Sr. Staff Engineer
- AI Enablement & Engineering Excellence
- Hybrid GEICO
- 3.1 Palo Alto, CA Job Details Full-time $130,000
- $260,000 a year 17 hours ago Benefits Health insurance Tuition reimbursement Adoption assistance 401(k) 6% Match Qualifications AI models Software engineering Tooling System design Machine learning projects Prompt engineering Production systems Design engineering Systems engineering Developer tools Design (software development lifecycle) Providing code feedback Full Job Description At GEICO, we offer a rewarding career where your ambitions are met with endless possibilities.
Every day we honor our iconic brand by offering quality coverage to millions of customers and being there when they need us most. We thrive through relentless innovation to exceed our customers' expectations while making a real impact for our company through our shared purpose. When you join our company, we want you to feel valued, supported and proud to work here. That's why we offer
The GEICO Pledge:
Great Company, Great Culture, Great Rewards and Great Careers.
Job Description :
We are looking for a Sr. Staff Engineer to define how AI changes the way our engineering organization builds software. This is a hands-on technical leadership role for someone with deep expertise in AI-assisted development who knows how to scale it responsibly across a large engineering org and who can strengthen the engineering foundation required to do it well. You will own our AI adoption strategy end-to-end: evaluating and selecting tooling, designing integration patterns, building internal playbooks, and working directly with engineers to embed AI into the development lifecycle in ways that produce real, measurable outcomes. Engineering excellence (standards, architecture, process) is the platform you will build to make that adoption stick.
Key Responsibilities :
AI Strategy and Adoption Own the org-wide strategy for AI in the software development lifecycle: where to apply it, how to evaluate it, and how to scale what works. Pilot and operationalize AI tooling across the SDLC, including AI pair programming, LLM-assisted code review, automated test generation, intelligent observability, and agentic development workflows. Define adoption frameworks that account for productivity, code quality, security, cost, and responsible use, not just rollout logistics. Establish metrics that measure AI's actual impact on engineering velocity, quality, and developer experience, and report findings to engineering leadership. Bring well-reasoned tooling recommendations to engineering leadership, not just a summary of what exists in the market. Align engineering AI adoption with the broader organizational AI journey, including approved vendors, enterprise policies, and coordination with Security and Legal. AI System Design and Technical Depth Provide architectural guidance for engineering teams building systems that integrate LLMs, AI agents, or ML models into production software. Define engineering standards for AI-integrated development tooling: prompt engineering practices, evaluation frameworks, latency and cost tradeoffs, and observability for AI tools where outputs may vary. Work hands-on with engineers on hard problems, including reviewing AI-integrated system designs, writing reference implementations, and unblocking adoption at the code level. Engineering Excellence as an Enabler Identify and close the engineering gaps that slow AI adoption: insufficient test coverage, brittle CI/CD pipelines, poor observability, and unclear code ownership. Define and strengthen the engineering standards that make AI tooling more effective, treating this as a prerequisite to scaling AI well rather than a separate initiative. Drive architectural consistency across teams, so AI-generated code and AI-assisted workflows do not introduce new forms of technical debt. Technical Leadership and Influence Serve as the primary technical authority on AI-assisted development across the engineering organization. Partner with engineering leads to embed AI practices into team workflows, onboarding, and code review culture as a sustained capability, not a one-time workshop. Influence engineering roadmaps and toolchain decisions at the director and VP level through clear, evidence-based technical recommendations. Produce internal technical references (ADRs, integration guides, evaluation scorecards) that teams can act on independently.
Qualifications Required:
10+ years of software engineering experience, with 3+ years focused on AI/ML tooling, LLM integration, or AI-assisted development workflows. Hands-on, production-level experience with AI developer tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or LLM-powered code review and test generation.
Deep understanding of LLM fundamentals:
prompt engineering, context management, fine-tuning tradeoffs, and evaluation of AI tools used in the development workflow. Experience designing and shipping AI-integrated systems at scale, with a clear understanding of cost, latency, and quality tradeoffs. Demonstrated ability to drive technical adoption across large engineering organizations without direct authority. Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to make AI technical tradeoffs legible to both engineers and senior leaders.
Preferred:
Prior experience in a principal or staff-level IC role with cross-org scope. Experience building internal AI enablement programs, developer experience platforms, or AI governance frameworks. Contributions to AI/ML open-source projects or technical writing on AI engineering topics. Background in platform engineering or developer tooling with an AI focus. Why Join Us? Be the primary technical voice shaping how AI transforms software delivery across a large engineering organization. Work at the intersection of cutting-edge AI tooling and real engineering systems, with the scope and autonomy to drive both strategy and execution. Leave a lasting impact on how hundreds of engineers build and ship software every day. Annual Salary $130,000.00
00 The above annual salary range is a general guideline. Multiple factors are taken into consideration to arrive at the final hourly rate/ annual salary to be offered to the selected candidate. Factors include, but are not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the role, the selected candidate's work experience, education and training, the work location as well as market and business considerations. GEICO will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position.
The GEICO Pledge:
Great Company:
At GEICO, we help our customers through life's twists and turns. Our mission is to protect people when they need it most and we're constantly evolving to stay ahead of their needs. We're an iconic brand that thrives on innovation, exceeding our customers' expectations and enabling our collective success. From day one, you'll take on exciting challenges that help you grow and collaborate with dynamic teams who want to make a positive impact on people's lives.
Great Careers:
We offer a career where you can learn, grow, and thrive through personalized development programs, created with your career
- and your potential
- in mind.
You'll have access to industry leading training, certification assistance, career mentorship and coaching with supportive leaders at all levels.
Great Culture:
We foster an inclusive culture of shared success, rooted in integrity, a bias for action and a winning mindset. Grounded by our core values, we have an an established culture of caring, inclusion, and belonging, that values different perspectives. Our teams are led by dynamic, multi-faceted teams led by supportive leaders, driven by performance excellence and unified under a shared purpose. As part of our culture, we also offer employee engagement and recognition programs that reward the positive impact our work makes on the lives of our customers.
Great Rewards:
We offer compensation and benefits built to enhance your physical well-being, mental and emotional health and financial future. Comprehensive Total Rewards program that offers personalized coverage tailor-made for you and your family's overall well-being. Financial benefits including market-competitive compensation; a 401K savings plan vested from day one that offers a 6% match; performance and recognition-based incentives; and tuition assistance. Access to additional benefits like mental healthcare as well as fertility and adoption assistance. Supports flexibility
- We provide workplace flexibility as well as our GEICO Flex program, which offers the ability to work from anywhere in the US for up to four weeks per year.
The equal employment opportunity policy of the GEICO Companies provides for a fair and equal employment opportunity for all associates and job applicants regardless of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status, disability or genetic information, in compliance with applicable federal, state and local law. GEICO hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled. GEICO reasonably accommodates qualified individuals with disabilities to enable them to receive equal employment opportunity and/or perform the essential functions of the job, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship to the Company. This applies to all applicants and associates. GEICO also provides a work environment in which each associate is able to be productive and work to the best of their ability. We do not condone or tolerate an atmosphere of intimidation or harassment. We expect and require the cooperation of all associates in maintaining an atmosphere free from discrimination and harassment with mutual respect by and for all associates and applicants.