Character.AI · 1 day ago
Software Engineer, Backend/Applied ML (Safety & Integrity)
Redwood City, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
8+ years expCharacter.AI empowers people to connect, learn and tell stories through interactive entertainment. They are seeking a talented Software Engineer to join their Safety Engineering team, focusing on designing and developing robust backend systems and applying machine learning to address integrity and safety challenges.
AppsArtificial Intelligence (AI)Generative AIInformation TechnologyMobile AppsSoftware
Responsibilities
Architect & Build: Design, develop, and maintain highly scalable, resilient, and performant backend systems that power our integrity and safety features
Lead Complex Solutions: Lead the technical design and implementation of sophisticated backend solutions for detecting, preventing, and mitigating a wide array of integrity risks. This includes traditional issues (e.g., content classification, spam, etc.) as well as emerging threats related to Generative AI (e.g., misuse of generative models, generation of harmful or biased content, etc)
Apply Machine Learning: Conceptualize, develop, deploy, and iterate on machine learning models and algorithms to address complex integrity challenges. This includes areas like content classification (including AI-generated content), anomaly detection, risk scoring, behavior analysis, and developing safeguards for Generative AI systems (e.g., robust content filtering, bias mitigation techniques, and output monitoring)
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with product managers, data scientists, AI researchers, security teams, and operations to define requirements, design innovative solutions, and deliver impactful integrity systems, especially for Generative AI products
Technical Strategy & Roadmap: Drive the long-term technical vision and roadmap for backend integrity systems and applied ML capabilities, with a keen eye on addressing Generative AI safety concerns with an alignment with company objectives
Mentorship & Leadership: Provide technical guidance and mentorship to other engineers on the team and across the organization, fostering a culture of engineering excellence
Champion Best Practices: Advocate for and implement best practices in software engineering, distributed systems design, data engineering, and the full lifecycle of ML model development, including specific considerations for the safety and ethics of Generative AI
System Optimization: Continuously analyze and improve the performance, scalability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of existing integrity platforms and ML models
Stay Current: Keep abreast of emerging threats, new technologies, and advancements in backend engineering, distributed systems, the application of machine learning to trust and safety, and the evolving landscape of Generative AI safety research and mitigation techniques
Qualification
Required
8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong emphasis on backend systems development
Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field
Proven track record of designing, building, and operating complex, large-scale, and highly available distributed systems
Expertise in one or more backend programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, or C++
Hands-on experience in applying machine learning techniques to solve real-world problems, specifically with demonstrable experience in addressing integrity, trust, or safety challenges
Solid understanding of the machine learning lifecycle, including data gathering and cleaning, feature engineering, model selection, training, validation, A/B testing, deployment, and operational monitoring
Exceptional problem-solving abilities, with a knack for tackling ambiguous and technically challenging problems
Proven ability to work in a fast-paced development environment and deliver timely results
Strong communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
Preferred
You care deeply about Trust & Safety and see it as a value-add to the business
Prior experience in a dedicated Trust & Safety, Integrity, or Risk engineering team
Contributions to open-source projects or publications in relevant fields
Experience leading large, cross-cutting technical projects
Company
Character.AI
Character.ai provides open-ended conversational applications in which users create characters and converse with them.
51-200 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Character.AI has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (9)
2024 (16)
2023 (6)
2022 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$150.08MKey Investors
Andreessen Horowitz
2023-03-23Series A· $150M
2023-01-24Seed· $0.08M
Leadership Team
Karandeep Anand
CEO
Recent News
2026-01-08
2026-01-08
Company data provided by crunchbase