- Job title
- Senior Software Engineer, Infrastructure
- Job location
- San Carlos
- Job description
- ## ABOUT RETELL AI
Retell AI is using the first principles to reimagine the call center with cutting edge voice AI.
Since launching 18 months ago, thousands of companies now utilize Retell’s AI voice agents to handle sales, support, and logistics calls that once required large teams of human agents. Backed by Y Combinator, Alt Capital, and other leading investors, we have scaled to $36M ARR with a team of 20 people, up from $5M at the start of 2025.
Our vision for 2026 is to build a modern CX platform where entire contact centers are powered by AI. Instead of basic automation that needs constant human tuning, we’re creating intelligent AI “workers” that can act as frontline agents, QA analysts, and managers — continuously executing, monitoring, and improving customer interactions.
We’re growing quickly and looking for ambitious builders who want to tackle hard technical problems, move fast, and have real impact at one of the fastest-growing voice AI startups.
Let’s build the future together.
- We’re a top 50 AI app in a16z list: [https://tinyurl.com/5853dt2x](https://tinyurl.com/5853dt2x)
- #4 on Brex's Fast-Growing Software Vendors of 2025: [https://www.brex.com/journal/brex-benchmark-december-2025](https://www.brex.com/journal/brex-benchmark-december-2025)
- We're also one of the top ranking startups on: [https://leanaileaderboard.com/](https://leanaileaderboard.com/)
## **ABOUT THE ROLE**
As a **Senior Software Engineer - Infrastructure** , you’ll be the owner of our build, release, and runtime foundations. You’ll design and automate deployment pipelines for both cloud SaaS and on-prem environments, orchestrate containers at scale, and ship reliable releases that meet compliance requirements. You’ll work cross-functionally with product, security, and customer teams—then turn what you learn in the field into reusable platform capabilities.
## **KEY RESPONSIBILITIES**
- Own CI/CD end-to-end: design, implement, and operate pipelines with blue/green, canary, and phased rollouts; define graceful draining for HA systems.
- Architect, maintain, and harden Kubernetes-based runtime (Docker, Kubernetes, Helm), including multi-cluster and multi-tenant concerns.
- Manage cloud deployments across AWS/Azure/GCP and coordinate with on-prem infrastructure teams; standardize with IaC (e.g., Terraform).
- Implement robust observability (metrics, logs, traces), SLOs/error budgets, and automated rollback/one-click restore.
- Partner with compliance to integrate SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / HIPAA controls into pipelines (artifact signing, SBOMs, change management, access/keys).
- Deploy at customer sites (cloud or on-prem), collaborating with client teams for integration, runbooks, and handover.
- Lead incident response & postmortems; drive resilience, cost, and performance improvements.
- Document release processes and platform conventions; codify best practices into tooling and templates.
## **YOU MIGHT THRIVE IF**
- Have 3+ years of deep experience with a major cloud (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and container orchestration (Kubernetes, Helm).
- Build production-grade CI/CD with GitHub Actions / GitLab CI / Jenkins (or similar), including complex rollout strategies.
- Have shipped both SaaS and on-prem solutions, navigating networking, security, and environment drift.
- Can integrate compliance and security into delivery (secret management, image signing, policy-as-code).
- Are comfortable with networking fundamentals, security hardening, and performance tuning.
- Communicate clearly, move fast in ambiguity, and enjoy being the responsible adult in prod.
## JOB DETAILS
- **Cash** : 215k - 290k
- **Equity** : Offers Equity
- **Location** : Redwood City, CA, US
- **US Visas** : Retell AI is open to sponsoring work authorization for qualified candidates, including H1B/H-1B, TN, L-1, E-3, F-1 (OPT/CPT), and O-1 visas.
## OTHER BENEFITS
- **100% coverage** for medical, dental, and vision insurance
- **$70/day DoorDash credit** for unlimited breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks
- **$200/month** wellness reimbursement (gym, fitness classes, etc.)
- **$300/month** commuter reimbursement (gas, Caltrain, etc.)
- **$75/month** phone bill reimbursement
- **$50/month** internet reimbursement
## COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY
- **Best Offer Upfront:** Choose from three cash-equity balance options; no negotiation needed.
- **Top 1% Talent:** Above-market pay (top 5 percentile) to attract exceptional builders.
- **High Ownership:** Small teams, \>$1M revenue/employee, and significant equity.
- **Performance-Based:** Offers tied to interview performance, not experience or past salaries.
##
INTERVIEW PROCESS
1. **Online Assessment** : Coding questions on practical problem-solving (7 days to complete).
2. **Intro Call (15-20min)**: Connect with our Founding Recruiter to get a deeper look at the team and the work you'd be doing.
3. **Technical Interview (45 min)**: A practical coding session focused on code fluency and system design, with an emphasis on DevOps and infrastructure.
4. **Technical Interview (45 min):** A deep dive into your backend chops and how you think through systems design.
5. **Onsite/Virtual Interviews (2–3 hrs)**: Hosted in our office if located in the Bay Area or virtual, with three rounds:
## Learn More
[Retell AI - API That Turns Your LLM Into A Human-Like Voice Agent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LT64_mgkro)
[Retell AI Basics: Everything You Need to Start Building Voice Agents](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D904X4VXXDA&t=663s)
Join Retell AI to shape the future of voice automation, building scalable, impactful full-stack systems that redefine AI-driven communication.
