Staff Software Engineer - Kilo Code
Leads the technical direction and hands-on delivery of a high-scale VS Code extension for AI-assisted coding. Requires 10+ years of software development experience, deep TypeScript and performance-optimization expertise, and a background building developer tools used by large audiences.
About the job
Responsibilities
- Set technical direction for performance optimization across startup time, memory footprint, and CLI communication.
- Design, build, and ship advanced features such as granular auto-approval rules, context optimization, and Smart Apply workflows.
- Drive cross-team initiatives spanning the VS Code extension, backend services, and AI infrastructure.
- Mentor engineers through code reviews, architectural discussions, and pairing sessions.
- Own end-to-end delivery from technical design through production deployment, including rollout strategy, telemetry, and post-launch iteration.
- Establish engineering standards for AI coding workflows, including context-window optimization, token compression, and chat interface patterns.
- Identify technical debt and performance bottlenecks while balancing feature velocity and long-term system health.
- Partner with Product and Design to shape roadmap priorities and translate business needs into technical solutions.
Requirements
- 10+ years of professional software development experience with technical leadership on production systems serving large user bases.
- Proven ability to set technical direction, make architectural decisions under uncertainty, and deliver through hands-on contribution and leadership.
- Deep experience building developer tools, IDE extensions, or similar productivity software with 100K+ users.
- Expertise in TypeScript, modern JavaScript, asynchronous patterns, event-driven architectures, and Node.js runtime optimization.
- Experience with performance optimization at scale, including profiling, instrumentation, and measurable improvements in startup time, memory usage, or throughput.
- Experience with AI-assisted coding tools, chat interfaces, or agent-based development workflows, including context-window management and LLM integration patterns.
- Ability to influence technical decisions across teams, mentor engineers, and improve engineering practices.
- Strong product sense and ability to work with non-engineering stakeholders.
- Based in and willing to work Eastern Time Zone hours.
Nice to Have
- Technical leadership on IDE extensions, AI coding assistants, or productivity platforms.
- Performance optimization experience with VS Code extensions, Electron applications, or similar runtimes.
- Leadership of cross-functional initiatives in fast-paced startup environments.
- Experience mentoring engineers through architecture, code review, and technical design.
- Core maintainer or technical lead experience on open-source projects.
- Experience at AI or data science-focused companies serving technical audiences.
Compensation
- Base salary of $200,000–$260,000 for candidates in New York City and San Francisco.
- Base salary of $150,000–$220,000 for other US-based team members.
- Annual bonus potential, equity participation, and benefits.
Skills
TypeScript, JavaScript, Node.js, Vs Code Extensions, Electron, Ai Coding Tools, Llm Integration, Performance Optimization, Profiling, Instrumentation, Event-Driven Architecture, Asynchronous Programming, Token Compression
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