---
title: 'Senior Software Engineer, AI Systems at Zello'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-ai-systems-zello-austin-ba3kfnn74x2m'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Senior Software Engineer, AI Systems at Zello

- **Company:** Zello
- **Location:** Austin, TX
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-08-28
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Zello/2fa8cd4a-7ddb-40c6-8577-4a004c182e80/application

**Skills:** Python, LLM APIs, API Integration, Software Engineering, System Monitoring, Testing

> The Applied AI Engineer builds and produces AI agents from prototype to production, integrating them with Zello's systems via APIs. Responsibilities include writing production Python code, monitoring agent quality, managing human reinforcement workflows, and creating reusable code patterns and evaluation harnesses.

## Job description

IMPORTANT: Please be aware, scammers may try to impersonate Zello by reaching out regarding job opportunities. We will never ask you for bank account information, checks, or other sensitive information as part of our hiring process. All correspondence will come from the zello.com email domain. If you’re unsure, please email recruiting@zello.com with questions.

## About Zello

Zello is a voice-first communication platform, powered by our industry-leading push-to-talk technology, to improve collaboration and productivity for desk-less workers. With over 175+ million users, we’re the #1 rated push-to-talk app in the world, delivering 9 billion (yes, with a B) messages a month. At Zello, our company values are at the heart of what we do everyday. We’re proud to serve the frontline, we’re privileged to connect people in times of crisis across the globe, and we’re honored to support first responders. And this is where you come in. Zello is the push-to-talk platform that connects millions of frontline workers, and the AI & Data team builds the agent systems that run the business behind it. We have more high-value AI work than we have capacity to build, and we need someone who can both ship it and hold a real engineering standard around it. You would be the person who makes our agent work genuinely engineered - tested, reviewed, monitored - and who raises how everyone here builds. After a successful first year, you will

- Shipped and operated production agent systems that people across Zello use every day
- Made evals-driven development the team's default, so every agent ships with an eval suite and monitoring
- Owned the code review bar for agent work and raised the standard it is held to
- Measurably levelled up teammates' engineering craft through review, pairing and coaching
- Cut the time it takes to move an agent from prototype to production

## What you'll do

- Build LLM-backed systems end to end and put them in front of people who are not engineers
- Design eval suites and monitoring before shipping, not after something breaks
- Review agent pull requests and explain why a design will or will not hold up
- Operate what you ship: triage drift, chase down silent failures, fix root causes
- Set engineering conventions the team actually adopts - testing, structure, error handling
- Pair with and coach teammates who are strong analysts and newer to software craft
- Tell us when AI is the wrong tool for a problem, before we build it

## Who you are

- You learned to program properly, and you can reason about code you did not write
- You build things nobody asked you to build
- You treat tests and evals as part of shipping, not as cleanup afterwards
- You give code review feedback people act on, and you coach rather than direct
- You connect engineering standards to outcomes rather than to taste
- You hold a high bar without making people feel small about it
- You have operated production systems that other people depended on

This Role Is Not

- Not a research role. No papers, no training models from scratch
- Not a front-end or product design role. The interfaces here are internal and functional
- Not a management track. This is an individual contributor seat with real influence over how the team builds
- Not a prompt-engineering role. This is software engineering applied to AI systems

We hire for potential, passion for our mission, and a knack for solving difficult problems over checking every qualification box. We have competitive pay, equity with significant upside, and intentionally design our benefits to encourage healthy and well-balanced employees, flexible schedules and time off. We even offer a sabbatical after every five years of service so you’re able to pursue and enjoy what matters most to you. And of course, we wouldn’t be a technology company without a ping-pong table and free snacks in our break room. Join us! Zello provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

All Zello personnel are required to comply with defined security, privacy, and compliance requirements applicable to their role along with requirements that are applicable to all Zello personnel.

## About Zello

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Zello provides a push-to-talk walkie-talkie app for frontline workers, augmented with AI-powered transcription, translation, and operational insights.
- **Entity Type**: Private (self-funded and profitable)
- **Headquarters**: Austin, Texas, USA
- **Founded**: 2011
- **Founders**: Alex Gavrilov (CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Communication technology / Frontline operations software
- **Target customers**: B2B – enterprises with deskless workers in transportation, retail, construction, hospitality, healthcare, and first responder organizations
- **Mission**: “We give voice to everyday heroes” – to lift up the voices of the frontline and bring them the same level of technical investment as desk workers

## Products & Services
- **[Zello App](https://zello.com/)**: Mobile and desktop push-to-talk walkie-talkie app with 99.99% uptime, supporting iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac. Offers unlimited range over Wi-Fi/cellular and on-premise deployment via Zello Enterprise Server.
- **[Zello AI](https://zello.com/)**: AI assistant “Ella” that answers questions using company knowledge; live voice translation to break language barriers; conversation replay, transcription, and offline message recovery.
- **[Zello Mobile SDK](https://zello.com/)**: Embed push-to-talk natively into third-party apps (iOS, Android, React Native).
- **[Radio Gateways](https://zello.com/)**: Bridge LMR (land mobile radio) networks with Zello for seamless cross-platform communication.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (self-funded, no external funding rounds reported)
- **Key Metric**: 5 million monthly active users, 10 billion messages per month (source: [zello.com](https://zello.com/)); conflicting report from Built In cites 8 billion messages and 170 million total users ([builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/zello))
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: None publicly listed; self-funded and profitable
- **Growth Signals**: Rapid hiring across engineering, AI, sales, and customer success; expanding AI capabilities (live translation, AI assistant); over 3,000 emergency organizations use Zello free for first responders

## Competitive Advantages
- **99.99% uptime** – highly reliable for mission-critical frontline communication
- **Only frontline AI powered by real conversations** – Zello AI listens to actual push-to-talk traffic and transforms it into operational intelligence
- **Enterprise readiness** – on-premise deployment option, radio gateway integration, and IT-friendly management tools
- **Large installed base** – millions of active users across industries creates network effects and deep integration into workflows

## Strategic Focus
- **AI-first innovation** – building AI assistant “Ella,” live translation, and transcription to turn voice chatter into actionable insights
- **Deepening frontline integration** – SDK and radio gateways to embed Zello into existing ecosystems
- **Scaling enterprise sales** – hiring Director of Global Partner & Channel Strategy, Enterprise Account Executives, and Director of Customer Success

## Why Work Here
- **Self-funded and profitable** – described as a “build-up” rather than a startup, offering stability with growth potential and stock options
- **Hybrid workplace** – Austin employees work in-office Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays; remote flexibility on other days
- **Generous benefits** – 100% paid medical, vision, and dental; 4% 401k matching; $2,000 annual professional development allowance; open PTO; paid sabbatical after 5 years; generous parental leave
- **Engineering culture** – yearly hackathon at an incredible destination; small team (80 total employees, 36 in product+tech) with a focus on impact, excellence, teamwork, transparency, and caring
- **Growth opportunities** – roles in applied AI, back end, site reliability, and design; the company is actively scaling and investing in new technology

## Sources
1. [zello.com/careers](https://zello.com/careers/)
2. [zello.com/about-us](https://zello.com/about-us/)
3. [zello.com](https://zello.com/)
4. [builtin.com/company/zello](https://builtin.com/company/zello)
5. [builtin.com/company/zello/faq/workplace-perception](https://builtin.com/company/zello/faq/workplace-perception)

## Other roles at Zello

- [Growth Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/growth-marketing-manager-zello-austin-tb506qmv0b8e) — Austin, TX
- [Contracts Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/contracts-manager-zello-austin-5ckhyngt72fn) — Austin, TX
- [Escalation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/escalation-engineer-zello-austin-vkt9wcewq63s) — Austin, TX
- [Analytics Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/analytics-intern-zello-austin-1548zj88wzwr) — Austin, TX
- [Product Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/product-marketing-manager-zello-austin-d17f91xtkyrr) — Austin, TX
- [Product Data Analyst](https://feeny.ai/job/product-data-analyst-zello-austin-1h35msq44fq3) — Austin, TX
- [Senior Site Reliability Engineer, Database Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-site-reliability-engineer-database-infrastructure-zello-austin-e77sr6pg4xta) — Austin, TX
- [Enterprise Account Executive](https://feeny.ai/job/enterprise-account-executive-zello-austin-3g2dcjr60m9y) — Austin, TX