--- title: 'Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, Training Infrastructure) at Perplexity' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-technical-staff-software-engineer-training-infrastructure-perplexity-b605dwa01nme' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-01' --- # Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer, Training Infrastructure) at Perplexity - **Company:** [Perplexity](https://feeny.ai/companies/perplexity) - **Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Compensation:** $220k–$405k - **Employment:** full-time - **Posted:** 2026-10-31 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-01 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/perplexity/2a5aa5f6-596b-45c3-84db-ac0b96363f93 ## Job description Perplexity is seeking software engineers to join our Training Infrastructure team. We’re responsible for the large-scale RL and agent evaluation platforms that enable Perplexity to train state-of-the-art models and optimize agent harnesses. We are full-stack engineers with a broad remit. If you join us, you’ll build the distributed systems that orchestrate AI workloads across global-scale compute infrastructure. You’ll also define novel user and agent interfaces for designing, managing, and launching experiments. You’ll create tools that make experiment results legible to humans and agents alike, enabling everything from ad-hoc experiment retrospectives to closed-loop autoresearch. And much more! A strong candidate will possess both experience and passion for solving difficult problems at the intersection of AI, distributed systems, and research acceleration. ## Qualifications - 2+ years of experience developing and shipping distributed systems for compute-intensive workloads, with a focus on reliability, scalability, and performance. - Proficiency in a general-purpose backend language such as Python, Rust, C++, or Go, and experience with cloud infrastructure and container orchestration, such as AWS and Kubernetes. - Familiarity with reinforcement learning (RL), agent evaluation, or ML infrastructure, and an interest in building systems that accelerate experimentation and model development. - BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. ## Why Perplexity is different - Craftsmanship. We build high quality, tasteful products targeting both the AI native and AI curious. - Ownership. You identify the problem, design the solution and ship it. - Entrepreneurship. We think like founders, act with urgency, and hustle to deliver for each other and our users. - Scholarship. Work among highly talented peers, pursuing knowledge and truth, upleveling ourselves, our teams, and our products. - Partnership. We amplify each others' strengths, break down silos, and give selflessly to help our colleagues deliver excellence. ## About Perplexity ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Perplexity builds an AI-powered answer engine that delivers accurate, real-time answers to any question, serving curious minds and professionals who demand precision and speed. - **Entity Type**: Private (total funding $1.7B across 16 rounds) - **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States - **Founded**: 2022 - **Founders**: Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, Andy Konwinski ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: AI-powered search and knowledge retrieval, Software Development - **Target customers**: B2C (general users), B2B (enterprise API customers), and power users seeking reliable information - **Mission**: “AI for people who expect more – more accuracy, more agency, more signal, less noise.” ## Products & Services - **Perplexity AI (Free Tier)**: Real-time conversational search engine that synthesizes web results with citations, accessible via web and mobile app. *Type*: SaaS - **Perplexity Pro**: Subscription offering enhanced features such as advanced AI models, multimodal search, and increased usage limits. *Type*: SaaS (subscription) - **Perplexity API Platform**: Enables developers to integrate Perplexity’s search and reasoning capabilities into their own applications. *Type*: API - **Perplexity Browser Extension**: Brings AI-powered search directly into the browser for quick answers without leaving the page. *Type*: Browser extension ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available in provided sources (prior reports indicate ~$9B valuation as of 2024, but not confirmed in this data set) - **Key Metric**: Total funding $1.7B (16 rounds); annual revenue ~$50M (LinkedIn estimate) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not explicitly listed in provided search results; widely known investors include IVP, NEA, Jeff Bezos, and others (not sourced here) - **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 11.3% YoY to 1,152 employees; operates in 54 countries; LinkedIn followers grew 131.8% yearly to >1.6M; active hiring across 48+ open roles including AI Research, Engineering, and Go-to-Market teams ## Competitive Advantages - **Real-time, cited answers**: Unlike traditional chatbots, Perplexity grounds answers in live web results with transparent sources, building trust and accuracy. - **Multimodal and agentic capabilities**: Continuously pushes frontier research (e.g., query-aware context compression, agents for knowledge work) that differentiates from generic LLM interfaces. - **Vertical integration from research to product**: In-house AI research team tackles open problems unique to Perplexity’s scale, enabling fast iteration on novel methods. - **Strong brand and user base**: Rapid consumer adoption with millions of monthly active users and high engagement. ## Strategic Focus - **Pushing the frontier of search**: Evolving from retrieval services to code generation, agents, and full autonomy in knowledge work. - **Expanding enterprise and API revenue**: Growing B2B footprint with API platform and enterprise solutions. - **Global hiring and office expansion**: Offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York, Austin, Washington D.C., London, Berlin, and Belgrade, with “4 days in office” hybrid model. - **Investing in AI research**: Dedicated research division (Perplexity Research) exploring reasoning, agents, and systems to redefine how people navigate the internet. ## Why Work Here - **Culture & Environment**: “Thoughtful support” culture with emphasis on craftsmanship, ownership, entrepreneurship, scholarship, and partnership. Hybrid schedule (4 days in-office) based on location. - **Perks**: Daily catered meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner in office), office snacks, ride home program, commuter benefits, home office reimbursement, fitness classes, gym memberships. - **Compensation & Benefits**: Competitive salary and equity packages; retirement plans with company match; flexible PTO; holiday shutdown between Christmas and New Year; 12 weeks paid bonding leave; comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance. - **Relocation & Visa Support**: Relocation assistance and visa/green card sponsorship for eligible roles. Partners with immigration firm to support the process. - **Engineering Excellence**: “Technical assessment for relevant roles”; values hands-on contribution, broad skill sets, and merit-based evaluation. Frequent Tech Talks and exposure to greenfield AI research problems. ## Sources 1. [perplexity.ai/hub/careers](https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/careers) 2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/perplexity](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/perplexity) 3. [perplexity.ai](https://www.perplexity.ai/) 4. [linkedin.com/company/perplexity-ai](https://www.linkedin.com/company/perplexity-ai) 5. 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