Software Engineer, Voice Agents / AI - Deepgram for Restaurants

📋 Description

• • Deepgram is at the forefront of the burgeoning trillion-dollar Voice AI economy, providing cutting-edge real-time APIs for speech-to-text (STT), text-to-speech (TTS), and enabling the creation of production-grade voice agents at an unprecedented scale. Our technology powers voice offerings for over 200,000 developers and more than 1,300 organizations, including industry leaders like Twilio, Cloudflare, Sierra, Decagon, Vapi, Daily, Cresta, Granola, and Jack in the Box. Deepgram's voice-native foundation models are accessible via cloud APIs or as self-hosted and on-premises software, delivering unparalleled accuracy, minimal latency, and exceptional cost efficiency. With a recent Series C funding round led by top global investors and strategic partners, Deepgram has processed over 50,000 years of audio and transcribed more than 1 trillion words, solidifying our position as the world's foremost expert in voice technology.
• • We operate with an AI-first mindset, where the use and comfort with AI are not optional but fundamental to our operations, innovation, and performance metrics. Every Deepgram team member is expected to actively utilize and experiment with advanced AI tools, integrating them into their daily work and even building custom AI solutions. Success is measured by the effective application of AI to achieve results, and consistent, creative adoption of the latest AI capabilities is paramount. Candidates must be adept at quickly adopting new models and methodologies, seamlessly integrating AI into their workflows, and continuously pushing the boundaries of what these technologies can accomplish.
• • Our operational rhythm is dictated by the rapid pace of AI development. Change is constant, and your day-to-day responsibilities will evolve just as quickly. This role is ideal for individuals who thrive on experimentation, adaptation, quick thinking, and continuous learning, rather than those seeking a highly prescriptive, traditional 9-to-5 environment.
• • As a Software Engineer for Deepgram for Restaurants, you will be an integral part of a new, vertically focused business unit dedicated to tackling the most complex challenges within the restaurant industry. You will work in close collaboration with Deepgram’s core research teams and directly engage with leading restaurant enterprises and technology partners to identify and resolve high-impact problems.
• • Initial focus areas for this role include developing ultra-robust Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems capable of performing in noisy, multi-microphone environments; building high-accuracy, menu-aware ordering agents for drive-thru and phone interactions; creating real-time analytics and operational intelligence solutions; and ensuring deeper, more reliable integrations with in-restaurant hardware. We have already established partnerships with several prominent restaurant brands and are actively expanding these collaborations.
• • Your responsibilities will encompass the design, development, and maintenance of scalable, high-performance backend systems crucial for our automated order-taking platform. You will collaborate closely with the team to ensure the seamless integration of our backend services with our advanced ML models and client devices.
• • You will be responsible for monitoring and optimizing the performance of our backend systems in production, ensuring reliability and efficiency. A key aspect of this role involves building and maintaining robust integrations with third-party restaurant software systems, including Point of Sale (POS), loyalty programs, payment gateways, and customer data platforms.
• • We expect you to implement and champion best practices in system design, code quality, and testing methodologies to guarantee a reliable, secure, and maintainable system architecture. You will play a critical role in optimizing our AI pipeline to enhance performance in challenging audio environments, robustly handle ambiguous customer requests, and rapidly scale to accommodate new menus and operational demands.
• • This position offers a unique opportunity to push the very boundaries of Large Language Models (LLMs) and voice AI technology, contributing to solving one of the technology industry’s historically elusive challenges. You will also be tasked with running experiments to validate the product impact of new functionalities, directly influencing our product roadmap and success.
• • You will contribute to building and scaling the infrastructure that powers voice-based interactions in the fast-paced restaurant environment, ensuring a seamless and efficient experience for both customers and businesses. This includes working on features that enhance customer satisfaction, improve operational efficiency, and drive revenue growth for our restaurant partners.