliver robust, maintainable applications and solve complex challenges in a fast-paced environment. The position is eligible to be performed remotely. Compensation varies by location; the anticipated annual base salary is $220,000–$240,000 for Los Angeles, California, and $200,000–$220,000 for San Diego, California. Benefits-eligible employees generally scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week may receive a comprehensive benefits program supporting physical, emotional, and financial well-being. Offerings include medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage; health savings and flexible spending accounts; behavioral health support; fertility, surrogacy, and adoption assistance; life and disability insurance; paid parental and caregiver leave; a 401(k) plan with company match; education assistance and student loan programs; flexible work arrangements; vacation, paid holidays, sick leave, Summer Fridays, and a winter break; referral bonuses; a matching gift program; employee business resource groups; Sony product discounts; and an employee stock purchase plan.

Requirements

At least 8 years of professional experience working with medium or large complex codebases.
Experience in full-stack development.
Experience with one or more of Java, Go, or Python.
Experience designing and implementing REST APIs.
High proficiency in HTML, CSS, and the JavaScript ecosystem; familiarity with frameworks and tools such as React, Angular, Ember, Jest, Babel, and TypeScript.
Knowledge of UI/UX design principles.
Demonstrated proficiency using AI-native coding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, or GitHub Copilot as a primary delivery vehicle.
Working knowledge of prompt engineering, context management, and structured output patterns.
Familiarity with agent development concepts, tool use, function calling, approvals, and workflow chaining.
Awareness of secure AI coding practices, including prompt injection, sandbox basics, and access control.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, and a desire to collaborate and build positive team relationships.
Attention to detail, organizational skills, a strong work ethic, and ability to work independently.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or at least three years of proven experience in lieu of a degree.
Demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable, well-documented code.
Experience with database management, AWS cloud technologies, and containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes.
Knowledge of React best practices.
Familiarity with DevOps tools and practices, including CI/CD pipelines.
Experience with automated deployment tools such as Terraform, Ansible, or Jenkins.
Experience with an AI-native development framework such as BMad Method.
Familiarity with MCP, A2A concepts, tool-connection patterns, and agent skill configuration.
Knowledge of evaluation basics, writing test cases, LLM-as-judge concepts, and acceptance criteria for AI-generated output.
Experience tracing and debugging prompt chains, tool calls, and agent failures.
Understanding of hallucination reduction techniques, prompt caching, and model fallback strategies.
Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
Experience with Agile methodologies such as SAFe or Scrum.

Responsibilities

Architect, design, and develop RESTful API endpoints for performance, scalability, and maintainability.
Collaborate with front-end engineers to build dynamic, responsive, user-centric web applications.
Define data models and database schemas, and manage relational or NoSQL databases with emphasis on data integrity and performance.
Direct and govern AI coding agents across the delivery lifecycle by setting context, reviewing agent-generated output, and enforcing SEPS delivery standards.
Design and maintain agent workflows using tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, and Copilot and the AI-native development framework, supporting structured, auditable, high-quality delivery.
Configure and maintain prompt engineering patterns, structured output schemas, rules, and guardrails aligned with SEPS platform standards.
Trace, debug, and triage agent tool calls, prompt failures, and unexpected outputs, maintaining visibility into AI-assisted delivery.
Create and maintain documentation for application architecture, design, configuration, and ongoing maintenance.
Provide task estimates and delivery timelines, contributing to sprint planning and execution.
Participate in the on-call rotation, respond to production issues, and help ensure system stability and uptime.
Mentor and support junior engineers and foster AI-native working practices, learning, and continuous improvement.
Act with honesty, trustworthiness, and ethical conduct.