Staff Software Engineer, AI-Core (Federal)

Okta seeks a Staff Software Engineer, AI-Core (Federal) to design and build a scalable agentic AI platform and supporting backend systems with emphasis on security, identity, governance, and observability.

Job Details

• Location: San Francisco, CA (onsite)
• Salary: USD 194,000 - 267,000 per year
• Minimum experience: 1 year

Responsibilities

• Design and implement backend APIs and services that comprise the agentic platform.
• Develop the agent identity and machine-to-machine authentication system, including credential management and delegated access flows.
• Create the agent knowledge base and memory layer to retain context within and across sessions.
• Build the observability layer for agents, including tracing, cost tracking, audit logs, and dashboards to make agent behavior debuggable in production.
• Develop the governance and safety layer, including policy enforcement on tool calls, content filtering, PII protection, and human-in-the-loop approval flows.
• Construct the orchestration layer coordinating multi-step agent workflows with state persistence and error recovery.
• Collaborate with Product, SRE, Security, Data Platform, Observability and other domain partners to shape layer designs and integration with the broader Okta platform.

Requirements

• 5+ years of software engineering experience building production backend systems.
• 1+ years of exposure to AI, ML, or agentic applications through production work, side projects, or hands-on experimentation.
• Strong proficiency in one or more backend languages such as Python, TypeScript/Node.js, or Go.
• Hands-on experience designing and operating distributed systems, including APIs, microservices, container orchestration, and serverless technologies.
• Security-minded approach to credential handling, trust boundaries, and integration points; familiarity with OAuth, OIDC, or other modern authentication patterns.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-moving environments where problem definitions evolve as solutions develop.
• Eligibility: U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status or being a protected individual or a U.S. national; visa holders do not qualify as a U.S. person.

Technologies

• Python
• TypeScript/Node.js
• Go
• LangChain
• LangGraph
• Claude/OpenAI SDKs
• Cedar
• OPA
• OAuth
• OIDC

Benefits

• Supporting Your Well-Being
• Driving Social Impact
• Developing Talent and Fostering Connection + Community

The Okta Experience

• Supporting Your Well-Being
• Driving Social Impact
• Developing Talent and Fostering Connection + Community