Job Description
Who you are 5–6+ years of backend and infrastructure engineering experience Hands-on experience deploying applications into enterprise environments — VPC deployments, on-prem, and self-hosted configurations Deep understanding of enterprise security requirements: data segregation, access controls, compliance frameworks Experience working directly with external customers in a deployment or field engineering context Strong operational mindset — you care about reliability, observability, and repeatability at scale Comfort in ambiguous, fast-moving environments where the requirements are defined as you go Experience at an infrastructure company that offers self-hosted or on-prem deployment options Familiarity with authentication, secrets management, and zero-trust networking Experience building internal deployment tooling or platform abstractions that improved team velocity Background working alongside applied AI or ML systems in production environments What the job involves As a Senior Platform Engineer at Handshake AI Enterprise, you'll own the infrastructure layer that makes everything else possible. Enterprise customers don't want their data in shared infrastructure — they want AI applications deployed inside their own environments, on their terms. You'll be the engineer who makes that happen, reliably and at speed You'll design and execute deployment patterns across VPC, on-prem, and self-hosted configurations, work directly with customer IT and security teams, and build the tooling that makes each new deployment faster than the last. Without you, nothing ships This is a founding-team level role with real technical complexity and direct customer impact — building the platform that Handshake AI Enterprise runs on Own the infrastructure and deployment layer for AI applications shipped into enterprise customer environments Design and execute VPC, on-prem, and self-hosted deployment patterns across varying enterprise security requirements Work directly with customer IT and security teams to navigate compliance, data residency, and access control constraints Build tooling and automation that makes deployments repeatable and reliable across customers Collaborate closely with Product and Applied AI engineers on your deployment team Identify systemic gaps in infrastructure or process and lead initiatives to address them, reducing friction for future deployments Define the platform playbook for Handshake AI Enterprise as we scale to more customers and more complex environments Benefits Health Insurance: Comprehensive medical , dental, and vision coverage Fertility and family forming: Through a partnership, Handshake offers comprehensive family benefits, including infertility treatments and a $15K stipend, to its employees. LGTBQ+ coverage: All medical plans cover transgender services. Mental health: Discounts on a variety of wellness apps and an Employee Assistance Program with access to five free counseling sessions. Tax savings: Tax-advantaged benefits to save money on healthcare, dependent care, and other expenses. Life & disability insurance: Essential benefits and automatic coverage with basic life insurance, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage. 401k match: Dollar-for-dollar match up to 1% of pay, with a max of $1,200 per year. Equity: Our equity program includes grants at hire, refresher grants after two years of tenure, and grants alongside promotions. Financial management: Handshake partners to provide free professional financial planning services. Learning & development: Employees are provided with an annual stipend to use towards professional development, career development workshops, manager trainings, and 1-on-1 coaching through external partnerships Community leader support: Employee Resource Group leaders are compensated with a quarterly bonus for the high-impact work the role requires Parental leave: Leaves of 16 weeks for birth-giving parents and 10 weeks for non-birth-giving parents; the policy applies to adoptions as well. Handshake also partners to provide one-on-one coaching on preparing for leave and coming back from leave Flexible time off: No accrued time off or waiting period to take vacation. Two paid flexible holiday days off to observe holidays that closely align with religious, cultural, and personal needs Sabbatical: Paid six-week sabbatical to recharge and reset beginning at six years of contin