Staff Software Engineer - AI Developer Experience (AI-EX)
Navan
As the Staff Lead for AI Developer Experience (AI-Ex), you will own the technical strategy and vision for our next-generation internal developer platform. You will architect and lead the creation of a "Demo to Prod" toolchain that empowers engineers to move from prototype to production-ready Pull Request in minutes. This is a high-leverage role focused on delivering a categorical shift in engineering output—reimagining the interface between human intent and production systems, and setting the stage for a future where Product and Design partners contribute code rather than static specifications.
What You'll Do
- Own the multi-year technical roadmap for the AI-Ex toolchain. Define the "What" and "How" of our AI-native developer environment, from IDE integrations to automated CI/CD pipelines.
- Build the "Demo to Prod" pipeline. Lead the effort to bridge the gap between experimental snippets and hardened features. You will establish the patterns, reusable libraries, and systemic guardrails that ensure AI-assisted code meets our highest production standards.
- Lead the strategic "stretch goal" of democratizing the codebase. Architect the automated reviews, visual regression tests, and intent-validation systems that allow non-engineers to contribute high-quality code.
- Establish the organizational standards for AI-generated code. You will lead systemic experimentation—benchmarking models and tools against clear engineering metrics to ensure our capabilities compound over time.
- Work cross-functionally with AI Ops, Security, and Release Engineering. Ensure the AI-Ex vision is integrated into the company's core infrastructure. You will act as a primary consultant for leadership on the "sea changes" in AI developer capabilities.
This is a founding Staff IC role with immense organizational leverage. Your first 6 months will focus on unblocking our most expensive engineering resources by proving out high-impact productivity toolchains. As the platform matures, you will lead the cultural and technical expansion into "Multi-Role Development," fundamentally changing how our company builds software.
What We're Looking For
- AI systems expertise. You have a deep understanding of how emerging reasoning-dense models, agent skills, and agentic IDEs are reshaping how code is authored, tested, and reviewed. You have hands-on experience with LLM APIs, prompt engineering, agentic workflows, agent SDKs, and runtime/memory management for agentic systems. You don't just follow trends; you design workflows that put these capabilities to work in real engineering environments.
- Developer platform leadership experience. You have a proven track record as a Staff or Principal Engineer building the "connective tissue" of large-scale development environments—internal tools, IDE extensions, or CI/CD platforms that scale engineering impact.
- Systems thinking mindset. You treat LLMs as probabilistic components within a deterministic system. You are obsessed with observability, benchmarking, and building reproducible workflows that move beyond "prompt engineering" into "systems engineering."
- Proven ability to lead organizational change. You are a leader who thrives on changing technical cultures. You understand the "political" and technical risks of moving from specifications to code contributions and have the experience to navigate those challenges through superior architecture.
- Developer platform engineering expertise. You have experience across the stack—modern IDE frameworks, testing infrastructure, CI/CD systems (GitHub workflows, automation, CI/CD pipelines), automated review mechanisms, infrastructure and observability tooling, and containerization. Strong scripting and automation skills (Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, Java, or similar), with hands-on experience building developer tools for both backend and frontend environments.
The posted pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the compensation for this position and is subject to change based on business need. To determine a successful candidate’s starting pay, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location, an evaluation of the candidate’s skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity.
For roles with on-target-earnings (OTE), the pay range includes both base salary and target incentive compensation. Target incentive compensation for some roles may include a ramping draw period. Compensation is higher for those who exceed targets. Candidates may receive more information from the recruiter.
About Navan
Navan (Nasdaq: NAVN) is the leading all-in-one business travel, payments, and expense management platform that makes travel easy for frequent travelers. From finding flights and hotels to automating expense reconciliation, with 24/7 support along the way, Navan delivers an intuitive experience travelers love and finance teams rely on. See how Navan customers benefit and learn more at navan.com.
Culture of Excellence
Our team is our competitive edge — a high-performance group of smart, driven people committed to winning together. This dedication to excellence is why we’ve been recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In (2023–2026), a G2 Best Global Software Company (2025-2026), a CNBC Disruptor 50 (2022-2025), and a Forbes Fintech 50 (2022-2025). At Navan, we provide an environment where top talent excels, offering the autonomy and fast-paced trajectory needed to build a defining career and do the best work of your life.
Our Benefits
Navan offers a comprehensive benefits program designed to support your well-being, financial security, and life outside of work. Our benefits, thoughtfully tailored by country to meet local needs, include healthcare coverage, insurance offerings, and wellness resources for you and your family.
We support long-term financial growth through retirement savings programs and opportunities to participate in our equity plans, so you can share in Navan’s success. To promote balance, we offer flexible time off, country-specific holidays, and paid parental leave for all new parents. Additional benefits include connectivity and commuting support, mental health resources, and exclusive travel-related perks. Wherever you’re based, our benefits evolve with you.
Workplace Policy
Navan believes in the value of in-person connections, whether that’s sitting down to have lunch with one another, taking a walking 1:1, or collaborating in a room together. The connections forged through face-to-face interactions improve company culture and drive business results. Navan invests in global office spaces — in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, among others — that feel welcoming. In-office perks such as company-provided lunches and happy hours create a strong team environment to help you do your best work. Our employees work from the office four days a week. Please expect this policy for all roles that are tied to an office.
Equal Opportunity
Navan is an equal opportunity employer. We make all employment decisions based solely on merit. We provide equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees without discrimination on the bases of race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We prohibit any such discrimination or harassment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring.
Accommodations
Navan complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act, and all applicable state or local law. Navan will reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with a disability in connection with applications for employment as required by law.
If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, you are welcome to email us at [email protected].
Candidate Privacy Notice
Please review Navan's Candidate Privacy Notice here.
Job Search Best Practices
We have been made aware of recruitment scams involving fraudulent attempts to lure job seekers into sending money or personal information in return for fake job offers or coerce them into purchasing equipment by electronic funds transfer (Zelle, Venmo, etc.) Legitimate Navan recruiters will never ask for money in any recruitment or onboarding activities. All available job openings at Navan will be posted on Navan’s website and all Navan recruiters will be reachable through an email address ending in “@navan.com” or “@navan.tech” or "@talent.navan.com".