Engineering
Staff Software Engineer
About Downstream
Downstream is a marketplace platform transforming the waste and construction industries from the ground up. We're on a mission to bring simplicity, transparency, and sustainability to two of the most essential — but often overlooked — sectors of our economy.
We make it easy for contractors, builders, and businesses to find and book critical services like dumpster rentals, hauling, site services, and equipment — all in a few clicks. No endless calls, no confusing pricing, no waiting around. Our platform connects customers with vetted, reliable providers so they can get what they need, when they need it.
We're not just about convenience — we're about impact. By streamlining logistics and digitizing the supply chain, we're helping reduce waste, cut emissions, and build a cleaner, more sustainable future. Let's build better, together.
About the role
We're looking for a Staff Software Engineer to create technical leverage across Downstream. You'll define architecture for core marketplace systems and lead cross-team initiatives that connect our Django platform, data, and agentic AI capabilities. You'll help establish the foundations for intelligent automation at scale, align engineering investments with business outcomes, and mentor senior engineers as the platform grows.
What you'll do
- Define and evolve architecture for core Django applications, APIs, data models, and marketplace services across teams
- Lead the technical design of shared agentic AI infrastructure and reusable multi-agent workflow patterns
- Set standards for integrating LangChain, LangGraph, OpenAI, Hugging Face, and custom orchestration into secure, observable, production-grade systems
- Guide architecture for intelligent decisioning and automation across logistics, pricing, supplier matching, and other marketplace workflows
- Lead multi-team initiatives from problem definition and architecture through delivery, adoption, and operational maturity
- Identify platform capabilities that reduce duplicated effort, improve developer velocity, and enable product teams to build AI-powered features safely
- Establish practices for AI evaluation, testing, monitoring, governance, tool access, cost management, and human-in-the-loop controls
- Partner with product and business leaders to translate company priorities into durable technical investments and measurable outcomes
- Mentor senior engineers, influence technical standards, and help teams resolve complex cross-system problems
Role specifics
- Ownership: creates leverage across teams rather than focusing only on an individual feature or service
- Architecture: defines patterns and technical direction for shared platform capabilities, APIs, data, and integrations
- AI responsibility: shapes the architecture and operating model for agentic systems used across multiple business domains
- Organizational impact: aligns technical investments with marketplace strategy, reliability, speed, and business value
Who you are
- You have a strong track record designing and operating complex Django/Python platforms and API-driven systems
- You've led architecture across multiple services, teams, or business-critical product areas
- You have meaningful experience designing production LLM or agentic architectures, including multi-step or multi-agent systems
- You can evaluate and guide the use of LangChain, LangGraph, OpenAI, Hugging Face, and custom orchestration based on the problem rather than the trend
- You understand the operational and organizational requirements of AI at scale, including evaluation, observability, security, reliability, and cost
- You influence without relying on formal authority and can align teams around clear technical direction
- You connect engineering decisions to customer experience and business outcomes; marketplace, logistics, rentals, or construction-tech experience is a plus
Compensation
$150,000–$180,000 per year (Series A compensation band).
Benefits
Downstream is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) with a company match
- Company equity — be an owner in what we're building
- Paid time off, paid holidays, and floating holidays
- Parental and bereavement leave
Sound like you?
Read about how we hire, then throw your hat in the ring.