Software Engineer – Systems

Keycard Labs

Staff Platform Engineer building core systems and infrastructure at Keycard for agent-native applications. Collaborating with founders and engineers to empower developers.

Posted 5/21/2026full-timeRemote • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSeniorWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Distributed SystemsGoKubernetesRust

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

We're hiring a Staff Platform Engineer to build the core systems and infrastructure that power Keycard — from identity services and enforcement paths to the developer platforms and automation that let every engineer ship with confidence.
You'll work directly with founders, product, design, and the engineers building our SDKs and core services. You'll also help shape how we use agents internally — contributing to how Keycard becomes an agent-native engineering organization, not just a company that builds for one.

Requirements

What you’ll need

You're a builder first, operator second — a programmer at heart who uses Go and/or Rust to create platforms and product systems. You've built developer-facing platforms (Kubernetes operators, CI/CD abstractions, internal tooling) as well as core services, and you think in terms of dynamic, reactive systems.
Strong distributed systems instincts. You have expertise in consensus, coordination, and state management, and you build systems that are secure, resilient, and fault-tolerant with best-in-class observability.
You treat the path to production as a product surface. You create automation, pipelines, and developer platforms that make shipping reliable software the default — empowering every engineer to deliver quickly and with confidence.
You thrive in 0→1 environments. You make hard trade-offs to ship today while laying groundwork for the long-term system, and you use iteration to accelerate the learning loop.
You lead by example — raising the bar for technical excellence while helping those around you grow. You communicate clearly through written plans and async updates, and know when to jump on a call.
Strong Candidates May Also Have: Experience with identity and access protocols (OIDC, OAuth, mTLS) and active engagement with emerging agent protocols like MCP and A2A.
Experience extending runtimes with eBPF, service meshes, custom Kubernetes operators, or plugin-driven architectures (WASM, dynamic policy engines).

Benefits

Comp & perks

Build at the Frontier: Work every day at the frontier of agent-native systems — shipping, inventing, and iterating on technology that hasn’t been built before. You’ll be given huge autonomy, the opportunity to gain mastery, and the chance to work in a team that holds each other accountable to succeed.
Truly Agent-Native Culture: At Keycard, we don’t just enable others to adopt agents — we use them ourselves to build. You’ll help shape an organization that embeds AI into its foundation as an enduring competitive advantage.
Compensation With Upside: Market-competitive salaries and generous equity packages (4-year vest, 1-year cliff) give you the security to focus on building — and the asymmetric upside of ownership in a company chasing a category-defining mission.
Comprehensive Benefits & Recharge: Health, dental, vision, and paramedical coverage for you and your family, plus 4 weeks vacation, 11 statutory holidays, and 1 volunteer day annually. We encourage at least 2 weeks off each year to fully recharge.
Tools That Keep You Ahead: A new MacBook Pro, a $500 stipend for peripherals, and the best AI tools available so you can work at the forefront of agent-native workflows.
Remote-First Flexibility: We are a remote-first team prioritizing asynchronous collaboration, with hiring focused in North and South America. Work where you’re strongest — we just want the best.

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

GoRustKubernetesCI/CDeBPFservice meshesWASMdynamic policy enginesidentity protocolsaccess protocols

Soft Skills

leadershipcommunicationproblem-solvingcollaborationiterationtechnical excellenceadaptabilityclear writingasync communicationtrade-off analysis