Level

Cresta

Senior Software Engineer, Backend (AI Agent)

Cresta is hiring a Senior Software Engineer, Backend (AI Agent) for a remote role open to applicants in United States. It pays $205k-$270k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Cresta.

Level's read on this job

  • Level rates this software engineer role Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
  • The listed pay starts 22% above the typical software engineer posting on Level.
  • The posting lists this role as remote.
  • Tools and skills the posting cites include Vertex AI and AI agents.
  • Level lists 86 other open roles at Cresta.

AI in this role

vertex-ai
ai-agents

Cresta unlocks the true potential of the customer experience, turning every conversation into a competitive advantage. Cresta’s unified AI platform combines conversational AI agents, real-time human agent augmentation, and comprehensive conversation intelligence to drive revenue and efficiency gains across every channel. The world’s leading companies, including United Airlines, Cox Communications, and Marriott, use Cresta to power world-class customer experiences every day. 

Born from the Stanford AI Lab, Cresta has raised more than $270 million from the world’s leading investors, including a16z, Greylock, and Sequoia. Cresta’s leadership includes some of the leading minds in AI today. Our CEO, Ping Wu, founded and led Google's Contact Center AI and Vertex AI platforms before joining Cresta to build the future of AI-driven customer experiences.

Over the next few years, AI is going to redefine how people all over the world interact with businesses every day. Come build that future at Cresta.

About the role:

As a Senior Software Engineer, your goal will be to ensure that our AI Agents are backed by the most reliable and scalable server solutions. This includes designing and maintaining the server architecture that handles real-world, high-volume interactions and ensures high availability and performance. While we’re focused on server optimization and data management rather than pure research, you’ll be working with some of the most advanced technologies in the cloud and server space.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of AI at Cresta by solving complex problems and bringing breakthrough AI advancements into production environments.

Responsibilities:

  • Design, develop, and maintain scalable and robust backend architectures for Cresta’s AI Agent solutions and proprietary models.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams including frontend engineers, machine learning engineers to ensure seamless integration of AI Agents into Cresta’s customer solutions.
  • Lead initiatives to enhance system scalability and reliability in production environments, focusing on backend services that support AI functionalities.
  • Drive efforts to optimize server response times, process large volumes of data efficiently, and maintain high system availability.
  • Innovate and implement security measures, cost-reduction strategies, and performance improvements in backend systems supporting AI Agents.

Qualifications We Value:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.
  • 5+ years of experience in backend system architecture, cloud services, or related technology fields.
  • Proficient in designing and maintaining clear and robust APIs with a strong understanding of protocols including gRPC, REST.
  • Previous experience working with Virtual Agent or AI Agent systems.
  • Experience in high-performance database schema design and query optimization, including knowledge of SQL and NoSQL databases.
  • Experience in containerized application deployment using Kubernetes and Docker in microservices architectures.
  • Experience with cloud environments such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, with a strong understanding of cloud security and compliance standards.

Perks & Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive and people-first benefits package to support you at work and in life:

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with plans to fit you and your family
  • Flexible PTO to take the time you need, when you need it
  • Paid parental leave for all new parents welcoming a new child
  • Retirement savings plan to help you plan for the future
  • Remote work setup budget to help you create a productive home office
  • Monthly wellness and communication stipend to keep you connected and balanced
  • In-office meal program and commuter benefits provided for onsite employees

Compensation at Cresta: 

Cresta’s approach to compensation is simple: recognize impact, reward excellence, and invest in our people. We offer competitive, location-based pay that reflects the market and what each individual brings to the table.

The posted base salary range represents what we expect to pay for this role in a given location. Final offers are shaped by factors like experience, skills, education, and geography. In addition to base pay, total compensation includes equity and a comprehensive benefits package for you and your family.

Salary Range: $205,000–$270,000 + Offers Equity

Our use of AI in recruiting: We may use AI tools in our recruiting process, which require human review and oversight. If you have questions about our use of AI or wish to opt out, please contact recruiting@cresta.ai (if you are opting out, please use the subject ‘Opt-Out’ in your email).

Recording & AI transcription: We do not authorize candidates to record or use AI transcription of any interview by phone, notetaker app, AI glasses, or other device. Candidates may request an exception or accommodation for review during the interview process as needed.

Recruiting impersonation scams: We have noticed a rise in recruiting impersonations across the industry, where scammers attempt to access candidates' personal and financial information through fake interviews and offers. All Cresta recruiting email communications will always come from the @cresta.ai domain. Any outreach claiming to be from Cresta via other sources should be ignored.

How we rate this

Senior Software Engineer, Backend (AI Agent) at Cresta rates 67 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

  1. ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
  2. ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
  3. ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
  4. ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

AI agentsVertex AI

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Pay

This job starts at
$205k
Typical software engineer job
$168k

This posting starts 22% above the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

  1. How do you decide when an AI agent can act on its own versus asking for approval first?
  2. Walk me through how you've used Vertex AI in your day-to-day work.
  3. Describe a typical day in a role like this one: which parts run through AI directly?
  4. If you removed AI from this role, what would be left, and how do you decide what still needs a human?

Adapt your resume

  • List these exact terms on your resume: AI agents and Vertex AI. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
  • Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
  • Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.

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