Senior Software Engineer, Inference - AssemblyAI

Why AssemblyAI

AssemblyAI builds best-in-class Voice AI models powering the next generation of voice applications. Our models serve 600M+ inference calls monthly, process 1M+ hours of audio daily, and power 2 billion+ end-user experiences.

We operate as a lean, capital-efficient team where every person has outsized ownership and impact. If you are looking to solve interesting problems at scale without the burden of heavy bureaucracy or slow-moving organizational layers, AssemblyAI is built differently.

About the Role

We're hiring a Senior Software Engineer, Inference to help turn cutting-edge AI research into products our customers rely on every day. You'll sit on a fast-paced engineering team between our research org and our Applied teams, taking new model capabilities from proof of concept to robust, well-documented APIs serving production traffic at scale.

What You’ll Do

• Design and ship customer-facing APIs that expose new model capabilities, owning them from prototype through launch and ongoing iteration.
• Scale inference infrastructure to support our 1M+ API users.
• Partner with researchers to productionize new techniques, turning notebooks or proofs of concept into services with the latency, reliability, and ergonomics customers expect.
• Work with customers and Applied teams to understand how users are building with our products, feeding insights back into product design and research direction.
• Contribute across the stack as needed: backend services, inference infrastructure, SDKs, and internal tooling.

What You’ll Need

• Strong backend engineering experience, including building and supporting machine learning infrastructure and/or customer-facing APIs in production.
• Comfort operating with ambiguity. You are energized rather than frustrated by the realities of research and product timelines.
• Genuine curiosity about AI/ML. You don't need to be a researcher, but you should want to understand what models are doing well enough to make sound engineering decisions.
• Strong collaboration skills. You'll work daily with researchers, applied engineers, and customers across different contexts and priorities.

Pay Transparency

AssemblyAI is committed to pay equity and competitive compensation. The expected salary range for candidates in the U.S. is $190,000 - $225,000, with exact placement determined by relevant experience, skill level, and internal equity.