About Handshake
Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale.
Why join Handshake now:
Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others
Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue
About the Role
We’re hiring an Associate Software Engineer to help build our Reinforcement Learning Environments (RLE) platform—the systems where frontier AI models learn to complete real-world work.
This is a hands-on, growth-oriented role where you’ll contribute to building core systems, learn quickly from senior engineers, and gain exposure to cutting-edge AI infrastructure.
Location: San Francisco, CA (in-office, 5 days/week)
What You’ll Do
Contribute to building RLE environments and supporting infrastructure
Implement features across backend systems and frontend interfaces
Work with senior engineers to improve system reliability and performance
Help build modular workflow domains (e.g., engineering, finance, legal)
Support data pipelines that power model training and evaluation
What We’re Looking For
0–2 years of experience (internships or full-time) in software engineering
Familiarity with backend development and APIs
Working knowledge of ReactJS and TypeScript
Understanding of databases (e.g., PostgreSQL) and basic system design
Eagerness to learn and operate in fast-paced environments
Nice to Have
Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, GCP)
Experience with data pipelines or ML-adjacent systems
Interest in AI/ML or simulation systems
What Success Looks Like
Ships reliable features that improve RLE functionality
Grows into owning small components independently
Contributes to faster iteration and better developer velocity
Perks
Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life.
The below benefits are for full-time US employees.
🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coachin
💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
💻 Office: Commuting support, free lunch, and gym in our SF office
🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses
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