Staff Software Engineer

Job description

About Skyspecs: At SkySpecs, our mission is to simplify renewable asset management so that less can do more for the planet. SkySpecs is helping to make this possible by automating the operations and maintenance of wind farms using advanced robotics paired with our custom-built asset performance management software, Horizon. SkySpecs launched the world’s first completely autonomous blade inspection product in 2016 with a custom-designed drone system. Since then, SkySpecs has inspected over 90% of the US wind turbines and expanded globally, becoming the world leader in understanding the health of turbine blades. Identifying issues with turbine blades is only the first step. In 2019, SkySpecs launched Horizon, a platform for SkySpecs to offer a multi-layered solution for customers that includes: data collection, wind turbine blade engineering expertise, and a place for all stakeholders to collaborate to manage and analyze massive amounts of data, spot trends, and create plans for high-cost repair campaigns. In 2021, SkySpecs acquired two companies specializing in wind turbine drivetrain monitoring and financial management, further expanding our asset management portfolio. Ultimately, this will help reduce the cost and risk of operations for the industry. What will I be getting myself into? As a Senior Software Engineer, you will help shape the future of our Horizon platform and the way we build software. Horizon is the platform behind SkySpecs' wind and solar inspection and asset-management business, and the work is hands-on, building end-to-end. As the cost of producing code falls, an engineer's impact comes more than ever from judgment, design, and outcomes, not volume. AI is central to how we work here, and we treat it as serious leverage: a force multiplier for engineers who already have strong instincts, not a substitute for them. We expect everyone to keep pushing what AI, automation, and agents make possible, and to bring the judgment that makes that leverage pay off. We do not separate thinking from doing. You will be expected to independently take broad, highly ambiguous problem statements, formulate scalable technical solutions, and participate directly in delivery by writing and owning production code. We value a founder’s mindset; the people closest to the work are expected to challenge assumptions, optimize proposed approaches, and actively engineer high-impact business outcomes. This is a full-stack engineering role. While engineers may develop areas of deeper expertise, we expect everyone to be capable of working across frontend, backend, infrastructure, data, and developer tooling as needed to deliver outcomes. We value engineers who can understand the entire system, formulate end-to-end solutions, and contribute wherever the work requires. Our platform is built using AWS, GitLab, Auth0, Grafana, Terraform, Kafka, Node.js, TypeScript, Apollo GraphQL, React, Ant Design, Vitest, Playwright, and PostgreSQL. IN A GIVEN WEEK, YOU WILL: [15%] Work with product managers, customers, internal users, and other engineers to understand requirements, constraints, and desired outcomes. [10%] Formulate solutions, evaluate tradeoffs, and break work into executable milestones and implementation plans. [55%] Build and ship software. Examples include: Authoring and infrastructure as code. Designing and implementing new services and APIs. Building reusable user experiences and workflows. Improving reliability, performance, security, and developer productivity. Reviewing code generated by peers and by agents Leveraging AI tools and autonomous agents to accelerate delivery. [20%] Improve Horizon, our engineering systems, and the way we work. Examples include: Building internal tooling and automation. Improving documentation and architectural clarity. Reducing operational toil. Expanding AI and agent capabilities. Improving testing, observability, and deployment workflows. Exploring new ideas, experiments, and prototypes that could improve Horizon or the way we build software. Success is measured by outcomes delivered, not lines of code written. Requirements of the role: Core Expectations: 10+ years of experience designing, shipping, and operating production software systems. A proven track record of operating with absolute self-direction—capable of taking a loosely defined, high-level mandate and driving it to production with minimal to no supervision. Experience navigating the fast-paced, evolving environments typical of early-stage companies, scaling startups, or operating as a founding engineer. Growth & Leadership Readiness: While this role begins as an elite Individual Contributor, you possess the communication skills, high emotional intelligence (EQ), and mentoring instincts required to anchor, build, and formally lead an engineering team as the organization scales. Mastery of modern backend systems (e.g., Node.js/TypeScript, Python, or Go) coupled with significant frontend architectural experience (e.g., React, Angular, Vue). Advanced Infrastructure Experience: Direct production experience provisioning cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP) using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation). AI Integration Mastery: Deep familiarity with AI-assisted and agentic development workflows, with a strong internal compass for auditing, correcting, and securing agent-generated outputs. Bonus Points: Familiarity with our stack: AWS, GitLab, Auth0, Grafana, Terraform, Kafka, Node.js, TypeScript, Apollo GraphQL, React, Ant Design, Vitest, Playwright, and PostgreSQL. Experience building internal platforms, developer tooling, or automation systems. Experience operating distributed systems at scale. Background in utility-scale energy generation, emphasis on renewables What We Value: Own outcomes, not assignments: You focus on the final business value delivered, not just closing out tickets. Have strong opinions that are loosely held: You advocate fiercely for technical excellence but pivot gracefully when presented with better data. Operate with a founder's mentality: You are self-accountable, self-correcting, and proactively identify risks and scaling opportunities before they become critical. Create clarity from chaos: You excel at parsing noise, identifying core constraints, and bringing alignment to cross-functional teams. Location & Logistics: This role works out of our Hyderabad, India office with hybrid flexibility. Applicants will be expected to attend team meetings that overlap with the US Eastern timezone, ideally (06:30 PM - 09:30 PM IST). Compensation: Base salary dependent on experience and location. Position is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus. SkySpecs is an equal opportunity employer. SkySpecs does not discriminate in employment with regard to race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship status, ancestry, age, sex (including sexual harassment), sexual orientation, marital status, physical or mental disability, military status or unfavorable discharge from military service or any other characteristic protected by law.