Product Engineer; Agentic Identity & Governance,AI Platform Job Denver Colorado USA,Software Development

Position: Staff Product Engineer (Agentic Identity & Governance, AI Platform)

Identity is one of the two gates every enterprise puts in front of agentic AI before it touches production data — alongside observability, it is what turns a compelling demo into something a security team will actually approve
We already ship a per-data-plane OAuth 2.1 authorization server and token vault, delegated tool access, and support for external agent clients (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Copilot Studio) connecting in through governed paths
What comes next — how an agent acts on behalf of a human or another agent, how that delegation is proven and audited rather than assumed, and how Redpanda’s identity model federates with (rather than replaces) a customer’s existing IdP — is still being actively defined, inside Redpanda and across the industry
Standards for agent identity, delegated authorization, and on-behalf-of (OBO) access patterns are moving fast and are genuinely unsettled: this is a domain where the right technical bet made now becomes a durable competitive advantage, and the wrong one becomes years of migration pain
We’re looking for a Staff Software Engineer to own that direction end to end — AuthN, AuthZ, and OBO for agents — as a charter that spans both Agentic Data Plane and the Cloud platform it runs on
This is a high-autonomy, high-influence individual contributor role: you will set the technical bet Redpanda makes on an evolving landscape, then roll up your sleeves and build it, not just architect it and hand it off
Own the technical direction for AuthN, AuthZ, and OBO across Agentic Data Platform and the Cloud platform — deciding which emerging industry patterns Redpanda adopts, adapts, or deliberately avoids
Design and build the systems yourself: extending the OAuth 2.1 authorization server and token vault, delegated tool-access flows, and the cryptographic delegation model that lets an agent act on-behalf-of a human or another agent with a provable, auditable chain of authority
Partner closely with the identity-federation surface (Okta, Entra, Ping, and similar) so Redpanda enforces access locally while federating cleanly with what enterprise customers already run
Work cross-functionally with Agentic Data Plane and Cloud platform engineering, Security, and Product to make sure identity and delegation decisions hold up under real customer security review — not just internal design review
Represent Redpanda’s technical position on agent identity externally where relevant — in customer-facing security conversations, documentation, or engagement with emerging standards efforts
Ship to customers: this is an IC role measured on shipped, production-hardened systems, not just architecture proposals
Mentor and level up engineers across both Agentic Data Platform and Cloud platform on identity and access concepts, without formal management authority over them
Bring up difficult and/or systemic challenges and impediments to the attention of engineering leadership
Actively discuss strategic topics with peers and Directors to help shape engineering’s environment
Track progress, assess risks, and actively communicate contingency and mitigation plans for the initiatives you own

Benefits

Remote first:
We’re a remote-first company that puts humans first. We advocate for working wherever you’re most productive
Comprehensive healthcare:
We’ve got you covered with a mix of plans ranging from fully-paid medical, dental and vision, to premium coverage
401(k) matching:
Our 401(k) plans let you save for your future. And for our US and UK employees — we match
Unlimited PTO:
Take time to relax and recharge. Option to select region-specific holidays. Our vacation policy puts you in control
Home office & education reimbursement: $1,000 to gear-up your home office, $50 towards each wifi bill, $500 to…

Product Engineer; Agentic Identity & Governance, AI Platform