Software Engineer I - AI Generalist

Zello is a voice-first communication platform, powered by our industry-leading push-to-talk technology, to improve collaboration and productivity for desk-less workers. With over 175+ million users, we’re the #1 rated push-to-talk app in the world, delivering 9 billion messages a month. We serve frontline workers, connect people in times of crisis, and support first responders.

About the role

We're adding a Software Engineer I - AI Generalist to our Quality Engineering team to use AI to raise our overall quality posture and then flex across the engineering org wherever the leverage is highest. This is a rare entry point: you'll get exposure across testing, tooling, and product engineering, and use what you learn to shape where your career goes next.

After a successful first year, you will have:

• Stood up AI-assisted testing that measurably improved coverage or cycle time on workflows that used to be manual-only.
• Built at least one AI harness or tool that the QE or broader engineering teams actually adopted into their daily work.
• Shipped real code across more than one part of the stack, embedded with an engineering squad and trusted by it.
• Developed a clear sense of the domains that energize you — grounding a concrete conversation about your next step.

Responsibilities

• Use AI tools and agents to accelerate test creation, execution, and triage across Zello's clients and services.
• Do targeted manual testing where it matters, and turn repetitive manual checks into durable automation.
• Build small tools and AI harnesses that make the whole engineering org faster.
• Rotate into engineering squads (iOS, Android, Web, backend) to contribute code with agent assistance.
• Find quality gaps before they ship, and propose the fix rather than just filing the bug.
• Communicate clearly and concisely with a distributed team, surfacing blockers early.

Requirements

• You've built something real — a project, internship, hackathon entry, or open-source contribution — and can walk through what you made and why.
• You already use AI coding tools as a force multiplier and are eager to push how far they go.
• You write code in at least one language (Python, JS/TS, Java, Swift, Kotlin, or Go) and pick up new stacks fast.
• You go broad willingly — you'd rather touch four parts of the system than specialize in one on day one.
• You spot problems and move them toward done without waiting to be told each step.
• You make the people around you faster, and your writing is clear enough that others can act on it.
• You have 0–3 years of experience and are early in your career.

This Role Is Not

• A manual-only QA seat — automation and building are core to the job.
• A deep specialist track in one platform or one test framework.
• A senior or lateral hire — this is deliberately an entry point with room to grow fast.
• A role where you wait for a spec — you'll be trusted to find leverage and act on it.

Benefits

• Competitive pay and equity with significant upside.
• Intentionally designed benefits to encourage healthy and well-balanced employees.
• Flexible schedules and time off.
• Sabbatical after every five years of service.
• Ping-pong table and free snacks in our break room.