Staff Software Engineer - Kilo Code

About this role

Summary: We're looking for a Staff Software Engineer to lead the evolution of Kilo Code, our flagship VS Code extension with over 5 million downloads processing more than 10 trillion tokens per month. You'll join a 15-person engineering team (average 10+ years of experience) working on one of the most-used AI-assisted coding tools in the world. You'll ship your first PR on day one and have hands-on ownership of high-impact features at the velocity we expect from everyone on this team.

You'll set the technical direction that lets the team move faster on everything after, including performance optimization at scale, defining architectural patterns for advanced AI-assisted workflows, and elevating the team's engineering practices while maintaining the velocity and quality our users expect. What You'll Do: Set technical direction for performance optimization initiatives across startup time, memory footprint, and CLI communication, establishing patterns and instrumentation that the team can leverage Design, build, and ship advanced features including granular auto-approval rules, context optimization, and Smart Apply workflows, then extract the patterns so the team can reuse them Drive cross-team initiatives that span the extension, backend services, and AI infrastructure, translating business priorities into technical roadmaps and breaking down complex problems into shippable increments Mentor engineers on the team through code review, architectural discussions, and pairing sessions, raising the bar for code quality, testing practices, and performance rigor Own end-to-end delivery of high-impact features from technical design through production deployment, including rollout strategy, telemetry design, and post-launch iteration based on user feedback Establish engineering standards for AI coding workflows including context window optimization, token compression strategies, and chat interface patterns that serve 6T+ tokens per month Identify and prioritize technical debt and performance bottlenecks proactively, balancing feature velocity with long-term system health on a mature codebase serving millions Partner with Product and Design to shape roadmap priorities, advocating for technical feasibility and incremental delivery while representing engineering constraints and opportunities Your Impact Will Be Measured Through: Feature impact: user engagement and performance metrics for high-complexity features you own, including adoption rates, performance benchmarks, and production stability Delivery cadence: your first PR on day one, then a sustained pace of high-complexity features shipped to production, setting the tempo for the team Technical leverage: measurable improvements in team velocity, code quality, or system performance that compound over time through patterns, tooling, or mentorship you introduce Architectural decisions: adoption and success of technical approaches you champion, measured through feature reliability, performance gains, and team consensus Cross-functional influence: successful delivery of initiatives requiring coordination across Product, AI Services, and other engineering teams with clear outcomes and minimal friction What You Need: 10+ years of professional software development experience with demonstrated technical leadership on production systems serving large user bases Proven track record of setting technical direction for complex projects, making architectural decisions under uncertainty, and delivering results through both hands-on contribution and technical leadership Deep experience building developer tools, IDE extensions, or similar productivity software with 100K+ users, including performance optimization and scale considerations Expertise in TypeScript and modern JavaScript including asynchronous patterns, event-driven architectures, and Node.js runtime optimization Track record of performance optimization work at scale including profiling, instrumentation, and measurable improvements in startup time, memory usage, or throughput Experience working with AI-assisted coding tools, chat interfaces, or agent-based development workflows, including context window management and LLM integration patterns Demonstrated ability to influence technical decisions across teams, mentor other engineers, and elevate engineering practices through code review, documentation, or tooling Strong product sense and ability to partner with non-engineering stakeholders to translate business needs into technical solutions and tradeoff s Based in and willing to work Eastern TimeZone hours What Will Make You Stand Out: You've set technical direction for developer tools at companies building IDE extensions, AI coding assistants, or productivity platforms, with measurable impact on product quality or team velocity You have deep expertise in performance optimization for high-scale systems, with specific experience profiling and optimizing VS Code extensions, Electron apps, or similar runtime environments You've led cross-functional initiatives in fast-paced startup environments where you balanced technical leadership with hands-on contribution and shipped with minimal process overhead You've mentored engineers through architectural decisions, code review, or technical design, with clear examples of engineers leveling up through your guidance You've contributed to open-source projects as a core maintainer or technical lead, navigating community dynamics while maintaining code quality and project direction You have experience working at AI or data science-focused companies building tools for technical audiences, with deep understanding of developer workflows and pain points You embody our values: 'Curious by Default', 'Build Together', 'Own It', and 'Lead with Guts and Heart', and our behaviors: Clarity, Care and Candor You care deeply about fostering an environment where people of all backgrounds and experiences can flourish Why You'll Like Working Here: You'll thrive in a high-performance environment where results are recognized and rewarded Your work directly contributes to shaping the future of data science, machine learning, and AI in the enterprise.