At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build innovative agent systems for cutting-edge hardware intelligence.
- Company: Join Nominal, a pioneering tech company transforming hardware engineering.
- Benefits: Enjoy unlimited PTO, free lunches, and professional development opportunities.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with excellent career growth and mentorship.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on the future of technology with a talented team.
- Qualifications: 8+ years in production systems and experience with LLM or agent systems.
The predicted salary is between 80100 - 97900 £ per year.
- Staff Software Engineer, Agents - UK
- Lead design and build of the agent harness and MCP platform for Nominal's UK team
About The Role
Staff Engineer Role At Nominal
Engineers today are building some of the most ambitious machines humanity has ever seen.
They should have AI that's purpose-built for them.
Nominal is building the Hardware Intelligence Platform that gives engineers increased visibility into complex physical systems, helps them make better decisions, and ultimately gets their products into the real world faster.
It brings together the systems, data, intelligence, and applications hardware engineering required to meet the AI moment.
Hardware engineering teams use Nominal to simulate, test, manufacture, and operate the physical systems that keep the world moving, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation energy systems and robotics.
Our customers span aerospace, defense, manufacturing, transportation, energy, and robotics.
They include Anduril, Shield AI, Wisk Aero, Pratt Miller Motorsports, Antares, and Shinkei Systems, amongst others, alongside programs within the U.
Air Force and Navy.
Our team draws from Space X, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Tesla, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.
We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
Some of the world's leading technology investors, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, and Insight Partners, are backing Nominal's ambition to change how machines are built and operated.
We're looking for engineers who want to take on hard problems and help make a new generation of world-changing hardware possible.
The Role
As a Staff Engineer supporting agents, you'll design how Nominal's agents work: you'll architect the one platform our agents, the Nominal MCP, and our internal agent all run on, and set technical direction for the team that builds on it.
What You'll Do
- Design and build the agent harness: orchestration, planning, tool calling, memory, and background agents that run long investigations on their own.
- Own the shared tool layer that our agents and external agents (via MCP) both use, so every capability we build works everywhere.
- Build how agents assemble context: retrieval across test data, documents, designs, and simulations, including sensor data far too large to fit in a context window.
- Make model choice a decision, not a dependency: routing, cost, latency, and fallbacks across frontier models.
- Partner with evals to make quality measurable, and with the platform team on how the context layer grows.
- Set the architecture other engineers build on, and raise the bar through design reviews and mentorship.
- What You’ll Bring
- 8+ years building production systems, including real experience shipping LLM or agent systems to users.
- Strong distributed-systems and backend fundamentals; you’ve owned systems where reliability mattered.
- Opinions about agent architecture (tool design, context management, autonomy, failure handling) and the judgment to change them when data says so.
- A track record of setting technical direction across a team and raising the bar for the engineers around you.
- You build with modern AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) every day, and stay curious and open to better ways of working. The tools keep changing, and so do we.
- Nice To Have
- You've built an agent harness or LLM platform that other engineers or customers build on, at an AI-native company.
- You've shipped long-running, autonomous agents to production and know where they break.
- You've contributed to MCP, agent frameworks, or open-source LLM infrastructure.
- You've built software for physical systems: robots, vehicles, aircraft, or the test stands behind them.
Benefits/Perks
- Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- Professional Development Stipend
- Annual company retreat
- Hardware sensor stipend
- Employee-friendly equity terms
- In-office 5 days per week
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
Staff Software Engineer, Agents - UK Software in London employer: Frontdoor Defense
Scale GP is an exceptional employer that fosters a dynamic and innovative work culture in the heart of London. With a strong emphasis on employee growth, we provide ample opportunities for professional development and collaboration on cutting-edge GenAI projects. Our commitment to work-life balance and a supportive environment makes Scale GP an ideal place for talented engineers looking to make a meaningful impact.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Software Engineer, Agents - UK Software in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Frontdoor Defense or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Frontdoor Defense.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
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Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Frontdoor Defense that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Staff Software Engineer, Agents - UK Software in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Frontdoor Defense.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Frontdoor Defense and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Frontdoor Defense
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Frontdoor Defense uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
