Staff Software Engineer

Title: Staff Software Engineer Location: New York City ABOUT MANIFEST Manifest OS is an AI-native company on a mission to replace the billable hour and make legal services more accessible for American businesses and consumers. We power the next generation of AI-native law firms with one unified global brand, a proprietary technology platform, and a centralized back office — enabling lawyers to eliminate the administrative burden and focus on delivering exceptional outcomes for their clients. Manifest OS has raised a $60M Series A from Menlo Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, First Round, and Quiet Capital. ABOUT THE ROLE We're looking for a backend-leaning Software Engineer to help build the legal tech platform powering the next generation of AI-native law firms. You'll own the development of secure client portals and enterprise-grade systems — from architecture to production. WHAT YOU’LL DO - Build and ship full-stack features end-to-end across our legal tech platform - Design and maintain production-grade APIs with proper error handling and documentation - Architect secure client portals and case management systems with complex permissions - Integrate LLMs and AI workflows into document processing and automation features - Contribute to database design and backend architecture using PostgreSQL - Deploy and manage services on cloud infrastructure, preferably GCP WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Must-haves: - 10+ years of fullstack development with strong Node.js and TypeScript expertise - Proven track record delivering features that produce measurable business outcomes - Experience building production APIs with monitoring, error handling, and documentation - Strong PostgreSQL or relational database design skills - Hands-on cloud platform experience — GCP preferred, AWS or Azure acceptable - Daily use of AI coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, or similar) for 50%+ of your workflow Nice-to-haves: - Experience at AI-native companies such as Cursor, Replit, Vercel, or similar - Background building client portals, CRMs, or case management systems - Python knowledge for AI/ML tooling and integration - Familiarity with legal tech or other regulated industries THIS IS FOR YOU IF.... You treat AI tools as core to how you architect and ship software. You want to build infrastructure that makes legal services more accessible to people. You thrive with ownership and prefer outcomes over process THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF.... You need detailed processes and defined guardrails to do your best work. You prefer significant direction and oversight over autonomous decision-making. You're earlier in your career with AI-augmented development workflows.