Software Engineer, Platform

Outtake
New York, NY
On-site

Who this role is best for

Best suited to candidates with experience building foundational systems and a strong instinct for systemic solutions, working in fast-moving tech environments with a focus on developer tooling and platform engineering in New York City.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with a history of creating durable systems that improve engineering velocity and reliability
    — “own the foundations that product engineers rely on every day”
  • Individuals who thrive in ambiguous environments and can translate engineering vision into practical systems
    — “operate comfortably in messy, fast-moving environments and steadily turn them into something more solid”
  • Engineers who prefer shaping the future of platform direction rather than executing fixed roadmaps
    — “desire to help define and build the platform's direction”

Things to consider

  • In-person work is required for those based in New York, with limited flexibility
    — “5 days a week, with flexibility as needed”
  • The role demands a long-term perspective balanced with practical execution
    — “balance long-term thinking with practical execution”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience in building internal tools or shared infrastructure that others rely on
    — “Build or own internal platforms, developer tooling, or shared infrastructure”
  • Emphasize your ability to turn recurring patterns into scalable systems
    — “prioritize work that multiplies impact across the engineering org”
  • Showcase your judgment in choosing between ideal solutions and velocity
    — “understanding of the tension between ideal solutions and velocity”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • improved developer workflows
  • reliable systems
Typical background
track record of building foundational systemsexperience in ambiguous environments

Skills & requirements

Required

Platform EngineeringDeveloper WorkflowsReliabilityEngineering VelocitySystem Design

Preferred

Agentic Ai PlatformSecurity Telemetry

Stack & domain

PythonKubernetesCollaborationSpeedClarityPlatform Engineering

About the role

Original posting from Outtake via Ashby

ABOUT OUTTAKE

Outtake exists to empower and facilitate trust for a digital-first world. Today, impersonation, fraud, AI-driven scams, and identity abuse spread faster than any security team can respond to. So we built something different: an agentic AI platform that proactively detects, monitors, and takes down impersonators, automating protection in hours, not weeks.

Built by ex-Palantir, ex-CTO/founders, and ex-Notion engineers, Outtake is designed for clarity, autonomy, and velocity. Our goal is ambitious: become the trust layer of the modern internet. And we intend to do it with a lean, dense, exceptionally talented team.

Outtake is backed by top-tier investors and operators who believe in our mission and our model. With strong financial footing and a long runway, we prioritize creating an environment where people can do the best work of their careers.

THE ROLE

This is a platform engineering role. You will own the foundations that product engineers rely on every day, designing and maintaining the systems, tools, and primitives that determine how fast, safely, and confidently the team can ship. Your work directly influences developer workflows, reliability, and day-to-day engineering velocity.

You will prioritize work that multiplies impact across the engineering org, turning patterns into platforms and one-off fixes into systems rather than solving the same problem repeatedly. The goal is to make it easier for engineers to move quickly and do the right thing by default.

This is a role that expects you to build durable foundations. You will develop and evolve a point of view on how engineers should work, then translate that vision into code and systems — operating comfortably in messy, fast-moving environments and steadily turning them into something more solid without slowing the team down. You'll balance long-term thinking with practical execution.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

  • Own the foundations that product engineers rely on every day, including the systems, tools, and primitives that shape developer workflows, reliability, and velocity
  • Prioritize work that multiplies impact across the engineering org, turning repeated patterns into platforms and one-off fixes into systems
  • Develop and evolve a point of view on how engineers should work, then translate that vision into code and durable systems
  • Operate in messy, fast-moving environments and steadily turn them into something more solid without slowing the team down
  • Build or own internal platforms, developer tooling, or shared infrastructure that engineers default to
  • Remove entire classes of errors through better abstractions rather than one-off fixes
  • Build infrastructure that quietly unlocks faster product work across teams
  • Become the person other engineers rely on when systems get weird or unclear, and the person leadership turns to when deciding how the platform should evolve next

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

  • A track record of building and owning foundational systems that other engineers depended on, along with experience living with the consequences of those decisions
  • The ability to ramp quickly, operate in ambiguity, and make progress without needing problems fully specified up front
  • An understanding of the tension between ideal solutions and velocity, and the judgment to know when to pursue one over the other
  • An instinct for leverage, with a preference for systemic fixes over one-off solutions
  • A clear point of view on how engineers should work, and the drive to turn that into code, tooling, and defaults
  • Experience working closely with other engineers or teams as an enabler, not just as an implementer
  • A desire to help define and build the platform's direction, rather than execute against a tightly defined scope and fixed roadmap
  • Nice to have: experience building or owning internal platforms, developer tooling, or shared infrastructure
  • Nice to have: experience working on agentic systems, LLM platforms, or large-scale data ingestion pipelines
  • Nice to have: a track record of being the person people go to when systems get weird or unclear

LIFE AT OUTTAKE

  • Office: For those in NY, we are an in-person team (5 days a week, with flexibility as needed) working out of a stunning waterfront office in Brooklyn. Collaboration, speed, and clarity matter.
  • Health: 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision for employees.
  • Time Away: Flexible PTO. We trust adults to manage energy, not clock time.
  • Culture & Team: Annual company retreats and regular in-person events.

Outtake is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive team.

Source: Outtake careers (Ashby)

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