Senior Staff Software Engineer, API
San Francisco, CA | New York City, NY
Posted 16d ago
About the job
Anthropic is seeking an exceptional Senior Staff Software Engineer to join the Claude Developer Platform team and serve as the senior-most individual contributor across API Engineering. This role sets the technical direction for the systems that make Claude accessible to developers, enterprises, and partners at scale. You will operate at the intersection of technical strategy and execution, partnering closely with Research, Inference, Platform, Infrastructure, and Safeguards to ensure the Claude API is reliable, capable, and positioned to grow with Anthropic's ambitions. This is a high-agency role that spans all API Engineering teams, including API Core, API Capabilities, API Knowledge, API Distributability, and API Agents.
Responsibilities
- Define and drive multi-year technical strategy for the Claude API, setting direction across API Core, Capabilities, Knowledge, Distributability, and Agents.
- Identify and personally lead the highest-complexity, highest-impact engineering initiatives spanning multiple teams.
- Serve as the primary technical decision-maker for major architectural decisions with org-wide scope.
- Partner with Research to evaluate and integrate frontier capabilities; work with Inference and Platform for reliable delivery at scale; collaborate with Infrastructure and Safeguards for reliability, security, and responsible deployment.
- Mentor and develop Staff-level engineers across the org.
- Drive alignment across Product, GTM, Safety, and beyond while proactively identifying and addressing systemic technical risks.
Requirements
- 12+ years of engineering experience with a clear track record operating at Staff or Senior Staff level.
- Demonstrably shaped technical strategy for large-scale API or distributed systems platforms.
- Drive the highest-leverage technical outcomes without formal authority—lead through influence, quality of thinking, and trust.
- Deep expertise in distributed systems and API architecture, and effective writing design docs, making architectural calls, and coding in critical paths.
- Highly effective across org boundaries—build trust with Research, Inference, Infrastructure, Safeguards, and business stakeholders alike.
- Strong product instincts and a craftsperson's approach to API design; communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience in a field relevant to the role.
Benefits
- Annual compensation range: $405,000 - $485,000 USD
- Visa sponsorship available