IT Systems Engineer
Cartesia
IT Systems Engineer
Cartesia
Develops foundation models with subquadratic architectures
Our mission is to architect AI that learns from and interacts with the world like humans do.
We're pioneering the model architectures that will make this possible. Our founding team met as PhDs at the Stanford AI Lab, where we invented State Space Models or SSMs, a new primitive for training efficient, large-scale foundation models. Our team combines deep expertise in model innovation and systems engineering paired with a design-minded product engineering team to build and ship cutting edge models and experiences.
We're funded by leading investors at Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with Factory, Conviction, A Star, General Catalyst, SV Angel, Databricks and others. We're fortunate to have the support of many amazing advisors, and 90+ angels across many industries, including the world's foremost experts in AI.
About the Role
We’re hiring an IT Systems Engineer to build the IT foundation at Cartesia. You’ll design and ship the systems behind device management, identity and access, internal tooling, and IT policy, and you’ll own the day-to-day support that keeps the company running. We want someone who treats IT as an engineering problem: when a request comes in twice, you build a system so it never comes in a third time. You’ll use AI agents to build those systems, from writing and testing automation to handling everyday requests and running larger workflows, and you’ll help set the standard for how we use agents safely across IT. The systems you put in place now will become the foundation of IT as we grow. This role is based in San Francisco.
Your Impact
Be the go-to person for employee IT issues, resolving problems quickly and fixing root causes so they don’t come back.
Build internal tools and self-service workflows that turn recurring requests into one-time fixes.
Use AI agents to automate IT work, from triaging everyday requests to running multi-step workflows, with clear permission boundaries and human approval where it matters.
Partner with internal teams on the systems they rely on: manage access and build integrations that remove manual work.
Write and maintain IT policies, and build the technical controls that enforce them.
Keep an inventory of the company’s apps, admins, and vendors, and manage the SaaS stack as it grows.
What You Bring
5+ years in IT or systems engineering, including time as one of the first IT hires at a growing company.
Hands-on experience running IT processes across device management (Rippling), identity and access (Google Workspace, Okta, or similar), and compliance (Vanta), including the endpoint security that ties them together.
Experience owning the full breadth of IT at a small company, from hardware and vendor budgets to office networking and supporting technical teams like researchers and engineers.
Strong Python (or similar) skills for automating IT work through SaaS APIs, plus experience managing configuration as code (e.g., Terraform). You can show us something you built.
Comfort building with AI coding agents, and good judgment about where they need guardrails.
A user-centric approach to support and the ability to explain technical issues in plain language.
Strong self-direction. You set your own priorities, ship early, and document as you go.
Nice-To-Haves
Experience building IT at an early-stage AI company.
Experience using AI agents to automate IT work, with permission boundaries and verification built in.
Note: Cartesia participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with Form I-9 information to confirm employment eligibility after hire.
🏢 In-office policy: We’re an in-person team based out of offices in 🇺🇸 San Francisco, 🇬🇧 London and 🇮🇳 Bangalore. We love being in the office, hanging out together, and learning from each other every day.
🌎 Visa sponsorship: We provide visa sponsorship support and assess each circumstance on a case-by-case basis. However, visa sponsorship is dependent on many factors, including the role you are applying for, and the location you are going to be based, and so we can't always guarantee success. Your Recruiter will work with you to understand your visa sponsorship needs from the first call.
🚢 We ship fast. All of our work is novel and cutting edge, and execution speed is paramount. We have a high bar, and we don’t sacrifice quality or design along the way.
🤝 We support each other. We have an open & inclusive culture that’s focused on giving everyone the resources they need to succeed.
💰 Compensation Competitive base salary alongside attractive equity package.
🩺 Health Insurance Fully covered medical insurance along with dental and vision for you and your family.
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Parental Leave 9 weeks paternity & 12 weeks maternity leave
🏦 401(k)
🚆 Commuter Allowance A monthly stipend to help you get to and from the office.
🏖️ Flexible PTO Take as much time as you need to recharge your batteries.
🍲 Meals & Snacks Lunch, dinner and plenty of snacks, provided daily.
🦖 Your own personal Yoshi
Cartesia is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.
Cartesia.ai develops advanced AI foundation models using new subquadratic architectures and state space models. Its models are designed as underlying systems that can be adapted for many applications and are released in part under open-source licenses (e.g., Apache 2.0), with licensing, partnerships, and consulting as revenue streams. The company’s products work by providing large, adaptable AI models that clients can license or customize for specific needs, enabling faster processing and efficient inference compared to traditional designs. Cartesia differentiates itself from competitors by using subquadratic, state space approaches instead of relying mainly on standard Transformer models, and by combining open-source releases with enterprise partnerships. The goal is to help businesses and research institutions access powerful, adaptable AI capabilities while building a community around its technology and sustaining revenue through licensing and services.
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