Senior Software Engineer, Annotation Systems

Department: Engineering

Location: San Carlos

Employment Type: FullTime

About Obvio AI

Each year, more than 7,500 pedestrians are killed by drivers in the U.S.—a number that has increased by 70% over the past decade. Despite growing awareness, most cities still struggle to curb dangerous driving. “Vision Zero” efforts across the country are falling short.

Obvio AI exists to change that.

We deploy solar-powered, AI-assisted cameras to enforce traffic laws where pedestrians are most vulnerable—automating enforcement in ways that police departments or traditional systems cannot. Our approach has already led to a dramatic reduction in reckless driving and improved safety for pedestrians, drivers, and law enforcement alike.

Founded by the team behind Motive’s AI dashcam, Obvio is backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Khosla Ventures. We recently raised a $22M Series A and are working with some of the most forward-thinking cities in the country. With meaningful revenue, a massive market, and strong policy momentum, we’re building the intelligence layer for safer streets globally.

About the Role

We're seeking a Senior Software Engineer to lead the design and scaling of backend infrastructure that powers our annotation workflows. These systems sit at the core of our machine learning feedback loops and operational pipelines. You’ll work across product, ML, and ops teams to build resilient, observable, and secure systems that translate ambiguous requirements into elegant software.

What You’ll Do

• Design and scale distributed systems that support high-throughput data review and annotation pipelines

• Build systems that prioritize performance and reliability under real-world load

• Apply strong security and privacy practices, including fine-grained access control, secure data handling, and auditable workflows

• Translate messy, cross-functional requirements into clean APIs and backend abstractions

• Collaborate with product, ML, and operations to streamline efficiency and feedback loops

• Lead architectural decisions, conduct design reviews, and elevate engineering quality across the team

• Mentor engineers to improve system ownership, technical judgment, and long-term thinking

What We’re Looking For

• 8+ years of backend engineering experience

• Proven ability to design and scale distributed systems

• Operational rigor: you build systems with observability, alerting, and failure recovery in mind

• Strong understanding of security principles, including least privilege, secure transport/storage, and compliance awareness

• Ability to synthesize broad, sometimes ambiguous input into clean design and interfaces

• Experience mentoring engineers and guiding architectural direction on complex projects

Bonus Points

• Familiarity with human-in-the-loop systems, labeling tools, or ML data pipelines

Why Obvio

• Your work will help save lives and improve road safety

• Series A of $22M led by Bain Capital

• Fast-moving startup environment with meaningful ownership

• Competitive compensation and early-stage equity

Obvio is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Obvio considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law. Obvio is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please let your recruiter know.