Staff Software Engineer — AI

Gallup • San Francisco, CA

15h • $240,000 - $290,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Build the intelligence layer that powers Gallup’s next era. In this role, you’ll serve as the foundational technical architect, partnering directly with our Head of AI to design, build and evolve the infrastructure that powers Gallup’s next generation of AI systems. You’ll co-develop architecture from AI-designed starting points, challenge what won’t hold up and build systems well enough that other teams can take them forward. This team builds first versions of ambitious systems, validates them with real users and real data, and hands off what works for production scale. You’ll solve high-impact problems, ship production-quality software quickly and raise the bar across security, reliability and measurement. If you’re excited to shape the technical foundation of AI at a global organization where AI is how the team builds, not just what it builds, apply today. At Gallup, AI is not an add-on — it is a core development tool and strategic priority. Our AI team operates like a startup, where passion for shaping fast-moving technology and commitment to exceptional outcomes are expected. With the freedom to explore and test frontier models as they ship, we work with real users and real data, rapidly build ambitious systems, prove what works, and hand off what is validated for production scale. At Gallup, we change the world, one client at a time, through extraordinary analytics and advice on everything important facing humankind. Learn more about our work and life at Gallup .

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field, or equivalent experience, required
• At least five years of professional experience building production software with strong full-stack depth required
• At least three years of professional experience leading architecture conversations and shaping technical strategy for complex systems required
• Deep hands-on experience building AI-powered systems (LLMs, embeddings, RAG, agent frameworks) required; demonstrated capability and technical depth matter more than time in seat or experience with specific tools
• Experience designing multi-agent or distributed AI systems with orchestration, state management and agent communication patterns required
• Experience with scalable API design, cloud-native architecture (AWS) and practical database and data modeling required
• Solid front-end experience (React, TypeScript) for building interactive prototypes and experimental UIs required
• Understanding of AI model economics, including token costs, latency trade-offs, model selection and cost optimization required
• A commitment to working on-site at Gallup’s San Francisco office at least three days per week required

Nice To Haves

• Experience with data pipeline design or event-driven architectures preferred
• Experience with security-minded development, including authentication, authorization, PII protection and secrets management preferred

Responsibilities

• Build AI-powered systems end-to-end, including multi-agent architectures, data integrations, front-end interfaces and deployment pipelines on top of Gallup’s extensive proprietary organizational science data
• Design and implement first versions of multi-agent systems, behavioral telemetry and data integrations that connect AI tools to Gallup’s enterprise infrastructure
• Integrate frontier AI models into production applications, selecting the right model for the job and managing real-world trade-offs across cost, latency and quality
• Connect systems to enterprise infrastructure (SSO, CRM, data lake) and establish lightweight engineering standards that enable speed, including CI/CD, observability and secure defaults
• Evaluate emerging AI tools hands-on and provide technical recommendations grounded in performance data
• Expand your influence into broader technical leadership as the team grows

Benefits

• Gallup offers a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, life and other insurance options
• a fully vested 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching
• an employee stock ownership program
• mass transit reimbursement
• family-building benefits
• an employee assistance program
• various reimbursements and activities that enhance our associates’ wellbeing

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level