Senior Software Engineer, AI Team

Role Summary

Volley is a leader in the voice-activated entertainment space with AI at the core powering voice-driven games for our users including speech recognition and proprietary systems that build upon Natural Language Understanding (NLU). We are pioneers in leveraging generative AI for gaming with 20 Questions being one of the first LLM-powered experiences on connected platforms and we are actively expanding our portfolio. 

We’re looking for a software engineer to join our AI Team and play a pivotal role in developing AI-powered games and systems. In this role, you will be responsible for building robust, scalable systems that support model training, evaluation, deployment and observability. 

Our AI team is at the forefront of our R&D efforts ensuring that we’re leveraging the advances in AI technology to deliver the best experiences for our users. We are building one-of-a-kind new games and enhancing user engagement in existing titles with cutting-edge AI technologies. You will play a pivotal role in enabling and scaling AI-powered game systems, building infrastructure that supports both experimentation and production ML workflows.

You will join a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and scientists, working on both experimental prototypes and production-scale machine learning systems. Our AI team is a hub of innovation, ensuring we capitalize on the latest in AI to create joyful, safe, and engaging user experiences.

This job opportunity offers a hybrid work arrangement, and we are specifically seeking candidates who are comfortable with on-site attendance in our Bay Area office three times per week and are either currently residing in or near the Bay Area or willing to relocate for on-site work.

What You’ll Do at Volley

• Build and scale our AI frameworks, including speech recognition model evaluation, inference and deployment. 
• Design scalable ground truth engineering pipelines for training data generation and transformation. 
• Enable real-time and batch inference systems that operate at low latency and high throughput
• Drive research-backed development by integrating and experimenting with the latest academic and industry innovations.
• Work closely with cross-functional partners (e.g., product, UX) to define system performance metrics and improvement goals.

Stuff You May Have Done Before

• Built and scaled data-intensive pipelines in production environments.
• Used LLMs or other foundational models to solve real-world problems. 
• Worked on reinforcement learning, multi-turn dialogue systems, or voice assistants.
• Operated in environments with fast development cycles focused on rapid product iteration.
• Worked with audio, voice, or other emerging technologies.

Must-haves

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a quantitative discipline such as Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Economics, Computer Science, or Engineering.
• 4+ years of professional coding experience for production systems with data intensive applications. 
• Working knowledge of statistical methods for model evaluation (hypothesis testing, cross-validation, experiment design etc.).
• Some experience in Machine Learning or Generative AI.
• Creative problem solver that can drive execution and lead through ambiguity.

Our Stack

• Languages/Frameworks: Python, Node.js, TypeScript
• Data/Infra: Redis, DynamoDB, PostgreSQL, AWS Aurora
• Deployment: Docker, Kubernetes
• Evaluation: ASR toolkits, Retool dashboards, internal metrics platforms

The Hiring Process

• Stage 1: (Preliminary Video Call) with a member of our recruitment team
• Stage 2: Technical Screen with one of our Engineers + Behavioral Screen with one of our Engineering Managers
• Stage 3: In-person onsite with various partners and team members
• Stage 4: Offer
• Stage 5: Founders Chat 

Your First 90 Days

• Onboard into Volley’s ML infrastructure and ASR systems.
• Design and ship an end-to-end ASR evaluation pipeline.
• Take ownership of Volley’s ground truth engineering pipeline.
• Collaborate on at least one AI agent initiative.
• Launch improvements that impact conversion, retention, or satisfaction in our live games.

What’s In It For You

• Your medical, dental, and vision insurance is 100% covered by Volley, for yourself and all dependents and we match 401k!
• We offer a flexible, hybrid work-from-home and in-office work model.
• We offer 4 weeks of paid time off (enforced 2-week minimum), 16 paid holidays, 40 hours of bereavement leave, and unlimited sick days.
• Our generous parental leave policy includes 24 weeks at 100% pay for birthing parents and 12 weeks at 100% pay for non-birthing parents.
• We offer visa support for eligible candidates, making relocating for the job smoother and more streamlined.
• A full breakdown of our benefits is here!

For Pay Transparency: The base salary range for this position is $144,000 - $216,000 annually, based on a local (San Francisco) hire. The final offer amount may depend on experience, education, skills, and location. Base pay is one part of the total package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work.

About Us

Volley is the leading developer of AI-powered games for smart TVs, Amazon Alexa, and mobile devices. Our games attract millions of users every month. Popular Volley games include Song Quiz, Jeopardy!, and Wheel of Fortune.

We believe voice interfaces will become the main way people access entertainment in their living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and cars. We’re building a bundled subscription product similar to Netflix or Spotify for the emerging category of “AI-powered games.”

Volley was founded by Max Child and James Wilsterman in 2016. We're headquartered in downtown San Francisco in the historic Phelan Building! We’re a quickly growing team that truly enjoys working together. If you think you would enjoy creating joyful games on top of a rapidly evolving AI technology stack, please get in touch!

Volley believes in an inclusive workplace and is committed to building a team from a variety of backgrounds. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive the other benefits and privileges of employment.

Underrepresented candidates and candidates from nontraditional backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply!