Staff/Senior Staff Software Engineer, Agent Infrastructure

Role overviewCohere builds agentic AI infrastructure for enterprises, and this role develops the platform enabling secure code execution, model routing, and resource management for autonomous AI agents at scale. The position requires North American work authorization and focuses on distributed systems, ML infrastructure, and developer experience. Cohere encourages applicants who do not match every criterion to apply.
Responsibilities
Build secure execution environments for agent-generated code
Design identity and authentication systems for AI agents
Develop model routing and orchestration across different model types and environments
Implement rate limiting, quotas, and resource management for agent workflows
Create state management, memory, and filesystem abstractions for agents
Prototype and evaluate new technologies for production infrastructure
Partner with research teams to shape infrastructure based on future agent system needs
Qualifications
Experience building production ML infrastructure with strong systems fundamentals
Hands-on work with agentic systems, multi-agent workflows, or agent development frameworks
Familiarity with model routing and LLM provider frameworks across different model types and environments
Experience with scalable, fault-tolerant distributed systems and Kubernetes
Proven track record of moving quickly on prototypes and making good decisions about productionization
Application conditions
Valid work authorization required for listed locations (Toronto, Canada;
United States)
Hybrid attendance may be required at Cohere offices in Toronto, London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin, or Seoul
Occasional travel may be required for annual company offsite and office visits
Remote eligibility is not worldwide;
must comply with regional residency and authorization requirements
Preferred qualifications
Experience across on-prem, private cloud, and public cloud environments
Familiarity with storage systems, embedded databases, or filesystem abstractions
Experience with code execution sandboxes such as gVisor, Firecracker, Kata, or WASM runtimes
Interest in emerging ML infrastructure, edge inference, or browser-native models
Open-source contributions to LLM or agent infrastructure projects
Experience with identity, workload auth, or capability-based security systems
Compensation and benefits
$240K - $360K USD per year salary
Weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in local currency
Full health and dental benefits with separate budget for mental health
RRSP matching, 401K, Pension Scheme
100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months for either parent
Annual enrichment benefits including Arts & culture, fitness/wellness, quality time, and workspace improvement credit
Education & learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching
6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days)
Budget for traveling to other offices if remote, plus annual company offsite
$500 home office stipend to set up workspace properly
What this role focuses on
Build and maintain the distributed infrastructure platform that enables autonomous AI agents at scale, including secure code execution environments, identity and authentication systems, model routing and orchestration, and resource management for long-running agent workflows. Work at the intersection of ML systems, distributed infrastructure, and developer experience to turn research prototypes into production-ready infrastructure.
Employer-published remote role. Listed location(s): Toronto;
Canada;
United States. Remote does not imply worldwide eligibility. Check the original listing for residency, work authorization, time zone, language and travel requirements.
Who are we?Cohere is the leading security-first enterprise AI company. We build cutting-edge foundation AI models and end-to-end products that are designed to solve real-world business problems.
We’re training and deploying frontier models for enterprises who are building AI systems. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI and we are looking for folks that want to be part of that.
We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are all passionate about their craft.
We are a global technology company headquartered in Toronto with key offices in London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin and Seoul. Join us!
About the role.We’re building the next generation of agentic AI infrastructure at Cohere. This team sits at the intersection of ML systems, distributed infrastructure, and developer experience, creating the platform that powers autonomous AI agents at scale.
You’ll work on hard, forward‑looking problems with few established patterns, including secure code execution, agent state management, model routing, identity and authentication, and resource management for long‑running agent workflows.
This role is a strong fit for someone who combines systems depth with ML intuition. You should be comfortable building reliable infrastructure, thinking through distributed systems tradeoffs, and understanding how emerging agentic capabilities shape platform design.
What you’ll work on.
Secure execution environments for agent-generated code
Identity, authentication, and trust boundaries for agents
Model routing and orchestration across different model types and environments
Rate limiting, quotas, and resource management for agent workflows
State management, memory, and filesystem abstractions for agents.
In this role you will:
Turn emerging ML research ideas into production-ready infrastructure
Build core platform capabilities for execution, storage, and state management
Prototype and evaluate new technologies, then help decide what should move into production
Partner with research teams to shape infrastructure based on what future agent systems will need
You may be a good fit if you have:
Experience building production ML infrastructure with strong systems fundamentals
Hands-on work with agentic systems, multi-agent workflows, or agent development frameworks
Familiarity with model routing and LLM provider frameworks across different model types and environments
Experience with scalable, fault-tolerant distributed systems and Kubernetes
A track record of moving quickly on prototypes and making good decisions about productionization.
Bonus
Experience across on-prem, private cloud, and public cloud environments
Familiarity with storage systems, embedded databases, or filesystem abstractions
Experience with code execution sandboxes such as gVisor, Firecracker, Kata, or WASM runtimes
Interest in emerging ML infrastructure, edge inference, or browser-native models
Open-source contributions to LLM or agent infrastructure projects
Experience with identity, workload auth, or capability-based security systems.
Full-Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks:
A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency for lunch.
Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health.
RRSP matching, 401K, Pension Scheme.
100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months, for either parent.
Annual enrichment benefits:
Arts & culture, fitness/wellness, quality time, and a workspace improvement credit.
Education & learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.
6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days!)
Budget for traveling to other offices if you are remote, plus an annual company offsite.
How and Where We Work:
Cohere is remote‑friendly, but we also have offices in Toronto, London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin and Seoul with more opening soon.
For those in the office: a daily lunch program, plenty of snacks, and regular community and social events.
For those not near an office: a co‑working benefit so you can work alongside others in your city.
Everyone receives a $500 home office stipend to set up your workspace properly.
We strive to create an inclusive work environment for all;
we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form, and we will work together to meet your needs.
We may use AI-enabled tools to screen and assess applicants against the criteria for this position. This helps our recruiters identify potentially qualified candidates, but it doesn't limit the applications our recruiters may review or consider.
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