As a Staff Architect, you will lead AI innovation, architect AI-powered solutions, and provide technical leadership to enhance the platform's AI capabilities.
About Extend:
Extend is revolutionizing the post-purchase experience for retailers and their customers by providing merchants with AI-driven solutions that enhance customer satisfaction and drive revenue growth. Our comprehensive platform offers automated customer service handling, seamless returns/exchange management, end-to-end automated fulfillment, and product protection and shipping protection alongside Extend's best-in-class fraud detection. By integrating leading-edge technology with exceptional customer service, Extend empowers businesses to build trust and loyalty among consumers while reducing costs and increasing profits.
Today, Extend works with more than 1,000 leading merchant partners across industries, including fashion/apparel, cosmetics, furniture, jewelry, consumer electronics, auto parts, sports and fitness, and much more. Extend is backed by some of the most prominent technology investors in the industry, and our headquarters is in downtown San Francisco.
Staff Architect, AI Native Platform
Are you a visionary architect with a passion for pushing the boundaries of AI in enterprise software? Do you thrive on building innovative solutions and empowering others to do the same? Extend is seeking a Staff Architect to join our Architecture team and drive our AI Native strategy forward.
At our core, we're built on a foundation of 100% serverless infrastructure, 100% infrastructure as code, 100% automated testing, and a top-tier developer experience. We're now extending this commitment to AI Native solutions, aiming to empower both our business users and engineers with cutting-edge AI capabilities.
As a Staff Architect, you'll be instrumental in shaping our long-term technical strategy, fostering innovation, and educating our organization on effective AI technologies. Your work will directly impact our platform's evolution, making it more intelligent, intuitive, and powerful.
What You'll Do:
- Drive AI Innovation: Lead the exploration and adoption of AI-first solutions, encompassing not only current LLM-based approaches but also broader machine learning and data science methodologies.
- Architect AI-Powered Solutions: Design and guide the implementation of AI-native features within our platform, with a focus on:
- LLM Use: Strategize the effective and ethical integration of Large Language Models.
- Agentic Tools & Development Practices: Define and promote best practices for building and deploying agentic systems.
- Reusable Internal Agents: Develop and evangelize the creation of versatile, internal AI agents that streamline operations and development.
- Platform Integration: Incorporate intelligent agents into our platform to simplify complex configurations and enhance deterministic decision-making processes.
- Strategic Vision: Contribute to the long-term technical roadmap for AI within our company, identifying emerging trends and opportunities.
- Enablement & Education: Act as a subject matter expert, upskilling engineers and business teams on AI concepts, tools, and best practices through mentorship, training, and documentation.
- Technical Leadership: Provide hands-on guidance and thought leadership on architecting scalable, resilient, and performant AI systems.
What We're Looking For:
- Strong Foundation in ML/AI: A proven background in applied ML, data science, and a passion for engineering AI-first solutions.
- Architectural Prowess: Experience designing and delivering complex, scalable distributed systems, preferably in a serverless environment.
- Hands-On Experience: Practical experience with LLMs, agentic systems, and developing performant AI components.
- Strategic Thinker: Ability to translate business needs into technical strategies and anticipate future technological shifts.
- Exceptional Communicator: Strong ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences, from engineers to executives.
- Mentorship & Teaching: A genuine desire to teach, mentor, and elevate the AI capabilities of an entire organization.
Expected Pay Range: $189,000 - $200,000 per year salaried*
* The target base salary range for this position is listed above. Individual salaries are determined based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge, skills and experience.
Life at Extend:
- Working with a great team from diverse backgrounds in a collaborative and supportive environment.
- Competitive salary based on experience, with full medical and dental & vision benefits.
- Stock in an early-stage startup growing quickly.
- Generous, flexible paid time off policy.
- 401(k) with Financial Guidance from Morgan Stanley.
Extend CCPA HR Notice
Top Skills
AI
Infrastructure As Code
Llm
Ml
Serverless Infrastructure
Similar Jobs
eCommerce • Information Technology • Software
The Staff Software Engineer will architect and maintain the front-end design system, mentor engineers, and tackle performance challenges while driving technical excellence.
Top Skills:
AngularAws CloudAws LambdaDockerDynamoDBEmberJavaScriptKubernetesMySQLNode.jsPhp/LaravelReactServerless FrameworkVue
Logistics • Machine Learning • Software • Transportation
Lead the technical architecture and strategy for a high-growth startup, designing scalable software solutions and mentoring engineers.
Top Skills:
AWSAzureGCPJavaMongoDBMySQLPostgresPython
eCommerce • Food • HR Tech • Information Technology • Mobile • Retail • Software
As a Payroll Analyst, you'll support payroll operations, handle complex inquiries, audit payroll accuracy, and assist during emergencies by analyzing data and resolving issues.
Top Skills:
Adp Workforce NowExcelModeSQL
What you need to know about the Colorado Tech Scene
With a business-friendly climate and research universities like CU Boulder and Colorado State, Colorado has made a name for itself as a startup ecosystem. The state boasts a skilled workforce and high quality of life thanks to its affordable housing, vibrant cultural scene and unparalleled opportunities for outdoor recreation. Colorado is also home to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, helping cement its status as a hub for renewable energy innovation.
Key Facts About Colorado Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 260,000; 8.5% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Lockheed Martin, Century Link, Comcast, BAE Systems, Level 3
- Key Industries: Software, artificial intelligence, aerospace, e-commerce, fintech, healthtech
- Funding Landscape: $4.9 billion in VC funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Access Venture Partners, Ridgeline Ventures, Techstars, Blackhorn Ventures
- Research Centers and Universities: Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Denver, Colorado State University, Mesa Laboratory, Space Science Institute, National Center for Atmospheric Research, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Gottlieb Institute
