About Momentum
AI is the most significant shift in how work gets done since the advent of the Internet — yet most organizations fail to capture its value. Momentum is changing that.
Founded by Bhavin Turakhia— Co-Founder of Zeta, Radix, and Titan — Momentum is building an integrated, AI-first suite of products that capture work, centralize context, and make AI a first-class participant in every workflow:
- Tasket — A radically reimagined, AI-native work management platform that solves for context fragmentation and process knowledge.
- Sensei — An enterprise-ready AI assistant, co-worker and agent platform, pre-integrated into every Enterprise SaaS MCP Server and API you already use.
- Scribe — An AI-readable repository of enterprise context, knowledge and memory.
- Cabinet — An AI-readable repository of your files.
- Proxy — A personal agent platform that shifts responsibility and accountability to AI, keeping you in the consulted and informed role.
About the Role
As a Principal Engineer specializing in System Architecture and Distributed Systems, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the technical landscape of our projects. With expertise in languages such as Java, deep knowledge of system internals, and mastery of distributed systems, you will lead the way in architecting scalable, secure, and reliable solutions. Your role extends to troubleshooting complex issues, optimizing performance, and actively mentoring engineering teams. If you're a proactive, independent decision-maker with a passion for cutting-edge technologies, this role offers a dynamic opportunity to drive innovation and operational excellence in a cross-functional environment.
We are proponents of leveraging best in breed AI tools in every step of the Software Engineering lifecycle - including creating Specs, writing Code, writing Tests, Development, Testing and Deployment using tools like Windsurf/Cursor/Copilot. This requires a very different product development mindset comprising a lean team, of senior members, that are hands-on and AI adept, resulting in ultra-rapid iteration cycles and fast output.
Responsibilities
- Champion an AI-first development lifecycle — using AI tools to accelerate spec writing, coding, testing, debugging, deployment, and monitoring.
- Own features end-to-end — API design, backend implementation, web, and mobile.
- Build and maintain robust, scalable, cloud-native, multi-tenant platforms using a robust stack including but not limited to:
- Backend: Java
- Database: PostgreSQL on AWS RDS, MongoDB
- Messaging: Kafka
- Frontend: React (Web), React Native, Flutter (Mobile)
- Ensure efficient deployment and operations leveraging AWS, CI/CD pipelines, containerization (e.g., Docker), and infrastructure as code (e.g., Terraform/CDK).
- Microservices Architecture:Scalability: Elevate microservices architecture to the next level of scalability, ensuring optimal performance in diverse scenarios.
- Efficiency Optimization: Streamline and enhance the efficiency of microservices, exploring innovative solutions for resource optimization.
- Observability Implementation: Implement robust observability mechanisms, enabling comprehensive monitoring and diagnostics.
- Availability: Improve the availability of microservices, ensuring reliability even in high-demand scenarios.
- Platform and Library Development:Platform Creation: Develop platforms, reusable libraries, and utilities to enhance the efficiency and consistency of development efforts.
- Open Source Initiatives: Contribute to open-source projects, sharing innovations and solutions with the broader community.
- Code Quality and Best Practices:High-Quality Code: Write high-quality, modular, functional, and testable code to drive the reliability of microservices.
- Coding Standards: Establish and promote the adoption of the best coding practices within the development team.
Decision-Making Authority:
- Strategic Decision-Making: Exercise strong decision-making abilities, particularly in matters related to architecture, scalability, and efficiency.
Skills
Deep Understanding of Java
- Core Library/Language Constructs: To excel in this role, you should possess a deep understanding of Java. This includes proficiency in core language constructs, object-oriented programming principles, and advanced topics such as concurrency, memory management, and compiler optimizations.
Knowledge of System Internals
- Processor, Memory, Network, and Storage Internals: Understanding the internals of processors, memory, networks, and storage devices is essential for optimizing code performance and resource utilization. This knowledge enables developers to write code that takes advantage of hardware capabilities and avoids potential bottlenecks.
Familiarity with I/O Optimized Algorithms
- I/O Optimized Algorithms: I/O operations are often a bottleneck in performance-critical applications. Familiarity with I/O optimized algorithms, such as asynchronous I/O, non-blocking I/O, and direct memory access (DMA), is essential for minimizing I/O overhead and achieving high throughput.
Deep Understanding of Distributed Systems
- Fault Modeling, Concurrency, Isolation, Consensus: Distributed systems pose unique challenges due to their decentralized nature. A deep understanding of fault modeling, concurrency, isolation, and consensus algorithms is crucial for building reliable and scalable distributed applications.
- Dynamo, HBase, Messaging Systems, Time, Clocks, Ordering of Events, Rate Control, Load Distribution: Studying distributed systems
- Design and Problem-Solving Skills: Great design and problem-solving skills with a strong basis for architecting performance, scalability, security, and reliability are essential for building high-quality software systems.
Conversant with the Internals of Systems
- Kafka, Cassandra/Scylla, Redis: Familiarity with the internals of popular distributed systems like Kafka, Cassandra/Scylla, and Redis is essential for troubleshooting issues, optimizing performance, and making informed decisions about their usage.
Working Knowledge of Hosting and Network Infrastructure (K8s)
- Kubernetes (K8s): Kubernetes is a leading container orchestration platform for managing and deploying containerized applications. Working knowledge of K8s is essential for building and deploying cloud-native applications.
Familiarity with Low-Level Network Protocols
- gRPC, HTTP/2, QUIC: Familiarity with low-level network protocols like gRPC, HTTP/2, and QUIC is beneficial for understanding the underlying mechanisms of network communication and optimizing application performance.
Troubleshooting and Performance Optimization
- Memory Issues, GC Tuning, Resource Leaks: Troubleshooting memory issues, GC tuning, and resource leaks is critical for maintaining application stability and performance. Expertise in these areas is essential for ensuring efficient resource utilization and preventing performance degradation.
Understanding of Branching, Build, Deployment, CI/CD Methodologies
- Branching, Build, Deployment, CI/CD: A good understanding of branching strategies, build tools, deployment processes, and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) methodologies is crucial for streamlining software development and ensuring rapid delivery of high-quality software.
Deep Understanding of OOAD and Algorithms
- OOAD and Efficient Data Structures: A deep understanding of object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) principles and efficient data structures is crucial for designing well-structured, maintainable, and performant software systems.
Cloud Technologies
- AWS/Google Cloud, Azure, OpenStack: Having knowledge of cloud technologies like AWS/Google Cloud, Azure, and OpenStack is beneficial for understanding cloud infrastructure and leveraging cloud services effectively.
Experience and Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience in software development and delivery.
- Experience in Java, Spring, REST, SQL (PostgreSQL or MySQL), Messaging systems, ELK, microservices, and full stack development (React or React Native or Flutter) is required. Demonstrated AI-native development experience — portfolio, open source, or work samples strongly preferred.
Equal Opportunity
Momentum is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities to apply and believe that a diverse workforce is key to our success
