Member of Technical Staff (Platform Leaning)

About Tessl

AI is transforming how software is built, and at Tessl, we're building the infrastructure for what comes next.

We're developing a platform that enables engineering teams to build and run AI-powered software factories, where coding agents take on real development work, from picking up engineering tickets to implementing changes and creating pull requests.

By combining structured context, reusable agent skills, automated workflows and evaluations, we're making AI-powered development more reliable, repeatable and scalable, while keeping humans in control. We're tackling some of the biggest challenges in autonomous software development, from code quality and security to helping organisations confidently adopt AI agents at scale.

Founded by Guy Podjarny, previously founder of Snyk, Tessl is a fast-growing Series A startup backed by over $100 million in funding from investors including Index Ventures, Accel, GV and Boldstart.

Joining Tessl means helping define an entirely new category of technology, solving ambitious technical challenges and shaping the future of software development.

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE

Join our engineering team to build real-time AI Native workflows, tooling, and interfaces that will reshape how developers create and maintain software.

This is a product engineering role with a platform twist. Most of your time, you'll do what every Tessl engineer does: design, prototype and ship product features end to end, collaborating closely with product, design and the wider engineering team in a fast-paced, high-autonomy environment. What makes you different is that when the work goes below the application layer, you light up rather than back away: complex networking scenarios such as site-to-site VPN and private connectivity, multi-cloud and multi-region deployments, observability, and the machinery that makes Tessl straightforward to deploy, operate and support wherever it needs to run.

We expect you to be relentlessly AI native about it: instead of triaging alerts at 2 am, you'll build or deploy the agent that does it. Instead of reacting to scaling bottlenecks, you'll create systems that spot them before they happen. Deep expertise is the foundation, because you can't automate what you don't know, but your ambition should be to make agents do the bulk of the operational work, with you supervising and steering.

We're open on level for this role, from mid-level to senior: trajectory and appetite matter more to us than years.

What success looks like: Within your first year, you're shipping product features end to end like any Tessl engineer. When infrastructure work arises, from deployment architecture to networking to observability, you're the one who takes it on and lands it well, with support where you need it. Our deployment and operational practices are stronger because of you, agentic tooling handles a growing share of the toil, and the infrastructure work you touch is compliant by default, keeping our ISO 27001 and SOC 2 journey unblocked.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

No two days will be the same at Tessl! You'll have a high level of autonomy and be empowered to make decisions based on what you believe will help you deliver the most success. Here's an insight into just a few of the things you would be doing:

Product engineering (most of your time)

• Design and implement new functionality end to end, from initial design and prototypes to fully scoped production implementations, reviewed with the product team
• Rapidly prototype new capabilities to prove or disprove an idea, then develop a plan for a scalable implementation
• Pair with designers and other engineers to make the experience intuitive and slick, and integrate third-party services so we can focus our cycles on Tessl's core capabilities
• Gather requirements from customers and stakeholders, turn ambiguity into agreed plans, and deliver them

Platform & infrastructure

• Lean into infrastructure work as it arises: our AWS estate (EKS/Kubernetes), infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, and our observability stack (Dash0/OpenTelemetry, Sentry, PostHog)
• Contribute to the architecture & build of our more complex networking and deployment scenarios, such as private connectivity and multi-region setups
• Improve developer experience and platform ergonomics so every engineer at Tessl ships faster
• Partner with our Infosec team so that everything you build is compliant by default, contributing infrastructure controls and evidence towards ISO 27001 and SOC 2

AI-native automation

• Build or deploy agentic tooling that picks up firing alerts and works through diagnostic steps autonomously, giving a human supervisor a detailed assessment with recommended actions
• Build agents that keep our estate healthy without human toil: dependency upgrades that test and merge themselves, alerts that arrive pre-diagnosed, runbooks that execute instead of sitting in a wiki
• Continuously spot repetitive manual work, across product, platform and on-call workflows, and convert it into agent-driven automation

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

We're looking for someone who is as excited as we are to be part of a dynamic team that is shaping the future of AI and software development. We're committed to building a diverse team and strongly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences.

Must-haves

• Proven experience as a Software Engineer (TypeScript/Node preferred): you care about code modularity, structure and aesthetics, and you're equally comfortable contributing to a mature codebase with strict CI criteria or hacking up a quick prototype to prove an assumption
• A genuine pull towards platform and infrastructure work, backed by hands-on experience: you've deployed and operated real systems (Kubernetes, cloud environments, infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD), and when the chance came to go deeper, you took it, whether that was owning platform or DevOps work in a previous role or picking up the infrastructure tasks nobody else wanted
• Solid systems and networking fundamentals: DNS, TLS, VPCs, firewalls; you can reason and debug below the application layer with confidence
• Demonstrated use of AI coding tools and agents to accelerate your own work, and excitement about experimenting with new AI approaches to transform how engineering is done
• Comfortable with fast-paced, high-autonomy environments: you turn loose requirements into plans and shipped work without waiting to be told

Nice-to-haves

• You self-host things for fun: a homelab, your own services, a Kubernetes cluster nobody asked you to run
• Production AWS/EKS experience, or hands-on work with private connectivity, VPNs, or multi-region architectures
• Experience producing infrastructure evidence for certifications such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2
• You've thrived in an early-stage startup before
• Have a cool project to show us (GitHub links welcome!)

The kind of person you are

• You're a product engineer first: you measure infrastructure by what it lets the team ship, and you see platform work as making every engineer faster, never a domain to guard
• You're calm under pressure, including when production is misbehaving and the answer is three layers down the stack
• You think big about how AI changes the job: the best engineers automate themselves out of the repetitive loop and operate at the scale of a team
• You're comfortable with ambiguity and rapid change, and you grab a shovel when something needs doing outside your lane
• You communicate clearly and bring people along: product, security, engineers and customers all need to trust your judgement

Application Process

Here's an outline of what you can expect during our interview process:

1. Introductory Call with one of our engineering leaders. A relaxed chat to learn about your background, interests, and career goals. We'll also share more about the role, Tessl's vision, and answer any questions you have.
2. Take-Home Exercise. You'll receive a practical challenge based on real scenarios you might tackle at Tessl: an opportunity to showcase your approach to problem-solving on your own schedule.
3. On-site Technical Session. You'll pair with two of our lead engineers to build on your take-home exercise. This session simulates working together on real problems and allows us to explore your technical expertise more deeply.
4. Culture Conversation with our People Lead. A two-way dialogue about our values, team dynamic, and your motivations. Feel free to ask about life at Tessl, growth opportunities, or anything else you're curious about.
5. Leadership Discussion with Maurilio (Head of Engineering), and potentially also with Guy (CEO) or Dru (Head of Product). Our final stage focuses on strategic alignment and long-term vision. You'll learn more about Tessl's roadmap and how you could contribute to our mission.

Throughout the process, if you have any specific requirements or need adjustments, please let us know: we're happy to accommodate.

Life at Tessl

We want Tessl to be a place where you can do meaningful work, keep learning and enjoy being part of the team. Alongside competitive compensation, we offer benefits designed to support you both inside and outside work.

What we offer

• Competitive compensation and equity: Market-benchmarked salaries and EMI share options.
• Time off: 25 days of annual leave, plus UK public holidays, and two paid volunteering days each year.
• Private healthcare: Vitality medical insurance, including dental, optical and mental health support, with cover included for partners and dependants.
• Pension: A 5% employer pension matched contribution through Smart Pension.
• Life assurance: Company-paid life insurance with MetLife providing cover of four times your annual salary.
• Family Leave: We offer enhanced Maternity, Parental and Adoption Leave from day one to support you and your growing family.
• Learning and development: We support opportunities to continue developing your skills with a £1,000 per year to spend.
• Commuting benefits: Financial support for eligible team members commuting from outside Greater London, plus a Cycle to Work scheme.
• Summer & winter offsites: Twice a year, we bring the whole Tessl team together for a week-long offsite. It's a chance to step away from our usual routines, collaborate on big ideas, build stronger relationships and enjoy shared experiences together. And of course, we have a lot of fun along the way!

Our London HQ

Our office is in the heart of King's Cross, surrounded by London's growing AI and technology community.

We work together in person on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, giving us time to collaborate, exchange ideas and build relationships. You'll also enjoy catered lunches (Tuesday & Thursday), plenty of office snacks, regular team lunches and socials, plus a pet-friendly workplace.

How we work

Our operating principles shape how we collaborate and make decisions. We move quickly and learn by doing, build on ideas before challenging them, get stuck in wherever we can help, and give people real ownership. We encourage thoughtful debate, curiosity and a willingness to try things that haven't been done before. Read our five operating principles.

We're AI native

AI isn't just what we're building - it's central to how we work every day, across every function. We actively use AI to improve how we work, solve problems and challenge traditional ways of doing things.

You don't need to be an AI expert to thrive at Tessl, but you do need curiosity, an appetite for experimentation and a willingness to embrace new ways of working. We expect everyone to use AI regularly, invest time in learning how to get the most from it and keep experimenting when something doesn't work the first time, rather than defaulting to manual approaches.

We're also big believers in sharing what we learn. We encourage transparency about how we're using AI, what's working, what isn't and how we can help each other improve. Being AI native doesn't mean removing human judgement, it means using AI thoughtfully, while taking ownership of the quality and outcomes of our work.

Everyone is welcome at Tessl

We're committed to building an inclusive environment where people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives can thrive.

We particularly welcome applications from people who are underrepresented in technology. If you're excited about the opportunity but don't meet every requirement, we'd still encourage you to apply.

If you need any adjustments or additional support during the recruitment process, please let us know. We're happy to work with you to make the process accessible and comfortable.

Come build with us

We're moving fast, experimenting boldly and figuring things out as we go. There's plenty to build, lots to learn and real opportunities to make your mark.

If you're excited by big ideas, enjoy getting stuck in and want to be part of something from the ground up, we'd love to hear from you!