At a Glance
- Tasks: Build and operate core services for AI research and production environments.
- Company: Join a cutting-edge team from top AI companies like DeepMind and OpenAI.
- Benefits: Top-tier salary, comprehensive health benefits, and generous parental leave.
- Other info: Dynamic startup culture with opportunities for career growth and team bonding.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in developing open superintelligence with a talented team.
- Qualifications: Strong software engineering skills and experience with large-scale systems.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 € per year.
Our Mission Reflection’s mission is to build open superintelligence and make it accessible to all. We’re developing open weight models for individuals, agents, enterprises, and even nation states. Our team of AI researchers and company builders come from DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Brain, Meta, Character.AI, Anthropic and beyond.
Vision Build and operate a company-wide foundations platform that accelerates every team by providing reliable, scalable developer infrastructure, SRE capabilities, and high-throughput data ingestion tooling enabling Reflection to move faster as we scale.
What This Team Does Build and operate the core shared services that power our research, training, and production environments. These systems form the foundational platform that multiple teams depend on for model development, deployment, and evaluation, unifying data, compute, and workflow management across the stack while enabling rapid experimentation and reliable production systems.
- Build and operate shared services that multiple teams rely on across research and production workflows.
- Define and uphold reliability targets through SLIs, SLOs, and healthy on-call practices.
- Maintain strong operational readiness with runbooks, incident playbooks, and capacity planning.
- Ensure correctness and performance under load, addressing consistency, tail latency, and failure modes.
- Develop APIs, SDKs, and internal platforms that enable high-velocity experimentation and iteration.
- Reduce operational burden through better tooling, standardization, and platform patterns that scale across teams.
What You'll Work With
- Container Abstractions: Containers-as-a-Service, Kubernetes abstraction layers, container orchestration, reproducible environments, multi‑tenant isolation.
- Distributed Systems Architecture: Sharding, replication, coordination services, high‑concurrency systems, concurrency control.
- Service Development Stack: gRPC, Protobuf, Go, Rust, C++.
- Reliability & Performance: Idempotency, retries, backpressure, SLI/SLO design, tail latency optimization, service reliability engineering.
About You
- Strong software engineering background with experience shipping production‑grade systems.
- Experience designing APIs, services, or developer platforms that handle large‑scale data or compute.
- Comfortable navigating complex codebases, debugging hard problems, and optimizing for reliability and speed.
- Thrive in a high‑agency, fast‑paced startup environment; bias toward action and impact.
- Excited about zero to one challenges, building new systems rather than maintaining legacy ones.
- Collaborative, clear communicator, and comfortable working across research and infra boundaries.
- Motivated by creating the software backbone for the world’s most capable open‑weight AI systems.
What We Offer
- Top‑tier compensation: Salary and equity structured to recognize and retain the best talent globally.
- Health & wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
- Life & family: Fully paid parental leave for all new parents, including adoptive and surrogate journeys. Financial support for family planning.
- Benefits & balance: Paid time off when you need it, relocation support, and more perks that optimize your time.
- Opportunities to connect with teammates: Lunch and dinner are provided daily. We have regular off‑sites and team celebrations.
Member of Technical Staff - Distributed Systems Engineer in London employer: Reflection
At Reflection, we are committed to fostering a dynamic and innovative work environment where every team member plays a crucial role in shaping the future of open superintelligence. Our culture prioritises collaboration and high agency, offering top-tier compensation, comprehensive health benefits, and generous parental leave, all while ensuring a supportive atmosphere that encourages personal and professional growth. Join us in a fast-paced startup setting where you can make a meaningful impact and enjoy daily team meals and regular celebrations.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Member of Technical Staff - Distributed Systems Engineer in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in the industry, especially those who work at Reflection or similar companies. A friendly chat can open doors and give you insights that a job description just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! If you've got a project or two that showcases your experience with distributed systems or APIs, make sure to highlight them in conversations. Real-world examples speak volumes!
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your coding skills and understanding of system design. Practice common problems and be ready to discuss your thought process. We want to see how you tackle challenges!
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you're genuinely interested in being part of our mission to build open superintelligence.
We think you need these skills to ace Member of Technical Staff - Distributed Systems Engineer in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter to reflect the skills and experiences that align with the role of a Distributed Systems Engineer. Highlight your software engineering background and any relevant projects you've worked on that showcase your ability to build and operate scalable systems.
Showcase Your Technical Skills:Don’t hold back on detailing your experience with container orchestration, distributed systems architecture, and service development stacks. We want to see your familiarity with tools like Kubernetes, gRPC, and languages such as Go or Rust. Be specific about your contributions and the impact they had!
Communicate Clearly:As a collaborative team, we value clear communication. Make sure your application reflects your ability to convey complex ideas simply. Use straightforward language and structure your thoughts logically to demonstrate your communication skills right from the start.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website for the best chance of getting noticed. It’s the easiest way for us to track your application and ensure it reaches the right people. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining our mission!
How to prepare for a job interview at Reflection
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in the technologies mentioned in the job description, like Kubernetes, gRPC, and distributed systems architecture. Brush up on your knowledge of container orchestration and high-concurrency systems, as these will likely come up during technical discussions.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Be prepared to discuss specific challenges you've faced in previous roles, especially those related to reliability and performance. Think about examples where you optimised systems or tackled complex debugging issues, as this will demonstrate your ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
✨Communicate Clearly and Collaboratively
Since the role involves working across research and infrastructure boundaries, practice articulating your thoughts clearly. Use examples from past experiences to show how you’ve successfully collaborated with different teams, highlighting your communication skills and teamwork.
✨Emphasise Your Passion for Innovation
Reflect on why you’re excited about building new systems rather than maintaining legacy ones. Be ready to share your vision for the future of open superintelligence and how you can contribute to that mission. This enthusiasm can set you apart from other candidates.
