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Posted Apr 23, 2026

Staff Engineer (Europe)

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Hi Auto is the most trustworthy AI order taker for drive-thrus. Built for scale. Hi Auto is a reliable AI order taker for drive-thrus, purpose-built for high-volume QSRs. It helps brands consistently deliver faster, error-free service with over 93% order completion and 96% accuracy, at scale. Growing quickly, Hi Auto has the largest number of voice AI drive-thru restaurant deployments, competing directly with both big tech and restaurant tech players.  We are seeking a Staff Engineer in Europe to join our Infrastructure team. About the role:  Our backend is developed all in Python running in the cloud over k8s. It's not a typical backend interacting with a UI frontend, handling audio streams in real-time. Our systems integrate with a large number of third party services. Because of the myriad of challenges and the fast pace of a startup, each team member gets to experience a lot of professional growth and ownership. In this role, you will: - Own parts of our core backend infrastructure, which is a complex, real-time distributed system written in Python and Rust - Own big initiatives end-to-end and deliver them with minimal guidance - Troubleshoot highly complex production issues - Constantly improve our development velocity while maintaining a very high reliability standard Requirements - BSc in Software Development or equivalent industry experience - Previously a Staff or Principal Engineer at a startup company - 10+ years of experience in Python development - Strong Python Asyncio experience - Strong software design skills - Excellent communicator in writing and orally - Significant experience with at least one strongly typed language (Rust, C++, Go, Swift, Java, etc) - Deep understanding of Networking Protocols, Operating Systems - Deep knowledge of Python Profiling - Experience in delivering and troubleshooting a production-grade cloud-based distributed system - Experience in building and troubleshooting a real-time low-level system (e.g. kernel, drivers, RTOS) - Kubernetes and Helm experience - Experience with different observability stacks - Strong LLM prompting skills, but also being able to work without them - Experience with gRPC and its troubleshooting - Being a contributor or maintainer of an open-source package Bonus:  - An understanding of one of the following: WebRTC, STUN/TURN, SIP, RTP, HLS, RTMP - Having worked with Rust and PyO3 - Audio programming experience Qualities We're Looking For: Fast - you know you're a 10X engineer, not just yet another senior engineer Resilience – being able to balance planned work with real-time issues in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment Strong communication skills – in both written and verbal communication, with the ability to produce crisp and clear documentation Problem solver Extremely Strong ownership and independence
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