Software Engineer - New Grad
At a glance
Mid-level Software Engineering role at Chalk. San Francisco · full-time · $170,000–$180,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build and maintain major pieces of the query planning and execution engine, from design through release
- Write software in C++, Python and Rust
- Improve the platform in response to customer needs, shipping changes quickly
- Work directly with the co-founders on engineering work
What you bring
- You graduate in Fall 2026 or Spring 2027 with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in computer science, EECS or a related field
- You have solid computer science fundamentals and experience building and maintaining real systems
- You can lead development of new system components and take responsibility for existing software
Who this fits
This role suits a new graduate who wants substantial ownership and can work independently while making pragmatic engineering tradeoffs. The position starts in Spring 2027 and requires working from the office five days a week in San Francisco; flexibility is available when conflicts are unavoidable.
From the employer
About Chalk
Chalk (chalk.ai) is the platform for production AI. Trusted by enterprises including Whatnot, Grindr, Mission Lane, Turo, and Apartment List, Chalk brings together context, runtime, and learning for agents and models. Chalk’s Context Engine delivers live context by querying data across warehouses, databases, streams, and APIs, straight from the source. Chalk’s runtime powers agents and models with infrastructure and governed access to LLMs and tools. Together, these capabilities help teams build AI that understands their business, continuously improves, and runs reliably in production. We've recently raised a $50 million Series A, led by Felicis. Learn more at chalk.ai.
About the role
This position is scheduled to start in Spring 2027.
We are hiring Software Engineers to join our team. This is an opportunity to join us in-person as an early employee and make a large impact at a high growth start-up. You will tackle challenging engineering problems with a high degree of autonomy and ownership.
We are looking for a software engineer with a strong background in systems engineering. At Chalk we are solving problems drawn from the fields of DBMS query planning & optimization, compilers, and distributed analytical data processing systems.
Chalk uses dynamic and static analysis of Python programs in order to optimize arbitrary user Python code, infers and orchestrates infrastructure implied by the structure of that code, and tracks metadata about flow of data through these systems.
We're in the office 5 days a week. When unavoidable conflicts come up, we’re flexible. This is not a hybrid role.
What you will do
Work directly with Chalk’s co-founders
Write C++, Python and Rust
Design, implement, ship, and maintain significant components of our query planning and execution engine
Iterate rapidly to improve Chalk’s platform in response to customer needs
What we’re looking for
Graduation date in Fall 2026 or Spring 2027 with a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field (Computer Science, EECS)
Strong working knowledge of computer science fundamentals. We’re not looking for experience from drilling leet code – we need folks who are comfortable building and maintaining real systems
Comfort with leading development of new components of existing systems, and with taking ownership of existing software
Track record of learning new concepts quickly
Ability to work autonomously & to make pragmatic tradeoffs with an eye towards business outcomes
Strong communication skills
Bonus points
Experience implementing data infrastructure
Experience with distributed systems/compilers/query planners
Experience with Rust
Experience with developing PaaS-like software
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Software Engineering$170k+
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