# Staff Software Engineer, Agent Gateway

**Company:** [Okta](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/okta)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Backend Engineering
**Salary:** $194k – $267k/yr
**Experience:** 7+ years
**Skills:** Java, Go, oauth 2.0, OIDC, rfc 8693, mcp, gnap, dcr, Distributed Systems, backend services, token exchange, authorization, Observability, feature flags, Claude Code
**Posted:** 2026-08-11

> Leads architecture and delivery of secure, highly available backend services for an identity-aware gateway connecting enterprise AI agents to authorized tools and data. Requires 7+ years of distributed backend experience, production Java or Go, and deep OAuth, OIDC, and token-exchange expertise.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Own the end-to-end design and delivery of major gateway capabilities, including virtual MCP server aggregation, Agent-to-Agent brokered delegation, and on-premises deployment models.
- Design secure gateway handling for credentials, tokens, tenant isolation, and audit logging.
- Track and shape MCP, OAuth token exchange, and agent identity specifications; incorporate production lessons into specifications and reference implementations.
- Use agentic development tools such as Claude Code and MCP-connected agents for design, code generation, code review, and operations.
- Drive code review, testing standards, incident retrospectives, and technical design documentation.
- Mentor engineers and foster alignment across adjacent groups.

## Requirements
- 7+ years building distributed, highly available production backend systems.
- Hands-on experience shipping production services in Java and/or Go.
- Strong grounding in OAuth 2.0, OIDC, and RFC 8693 token exchange.
- Experience implementing spec-driven code.
- Experience shipping identity, authorization, or edge-of-network services at scale.
- Understanding of operational practices including rollouts, feature flags, observability, and incident response.
- Working fluency with agentic development tools, including Claude Code, MCP servers, or AI-assisted code review.
- Direct communication style and strong technical design documentation skills.
- Ability to work across data-plane services and identity control planes.

## Nice-to-haves
- Experience building or operating an MCP server, agent framework, or LLM-facing gateway in production.
- Experience with multi-tenant SaaS platforms at Okta or an equivalent enterprise identity provider.
- Contributions to standards work in the agent identity space, including MCP, OAuth, GNAP, or DCR.

## Compensation and Benefits
- Annual base salary range for candidates in the San Francisco Bay Area: **$194,000–$267,000 USD**.
- Equity, where applicable, bonus, health, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), flexible spending account, and paid leave, including PTO and parental leave.

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