Do you remember the first time you saw what a well-designed platform solution can do to an entire engineering org? The moment you smoothed a rough edge in the developer experience, untangled a flaky deployment, or replaced a brittle workaround with an API that simply made sense. Suddenly, teams moved faster and shipped with confidence.

At C1, we’re building that kind of leverage in two directions: the platform that powers our AI-native identity security product, and a next-generation, AI-driven development platform that helps engineers build, ship, and operate software in a revolutionary new way.

We’re looking for a Staff+ engineer to join our Platform team in Portland, Oregon. In this role, you’ll move fast while leading high-impact, complex projects and driving key investments in the platform that underpins the C1 product—improving scale, reliability, and the foundations we need for new customer-facing capabilities. You’ll balance shipping new features with paying down technical debt and making thoughtful tradeoffs, all while delivering performant, production-grade code. This is a highly leveraged role: your technical leadership, communication, and judgment will enable teams across the company and directly shape customer outcomes.

About C1

C1 is the first AI-native identity security platform that protects every identity: human, non-human, and AI. With powerful automation, platform-level AI, and out-of-the-box connectors, it centralizes access visibility, enforces fine-grained controls, enables just-in-time access, and automates user access reviews across all apps. It’s easy to use, quick to deploy, and trusted by enterprises like DigitalOcean, Instacart, Ramp, and Zscaler.

What You'll Do

Plan and drive large projects with incremental deliverables—you'll contribute to major architectural decisions, assess technical risks, and communicate tradeoffs across teams
Set the bar for code quality—deliver code that's maintainable, well-tested, and sets the standard for the team
Be a stabilizing force when things are ambiguous—keep the team aligned on priorities and moving forward even when the path isn't clear
Mentor and elevate others—delegate effectively, trust people with real ownership, and help engineers around you grow

What We’re Looking For

A track record of delivering complex, multi-team projects—you've shipped systems that handle real scale, real failures, and real customers.
Deep experience with Go or similar backend languages, with strong opinions on how to write maintainable, performant code.
Strong systems thinking—you balance technical debt against feature velocity and make pragmatic tradeoffs.
Demonstrated technical leadership—you've driven architectural decisions, built consensus across teams, and helped other engineers grow.
High agency—you figure out what needs to be built, not just how to build what you're told. You move fast and unblock yourself.
Deep understanding of production environments—you know how to debug, monitor, and operate the systems you build.
Experience with AI-assisted development (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, or similar)—you're already using these tools and excited about what's next
Clear, persuasive communication—you can explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences and build alignment.

Nice to Have

Experience with identity and access management systems (SCIM, SAML, OAuth, LDAP, or similar)
Background in building multi-tenant SaaS platforms with enterprise security requirements
Familiarity with workflow orchestration technologies (Temporal, Airflow, or custom implementations)

How We Work

Ship, Ship, Ship—we bias toward action. We'd rather ship something and learn than debate endlessly. Iteration beats perfection.
Build with AI—we use AI tools daily to write code, review PRs, explore ideas, and move faster. If you're not excited about this, we're not the right fit.
Earn the Customer's Trust—we build for real problems, not hypothetical ones. We talk to customers constantly and take their security seriously.
Practice Compassionate Candor—we give direct feedback because we care about each other's growth. Ego takes a back seat to getting it right.
Be the Conductor—we take ownership of outcomes, not just tasks. If something needs doing, we do it.

Software Engineer - Platform