Associate Software Engineer, RLE

About the role

Handshake is hiring an Associate Software Engineer to join their Reinforcement Learning Environments platform team. This platform serves as the critical infrastructure where frontier AI models practice and learn to perform complex real-world tasks across multiple domains. The team works directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. Human data forms the core infrastructure for AI advancement, and this team supports all frontier AI labs as they work on their most complex data at the largest scale. The role offers hands-on experience building core systems from the ground up while working alongside senior engineers who provide mentorship, code reviews, and technical guidance throughout your growth. You will gain direct exposure to modern AI infrastructure at scale and contribute to systems that support the most advanced AI research labs operating in the industry today. Handshake powers 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions worldwide. The company grew from $0 to roughly $1B in annual run rate and pays approximately $60M to over 30K individuals every month.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Contribute to building and maintaining the RLE platform that enables frontier AI models to learn real-world tasks
• Implement new features across both backend services and frontend user interfaces for the RLE system
• Collaborate with senior engineers to improve system reliability, performance, and overall stability of the platform
• Help design and build modular workflow domains including engineering, finance, and legal simulation environments
• Support the data pipelines that power model training, evaluation, and continuous improvement cycles
• Write clean, maintainable code that adheres to team standards and best practices for software development
• Participate in code reviews and technical discussions to ensure quality and share knowledge across the team
• Debug and resolve issues in production environments to minimize downtime and maintain service health
• Assist in the design of system architecture for scaling RLE environments to handle growing demand
• Document technical decisions, system designs, and operational procedures to support team knowledge sharing
• Participate in sprint planning and technical discussions to help prioritize features and roadmap decisions
• Write and maintain automated tests to ensure code quality and prevent regressions in production
• Contribute to the documentation and technical specifications that guide the development of new RLE features

Requirements

• 0 to 2 years of hands-on experience in software engineering gained through internships or full-time roles
• Solid familiarity with backend development principles and the process of building RESTful APIs
• Working knowledge of ReactJS and TypeScript for building interactive frontend applications
• Understanding of relational databases such as PostgreSQL and basic concepts of system design
• Genuine eagerness to learn new technologies quickly and operate effectively in fast-paced development environments
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collaborate across engineering and cross-functional teams
• Comfort with navigating large existing codebases and making meaningful contributions to ongoing software projects
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of assigned tasks and see them through to successful completion
• Ability to work independently and take initiative when approaching new technical challenges
• Comfortable with ambiguity and willing to explore unfamiliar technical areas as projects evolve
• Experience with agile development methodologies and iterative software delivery processes

Nice to have

• Prior exposure to cloud platforms such as AWS or Google Cloud Platform is a plus
• Experience working with data pipelines or systems that are adjacent to machine learning workflows
• Genuine interest in artificial intelligence, machine learning, or simulation-based systems for AI development
• Familiarity with reinforcement learning concepts or the environments commonly used for AI model training
• Knowledge of containerization tools such as Docker for packaging and deploying applications

Skills & tools

• ReactJS and TypeScript for building frontend interfaces and backend service development
• Backend development and RESTful API design patterns for service architecture
• PostgreSQL for relational database management and data storage
• AWS and GCP as cloud platforms for application deployment and scaling
• Git for version control and collaborative code management across teams
• Data pipelines for model training, evaluation, and continuous improvement workflows

Practical notes

• This role requires in-office presence in San Francisco five days per week without exception
• The team operates at a fast pace with frequent iterations and rapid feature delivery cycles
• You will report to and work closely with senior engineers who provide ongoing mentorship and guidance
• Handshake offers equity ownership as part of the total compensation package for all full-time employees
• Handshake provides a competitive benefits package including equity, health coverage, and a learning stipend for professional development
• The office is located in San Francisco with commuting support, free lunch, and gym access provided

About the company

Handshake is a career community for college students and recent graduates. Founded in 2014, Handshake connects students at over 1,400 educational institutions with employers for internships and entry-level jobs.