
Real job — pulled straight from ServiceNow’s careers page · Verified October 18, 2026 · No reposts.
Job description
ServiceNow is hiring a Senior Staff Software Engineer — a full-time, based in San Diego, CA role ($172k–$301k). Apply directly on ServiceNow's careers page below.
Senior Staff Software Engineer
Location: San Diego, California, us
Company Description
It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.
Join us to put AI to work for people.
Job Description
The team
Build Agent is 's AI coding assistant, purpose-built for the platform's metadata-driven substrate - operating natively across 's scoped applications, tables, and metadata types. This role leads the team responsible for the Build Agent evaluation framework, model support, and telemetry.
The framework is critical to Build Agent success — it's already driven measurable wins: recovering Build Agent correctness, cutting latency and inference cost ahead of a major release, and catching high-severity defects that manual testing missed before they reached production. The team is 8 engineers and is currently the bottleneck on its own scale — this role exists to convert a high-performing initiative into a durable, scalable function.
Key areas of focus include:
- Evaluation Infrastructure: Golden prompt sets, Pass@1 and functional scoring, failure categorization (plumbing vs. metadata-creation failures), and coverage across metadata types and UI workflows.
- Model Support & Benchmarking: Structured evaluation of candidate foundation models against the production default, with failure-consistency analysis to separate scaffold/tuning issues from genuine capability gaps.
- Telemetry: Token usage, cache efficiency, and inference cost tracked alongside correctness as first-class release signals.
- Cross-Team Arbitration: Prioritizing eval coverage, defining what "good" means across surfaces owned by different contributing teams, and turning eval signal into committed fixes by the owning teams rather than open-ended findings.
What you get to do in this role
- Own eval strategy and roadmap: prompt set design, scoring methodology, failure-mode taxonomy, and telemetry instrumentation.
- Coordinate across the multiple teams contributing to Build Agent to arbitrate quality standards and drive eval findings to committed, owned fixes — not just reports.
- Lead model benchmarking efforts, making data-backed recommendations on model support decisions (e.g., evaluating frontier coding models against the incumbent default).
- Solve ambiguous, cross-cutting problems where eval signal, model capability, and platform architecture intersect — and where "correct" isn't obvious until you've defined the bar.
Qualifications
- Direct experience building or leading evaluation systems for LLM-based products — scoring methodology, benchmark design, and failure analysis, not just prompt engineering.
- Understanding of coding agent architecture: tool use, agentic loops, context management, and the trade-offs between generic and domain-specific scaffolding.
- 6+ years of experience with technologies relevant to , including advanced coding skills and fluency in one or more of Java, C++, Ruby, Shell, or JavaScript.
- Experience critically evaluating foundation models — distinguishing real capability differences from tuning or scaffold artifacts.
- Ability to execute against ambiguous priorities, weighing context, risk, and desired outcomes — particularly where eval data is incomplete or contested.
For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $171,900 - $300,800, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.
Additional Information
Work Personas
We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest office using a third-party service.
Equal Opportunity Employer
is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.
Accommodations
We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact globaltalentss@.com for assistance.
Export Control Regulations
For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.
From Fortune. ©2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the salary for Senior Staff Software Engineer at ServiceNow?
The estimated salary range for Senior Staff Software Engineer at ServiceNow is $172,000 - $301,000 USD per year.
What skills are required for Senior Staff Software Engineer at ServiceNow?
The required skills for Senior Staff Software Engineer at ServiceNow include: Java, C++, Ruby, Shell, JavaScript, LLM, Python.
What is the seniority level for Senior Staff Software Engineer at ServiceNow?
Senior Staff Software Engineer at ServiceNow is a Senior / Staff level position.
How do I apply for Senior Staff Software Engineer at ServiceNow?
You can view the full description and apply for Senior Staff Software Engineer at ServiceNow on EchoJobs: https://echojobs.io/job/servicenow-senior-staff-software-engineer-7jmme.