Staff Software Engineer - AI/ML

What you get to do in this role:

The Advanced Technology Group (ATG) at ServiceNow is a customer-focused innovation group building intelligent software and smart user experiences using existing and latest advanced technologies to enable end-to-end, industry-leading work experiences for customers. We are a group of researchers, applied scientists, engineers, and product managers with a dual mission. We build and evolve the AI platform, and partner with teams to build products and end-to-end AI-powered work experiences. In equal measure, we lay the foundations, research, experiment, and de-risk AI technologies that unlock new work experiences in the future.

You will play a major part in building AI and Machine Learning (ML) solutions that transform the user experience and workflow efficiency of enterprise services. Traditional analytical tools tend to require a technically knowledgeable user to produce even simple results. We are taking a completely fresh approach with the expectation that any user, regardless of technical knowledge, can use the AI/ML solutions we develop to operate the services in the enterprise setting in a thoughtful and scalable manner. We are just getting started with our early-adopter customers and we need your help in building and making available an amazing range of solutions to our 5k+ enterprise customers around the world.

• Design and develop scalable, maintainable, and reusable software components with a strong emphasis on performance and reliability. 
• Drive the architecture and implementation of GenAI-driven features across our products. 
• Design and build scalable and reusable platform services that leverage LLMs to power user experiences. 
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, research, and platform teams to translate business goals into GenAI solutions. 
• Define best practices for prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and evaluating LLM performance across different use cases. 
• Serve as a thought leader in Generative AI adoption, guiding teams through design patterns, performance trade-offs, and ethical AI considerations. 
• Collaborate with product managers to translate requirements into well-architected solutions, owning features from design through delivery 
• Build intuitive and extensible user experiences using modern UI frameworks, ensuring flexibility for customer-specific needs. 
• Contribute to the design and implementation of new products and features while enhancing existing product capabilities.  
• Integrate automated testing into development workflows to ensure consistent quality across releases. 
• Participate in design and code reviews ensuring best practices in performance, maintainability, and testability.  
• Develop comprehensive test strategies covering functional, regression, integration and performance aspects 
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement by sharing best practices in engineering and quality  
• Promote a culture of engineering craftsmanship, knowledge-sharing, and thoughtful quality practices across the team. 
• Build integrations with third-party applications using their cutting-edge frameworks. 

To be successful in this role you have:

• Experience in leveraging critical thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision-making, or problem-solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI’s potential impact on the function or industry.  
• Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 6 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years experience; or equivalent experience. 
• Proficiency in Java or similar object-oriented languages. 
• Hands-on experience with GenAI technologies, including working with LLMs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral, etc.) 
• Strong understanding of prompt engineering techniques and experience in prompt tuning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), or fine-tuning LLMs for domain-specific applications. 
• Strong networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, TLS/mTLS, routing, load balancing) and hands-on experience operating Kubernetes in production environments.
• Proficiency in OpenTelemetry-based observability, including metrics, logs, and distributed tracing (instrumentation and troubleshooting).
• Ability to critically evaluate and integrate GenAI into workflows, decision-making, and customer-facing capabilities. 
• Experience with modern front-end frameworks such as Angular, React, or Vue. 
• Strong knowledge of data structures, algorithms, object-oriented design, design patterns, and performance optimization  
• Familiarity with automated testing frameworks (e.g., JUnit, Selenium, TestNG) and integrating tests into CI/CD pipelines 
• Understanding software quality principles including reliability, observability, and production readiness. 
• Ability to troubleshoot complex systems and optimize performance across the stack. 
• Experience with AI-powered tools or workflows, including validation of datasets, model predictions, and inference consistency. 
• Comfort with development tools such as IDEs, debuggers, profilers, source control, and Unix-based systems 

Nice-to-have:  

• ServiceNow platform knowledge  

• Proficiency in OpenTelemetry-based observability, including metrics, logs, and distributed tracing (instrumentation and troubleshooting).

Why Join Us: 

• Build and deliver high-impact software that powers digital experiences for millions of users. 
• Collaborate in a culture that values craftsmanship, quality, and innovation. 
• Work symbiotically with AI and automation tools that enhance engineering excellence and drive product reliability. 
• Be part of a culture that encourages innovation, continuous learning, and shared success. 

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $173,100 - $303,000, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

It all started in sunny San Diego, California in 2004 when a visionary engineer, Fred Luddy, saw the potential to transform how we work. Fast forward to today — ServiceNow stands as a global market leader, bringing innovative AI-enhanced technology to over 8,100 customers, including 85% of the Fortune 500®. Our intelligent cloud-based platform seamlessly connects people, systems, and processes to empower organizations to find smarter, faster, and better ways to work. But this is just the beginning of our journey. Join us as we pursue our purpose to make the world work better for everyone.