Junior Platform Engineer — Intelligent Automation in Leeds

Location: Hybrid (Pisa, Italy or Leeds, UK)

Type: Full-time

About the Role

We are building the operating system for autonomous digital work. For the next 9 months, our execution focus is Digital Automation. We are building the Verkko Platform: a sovereign infrastructure that allows organizations to deploy autonomous agents that handle complex, multi-step digital tasks without human intervention. We are not building LLM wrappers. We are integrating our proprietary Voltaic spiking intelligence engine into a robust digital execution layer.

This role is your chance to build the digital nervous system of Verkko from the ground up. You will work closely with our senior engineers to ensure the Voltaic engine is seamlessly integrated into our API, workflow orchestration, and data pipelines. You will write the code that executes intelligent decisions reliably.

Key Responsibilities (Next 9 Months: Digital Focus)

• Workflow Components: Develop and maintain the components of the orchestration layer that translate high-level goals into executable digital tasks (API calls, data processing).
• Integration Connectors: Build and test robust connectors to enterprise systems (CRM, ERP, Communication tools). Ensure data flows correctly between our platform and third-party services.
• State & Memory Support: Assist in implementing the stateful memory interface. Help ensure that the agent’s 'Living Memory' is correctly updated and retrieved during workflows.
• Testing & Reliability: Write comprehensive tests for automation flows. Build basic guardrails and verification loops to ensure digital automations are accurate.

2. Voltaic Engine Integration (Secondary)

• Inference Support: Assist in the deployment and monitoring of the Voltaic spiking model for digital tasks. Help track latency and cost metrics.
• Feedback Loops: Contribute to the implementation of feedback mechanisms that allow the digital agent to learn from successful and failed tasks.
• Code Quality: Write clean, maintainable Python or Go code. You will be mentored by senior engineers to align with our high standards for reliability and state consistency.
• System Understanding: Learn how 'AI' (the brain) interacts with the execution layer (the body). Gain deep insight into idempotency, error handling, and state management in distributed systems.

The Trajectory: Beyond 9 Months (Physical AI)

This is your growth path. While the next 9 months are focused on Digital Automation, Verkko’s long-term trajectory is Physical AI and Robotics. The digital platform you are building now is the core engine that will eventually be deployed into physical robotic bodies.

Why this role is a launchpad:

• Orchestration is Universal: The logic you learn to orchestrate digital tasks is the same logic required for physical actions.
• Memory is Critical: You will learn how persistent memory works in a digital context. In 12–18 months, this same technology will allow robots to remember physical environments.
• Edge-First Mindset: You will work with efficient, low-latency systems now. These are the exact constraints we will face in battery-powered robots later.

By joining now, you are building the foundation of the future autonomous machine. You will grow from a Junior Engineer handling digital workflows into a key player in the Physical AI layer.

Requirements

Must-Haves:

• Backend Engineering Fundamentals: Solid proficiency in Python or Go. You can write clean, efficient code and understand basic data structures.
• API Experience: Basic experience building or consuming RESTful APIs. You understand what a JSON response is, how to handle webhooks, and how to read documentation.
• Learning Agility: You are eager to learn new systems. You understand that context and state are important, not just raw code generation.
• Systems Thinking: You care about error handling and reliability. You don't just write code that works; you write code that doesn't break.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Experience with workflow automation tools or internal tooling.
• Familiarity with vector databases or basic RAG concepts.
• Interest in Robotics, IoT, or Embedded Systems (this aligns with our long-term trajectory).

What We Are NOT Looking For

• Senior Architects: This is a hands-on engineering role with mentorship, not a leadership position.
• LLM Prompt Engineers: If your experience is purely in tweaking prompts for chatbots, this is not the role. We build systems, not chat interfaces.
• Pure Frontend Developers: This is a core backend/platform infrastructure role.