Senior Software Engineer

About the role

The Opportunity

We're seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our founding team. This isn’t just a job- it’s a chance to help build and shape the future of legal services from the ground up.

You’ll work directly with the founding team, collaborating closely with product, legal, and go-to-market leaders to design and build the core systems that power Shepherd. You will play a critical role in defining our technical architecture, product experience, and the AI infrastructure that enables faster, more accessible legal services.

As an early member of the team, you’ll have meaningful ownership over both the product and the underlying systems- from how we build and ship features to how we scale a secure, reliable, AI-native platform.

This is a rare opportunity to combine deep technical work with building a category-defining company at the intersection of AI and legal services.

What You'll Do

Design, build, and maintain Shepherd’s core platform, including backend systems, APIs, and user-facing applications

Develop and integrate AI-powered workflows (LLMs, RAG pipelines, document processing, etc.) into real-world legal use cases

Architect scalable, secure infrastructure for handling sensitive legal data and workflows

Collaborate with legal and product teams to translate complex workflows into intuitive software experiences

Build internal tools that improve efficiency for attorneys and enhance client experience

Own key technical decisions across architecture, tooling, and development processes

Implement best practices for performance, reliability, and security (SOC 2 readiness, data privacy, etc.)

Contribute to rapid prototyping, iteration, and continuous product improvement based on user feedback

Help recruit and mentor future engineers as the team grows

What We're Looking For Required

5–10+ years of software engineering experience, ideally in high-growth startup environments

Strong proficiency in modern backend and/or full-stack development (e.g., Python, Node.js, TypeScript, React)

Experience building and scaling production systems and APIs

Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or similar) and modern DevOps practices

Experience working with or integrating AI/LLM-based systems (OpenAI, Anthropic, embeddings, vector databases, etc.)

Strong understanding of system design, data modeling, and performance optimization

Ability to operate independently and make high-quality technical decisions

Preferred

Experience building AI-native products or working with RAG, fine-tuning, or agent-based systems

Background in workflow automation, document processing, or enterprise SaaS platforms

Experience with security and compliance frameworks (e.g., SOC 2, data privacy best practices)

Prior experience as an early engineer or founding team member

Interest in legal tech, fintech, or regulated industries

Essential Qualities

Entrepreneurial mindset- You thrive in ambiguity and enjoy building from zero

Builder mentality- You take ownership and ship quickly without sacrificing quality

Collaborative spirit- You work closely across disciplines to solve complex problems

Product-oriented- You care deeply about user experience, not just code

Systems thinker- You design for scale, reliability, and long-term evolution

Adaptable- You’re comfortable with rapid iteration and evolving requirements

What We Offer

Competitive compensation: $150,000 – $180,000 base salary

Meaningful equity: Early-stage ownership with significant upside

Full autonomy: Remote work with flexible scheduling

Direct impact: Shape the product, architecture, and technical direction from day one

Cutting-edge tools: Work at the forefront of AI-native application development

Professional growth: Opportunity to grow into a technical leadership role as the team scales

Mission-driven work: Help democratize access to high-quality legal services for startups

Our Core Values Be Bold & Take Intelligent Risks

We believe ambitious outcomes are possible. We explore unconventional ideas, test them rigorously, and act on the data- learning fast without distraction or comparison.

Demand Excellence

Mediocrity has consequences. We set the highest standard in our execution, judgement, and how we show up everyday- because excellence compounds.

Execute Relentlessly

Speed and urgency are habits that when modeled consistently and scaled through automation, become contagious across the team, the product, and our customers.

Earn Trust Through Action

Legal work runs on trust, not features. We earn trust by being responsive, transparent, and accountable to our customers- particularly when it’s uncomfortable.

Be a Good Person

We pair high standards with empathy and ambition with humanity. Respect and integrity are NOT separate from winning- they are how we win.

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Posting text as published by Shepherd.

The evidence behind this listing

Workplace

Remote Employer field

Seniority

senior From the job title

Employment type

full time

Location as listed

Remote, US

Pay and work authorization

Stated pay

$150k–180k/yr Employer field

Visa sponsorship

Not stated

Security clearance

Not established

Citizenship

Not established