Senior Software Engineer

A dispatch decision that arrives ninety seconds late isn't slow. It's wrong.That's the kind of problem we work on. Soma Energy builds software that coordinates large electricity users with the power grid. We decide when and how they consume power, and we make sure those decisions actually get executed, on time, on real assets. Our mission is to enable abundant, affordable and clean electricity.Why now
The grid balances electricity generation and consumption in real time. AI demand and renewable energy have pushed it to its limits, and we need better ways to use the infrastructure we already have.Our insight comes from operating the largest energy portfolio across the Western US and scaling AWS's energy footprint: large electricity users can become part of the solution. By coordinating when and how they consume power, we turn demand into a flexible resource and create new ways to access power.And it's working! We have real customers, deployment operations equivalent to 25% of BC's grid, and a backlog of customers that would double our footprint over the next six months. The systems that got us here now have to carry twice the load. We need engineers to build what carries us to the next level.Who you'll build with
We're a team of 15 with backgrounds in energy trading, software engineering and AI scientists, backed by leading Bay Area venture capital firms. Our founding team created the energy optimization program at AWS and brings deep experience in electricity markets, renewable energy, AI, and optimization.As a small team, your decisions will shape the architecture, the product, and the engineering culture. There is substantial work to own and room to help define how we do it.What you'll own
You'll own the core systems behind our platform: the infrastructure, APIs, and distributed services that turn a firehose of grid telemetry into optimization decisions that actually get executed, on time and on real assets.The hard part isn't scale for its own sake. It's that the deadlines are physical. You'll be building systems where correctness, latency, and reliability are the same problem wearing three hats.You'll make the architectural calls, write the services, and own them in production, including the moments when you're opening a trace or inspecting live data to figure out what went wrong. You'll also help set the engineering standard for a team that's about to grow, through written designs, code review, pairing, and mentoring.Senior or Principal: how the role scales
We're hiring at both levels. The problem is the same;
the scope is what changes.As a Senior Engineer, you'll own major services end to end, from design through reliable operation, and raise the bar for everyone who works alongside you.As a Principal Engineer, you'll set technical direction across the platform, make the architectural bets that will define our next few years, and multiply the engineers around you. If you've led before as a tech lead, staff engineer, or EM, you'll find that directing a fleet of agents draws on the same muscle as directing a team.What we look for
You're a strong backend engineer with 7+ years of software experience, and you're extremely proficient in one or more languages such as Python, Go, Rust, or C++.You've owned consequential production systems. You can describe a system you built and operated, what could go wrong, and how you made it reliable. Experience in trading, telemetry, industrial control, payments, or real-time infrastructure is especially relevant.You can work through the full problem. You're comfortable making architectural decisions, implementing services, and opening a trace or inspecting production data when something breaks.You understand the tradeoffs. You have strong foundations in distributed systems, data structures, and performance, and you can explain why you chose one approach over another.You're passionate about AI coding practices and still believe in software engineering as a craft. You use agentic coding tools like Claude Code or Cursor daily, and you want to help establish how the team reviews, tests, and validates AI-assisted code.You bring high agency to a fast-paced environment where the spec is often a conversation, and shipping is the part you don't rush past.You don't need to know electricity markets. We'll teach you the grid. We need you to bring the engineering.How we work
We use writing to sharpen ideas, explain technical tradeoffs, and make decisions explicitly. We expect engineers to understand the reasoning behind what they build and to challenge ideas thoughtfully.We use AI tools extensively and care deeply about software engineering as a craft. Speed matters, and so does seeing the work through to reliable operation.Compensation and location
Equity:
early stage engineer equity position and a real stake in the company you help createBenefits:
extended health benefitsWe welcome different backgrounds, perspectives, and paths into engineering. If you need an accommodation during the hiring process, let us know and we'll work with you.If you want to build software that controls real energy systems and help make energy abundance possible, we'd love to meet you.The future of AI depends on what we’re building at Soma
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