Staff software engineer python & ai agent security platform

Why Join Skyrelis?
Build the world’s leading
AI security & observability
platform.
Work on cutting-edge multi-cloud infrastructure and global Po P architecture.
Own complex security + cloud problems end-to-end.
Significant growth opportunity as one of the early engineers building the Skyrelis platform.
About the role
Skyrelis is looking for a Member of Technical Staff (MTS) / Staff Software Backend/Platform Engineer contractor to lead the design and development of cloud-native, Python-first systems that power AI agents, LLM integrations, safety/guardrails, and secure traffic inspection across modern deployments. This is a backend/platform role focused on production systems, security, and reliability. You will work on architecture, core platform services, proxy/HTTP systems, data pipelines, and AI agent runtime controls—shipping production-grade software with high reliability and strong security posture.
Responsibilities
Lead
system design and architecture
for scalable backend/platform services supporting AI agents and LLM-driven workflows.
Build and maintain
Python services and libraries
(APIs, pipelines, policy engines, telemetry, integrations).
Develop secure, high-performance components involving:
HTTP/HTTPS , TLS, certificates, and request/response processing
Forward/explicit proxies , service-to-service traffic interception, and policy enforcement
Design and implement
guardrails/safety controls
for AI agent workflows (prompt/response filtering, tool-use controls, policy checks, data loss prevention patterns).
Build cloud-native deployments on
AWS and/or GCP , including CI/CD, observability, and cost-aware scalability.
Drive debugging and incident resolution: deep dives across app, network, and infra layers.
Design data models and storage for operational analytics using
Open Search/Postgre SQL
and related systems.
Collaborate with product, security, and infra teams to define roadmaps, technical direction, and best practices.
Mentor engineers and raise engineering quality through reviews, design docs, and operational excellence.
Required Qualifications
BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering , or equivalent practical experience.
7+ years
of hands-on software development experience with strong ownership of production systems.
Strong background in
design and architecture
(distributed systems, APIs, reliability, scaling).
Strong
Python
development experience; comfortable with additional languages (e.g.,
Go/Java/Type Script/Rust ).
5+ years of working experience with FASTAPI or any other Python web framework.
Working knowledge of
AWS and/or GCP
cloud deployments (networking, compute, IAM, security).
Excellent
debugging
skills across application, network, and infrastructure layers.
Solid understanding of
HTTP/HTTPS protocols , TLS, certificates, and traffic flows.
Knowledge/experience with
proxies
(forward/explicit/reverse), authentication patterns, and request/response transformations.
Experience with databases and search/analytics systems:
Postgre SQL, Open Search/Elasticsearch
(indexing, mappings, query patterns).
Preferred Qualifications
Knowledge of AI / LLM / Agent Technology Requirements
Hands-on experience building
AI agents
using common frameworks (e.g.,
Lang Chain/Lang Graph, Llama Index, Semantic Kernel ) and core patterns like
tool/function calling, planning/execution, memory, RAG, and multi-agent workflows.
Practical integration with
LLM services/APIs
(e.g.,
Open AI/Azure Open AI, Anthropic, Google Vertex/Gemini, AWS Bedrock ) including
streaming, structured outputs, routing/fallbacks.
Experience implementing guardrails and safety controls (policy enforcement, prompt-injection defenses, PII/secrets detection, moderation, tool-use restrictions; tools like Prompt Guard, Guardrails AI, Ne Mo Guardrails, LLM Guard, etc.)
Strong understanding of
RAG
and retrieval systems, including
embeddings, chunking/ranking , and using
vector search
(Open Search vector, pgvector, Pinecone/Weaviate/Milvus/FAISS).
Familiarity with
evaluation and observability
for LLM/agent systems:
quality/safety metrics, cost/token tracking, Open Telemetry tracing/logging.
Experience building
security products
(DLP, policy enforcement, identity integration, audit logging).
Experience with
service mesh / sidecars
(Istio/Envoy), certificate automation, or SDS/m TLS concepts.
Experience with
Kubernetes
(EKS/GKE), Terraform/Cloud Formation, and production operations.
Experience with
Open Search
(data streams, index templates, ISM/ILM, dashboards) and performance tuning.
Tech Stack
Languages:
Python (primary), plus Go/Java/Type Script
Cloud:
AWS/GCP, VPC networking, IAM, load balancers, CDN
Data:
Postgre SQL, Open Search, Redis; optional vector DBs
AI:
Lang Chain/Lang Graph, Llama Index; Open AI/Bedrock/Vertex/Gemini/Anthropic
Observability:
Open Telemetry, logs/metrics/traces, dashboards/alerting
Security/Networking:
HTTP/HTTPS, TLS, proxies, auth N/auth Z, guardrails
Soft Skills
Strong ownership and execution abilities.
Excellent communication and documentation skills.
Ability to operate independently in a fast-moving startup environment.
Comfortable collaborating with engineering, security, and customer teams.
We’re grateful to everyone who takes the time to apply. While we’re unable to respond to every applicant, we’ll be in touch directly with those whose experience aligns closely with the role.