Senior Software Engineer – Agent Systems

The Senior Software Engineer, Agent Systems role at Payward, the parent company behind Kraken, involves developing AI-powered agent systems to automate internal workflows and decision paths. Payward has built a modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platform, supporting various financial services and products. The company is known for its crypto platform, Kraken, which offers a range of services including spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services. The main responsibilities of the role include building and shipping AI-powered agent systems, designing and implementing inference pipelines, and prototyping quickly to validate agent behaviors. The engineer will also architect backend services that integrate with multiple internal APIs and data sources, and define patterns for safe, observable, and controllable agent execution. Collaboration with cross-functional teams is essential to identify high-leverage automation opportunities and improve system speed, reliability, and signal quality as usage scales. To qualify for this role, candidates must have at least 5 years of experience building and shipping production software systems. Strong backend engineering fundamentals, including APIs, distributed systems, data modeling, and reliability, are required. Experience with fullstack systems, AI/ML systems, and the ability to prototype rapidly while maintaining a clear path to production-grade architecture are also essential. Strong systems thinking and the ability to operate in ambiguous, 0→1 environments with high ownership are crucial. Nice-to-have skills include experience with agent-based systems or autonomous workflows, familiarity with prompt engineering, and experience integrating with internal enterprise systems. Background in building developer platforms or internal tooling, as well as designing guardrails or safety layers for AI systems, is also beneficial. The role is based in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, offering opportunities for growth and impact within a leading financial technology company. What the role asks for: - 5+ years of experience in building and shipping production software systems - Strong backend engineering fundamentals (APIs, distributed systems, data modeling, reliability) - Experience with fullstack systems - Practical experience with AI/ML systems, LLMs or inference pipelines in production - Ability to prototype quickly while maintaining a clear path to a production-ready architecture - Strong system thinking - Ability to work in unclear, 0→1 environments with high self-responsibility - Experience with agent-based systems or autonomous workflows (nice to have) - Experience with integration into internal enterprise systems (CRM, support tools, analysis platforms, etc.) (nice to have) - Experience in building developer platforms or internal tools (nice to have) - Experience in designing safeguards, sandboxing or security measures for AI systems (nice to have)