Job details

Software Engineer, Horizons

About Anthropic

Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.

About the role:

As a Software Engineer on the Horizons team, you will collaborate with a diverse group of researchers and engineers to advance the capabilities and safety of large language models through fundamental research in reinforcement learning, creating 'agentic' models via tool use for open-ended tasks such as computer use, improving reasoning abilities in areas such as code generation and mathematics, and developing prototypes for internal use, productivity, and evaluation.

Representative projects:

Design and maintain high-performance data pipelines for processing large-scale code datasets and implementing secure sandboxed execution environments.
Architect and optimize core reinforcement learning infrastructure, from clean training abstractions to distributed experiment management across GPU clusters. Help scale our systems to handle increasingly complex research workflows.
Build intuitive developer tools and dashboards for analyzing ML experiments, including real-time visualizations, interactive debugging interfaces, and efficient metrics collection systems that help researchers understand model behavior.
Drive performance improvements across our stack through profiling, optimization, and benchmarking. Implement efficient caching solutions and debug distributed systems to accelerate both training and evaluation workflows.
Collaborate across research and engineering teams to develop automated testing frameworks, design clean APIs, and build scalable infrastructure that accelerates AI research.

You may be a good fit if you:

5+ years of industry-related experience
Are proficient in Python and async/concurrent programming with frameworks like Trio
Have a strong software engineering background and are interested in working closely with researchers and other engineers
Enjoy pair programming (we love to pair!)
Care about code quality, testing, and performance
Have strong systems design and communication skills
Are passionate about the potential impact of AI and are committed to developing safe and beneficial systems

Strong candidates may also:

Have experience with virtualization and sandboxed code execution environments
Have experience with Kubernetes
Have contributed to major open-source projects
Have experience with distributed systems or high-performance computing
Are familiar with a diverse set of technologies and programming language ecosystems

Candidates need not have:

Formal certifications or education credentials
Experience with LLMs, reinforcement learning, or machine learning research before

Deadline to apply: None. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

The expected salary range for this position is:

Annual Salary:

$280,000—$560,000 USD

Logistics

Location-based hybrid policy: Currently, we expect all staff to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time. However, some roles may require more time in our offices.

Visa sponsorship: We do sponsor visas! However, we aren't able to successfully sponsor visas for every role and every candidate. But if we make you an offer, we will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa, and we retain an immigration lawyer to help with this.

We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. Not all strong candidates will meet every single qualification as listed. Research shows that people who identify as being from underrepresented groups are more prone to experiencing imposter syndrome and doubting the strength of their candidacy, so we urge you not to exclude yourself prematurely and to submit an application if you're interested in this work. We think AI systems like the ones we're building have enormous social and ethical implications. We think this makes representation even more important, and we strive to include a range of diverse perspectives on our team.

How we're different

We believe that the highest-impact AI research will be big science. At Anthropic we work as a single cohesive team on just a few large-scale research efforts. And we value impact — advancing our long-term goals of steerable, trustworthy AI — rather than work on smaller and more specific puzzles. We view AI research as an empirical science, which has as much in common with physics and biology as with traditional efforts in computer science. We're an extremely collaborative group, and we host frequent research discussions to ensure that we are pursuing the highest-impact work at any given time. As such, we greatly value communication skills.

The easiest way to understand our research directions is to read our recent research. This research continues many of the directions our team worked on prior to Anthropic, including: GPT-3, Circuit-Based Interpretability, Multimodal Neurons, Scaling Laws, AI & Compute, Concrete Problems in AI Safety, and Learning from Human Preferences.

Come work with us!

Anthropic is a public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco. We offer competitive compensation and benefits, optional equity donation matching, generous vacation and parental leave, flexible working hours, and a lovely office space in which to collaborate with colleagues.

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$280000K

$560000K

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What You Should Know About Software Engineer, Horizons, Anthropic

Are you a passionate Software Engineer looking to make a significant impact in the world of AI? Join the Horizons team at Anthropic, where our mission is to create safe, reliable, and interpretable AI systems that benefit users and society as a whole. In this role, you will work alongside a diverse group of talented researchers and engineers, embracing collaboration to push the boundaries of large language models through pioneering research in reinforcement learning. Imagine being responsible for designing high-performance data pipelines and architecting core infrastructures that advance AI research! You’ll also build intuitive developer tools and dashboards to analyze machine learning experiments, drive performance improvements, and collaborate on automated testing frameworks. If you’re proficient in Python, love pair programming, and have a strong software engineering background, you might be a perfect fit for this position. At Anthropic, we value communication and collaboration, fostering a culture of growth and inclusivity. Plus, with our flexible, hybrid work policy in our vibrant cities like San Francisco and New York City, you can thrive in your role while enjoying a supportive work environment. Explore the opportunity to join a team committed to making a difference and apply your skills to developing AI systems that promote safety, ethics, and beneficial outcomes for everyone. Let’s make technology better together at Anthropic!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Software Engineer, Horizons Role at Anthropic

What are the qualifications required for the Software Engineer position at Anthropic?

For the Software Engineer role at Anthropic, candidates are encouraged to have at least 5 years of industry experience, along with proficiency in Python and frameworks for async programming. A strong software engineering background is essential, and an interest in collaborating with researchers and engineers will be beneficial. Additional experience in virtualization, Kubernetes, distributed systems, and open-source contributions would be advantageous but not mandatory.