Job description

About Us Blackletter is reinventing legal services from first principles. We pair frontier automation with top-tier lawyers. This allows our firm to deliver elite legal services with fast turnaround, predictable pricing, and a transformed experience for our clients and for the lawyers doing the work. Early traction has been strong. We are serving a growing roster of clients across venture financing, commercial, corporate, and employment, and we are backed by leading venture investors. Our founding team brings experience from frontier AI labs, leading law firms, and some of the top law schools in North America. The most impactful firm in the world ten years from now will not be one founded in the 1900s, or the 1800s. It was founded in 2026. We are a small team making our earliest hires, with a significant opportunity to shape not only our company, but the entire legal profession. The Role We’re looking for a Software Engineer with 5+ years of relevant experience to help build our legal AI platform. You’ll work across frontend and backend development, turning complex problems into software that is reliable and easy for lawyers to use. This role has a high degree of ownership. You will notice what needs to be done, ask good questions, make thoughtful decisions with incomplete information, and follow through. The person in this role will be extensively shaping the work, not just implementing a specification. What You Will Do • Build and improve product features across the frontend and backend. • Create intuitive, responsive interfaces that make complex work easier. • Design clear data models, reliable APIs, and integrations between systems. • Build robust data pipelines and improve the reliability and performance of our software. • Work directly with users to understand their needs and translate feedback into practical improvements. • Own work from initial problem definition through implementation, testing, deployment, and iteration. • Make pragmatic technical decisions that balance speed, quality, security, and maintainability. Who We Are Looking For • 5+ years of professional experience in software engineering or a closely related role, with meaningful experience shipping full-stack applications. • Strong frontend skills with modern frameworks such as React, with an eye for usability and polish. • Strong backend fundamentals, including API design, relational databases, data modeling, and integrations. • Experience designing maintainable systems and making sound architectural tradeoffs. • High agency and ownership: a track record of identifying problems, driving solutions, and delivering useful outcomes. • Product judgment and clear communication, including the ability to work effectively with nontechnical users. • A practical approach to testing, observability, and debugging across the stack. • Experience working with modern AI-based engineering tools to complete work. Helpful, but not required: • Experience building AI-powered/agentic products. • Python experience and familiarity with cloud infrastructure. • Experience working on complex business software or in an early-stage company • Legal-industry experience isn’t required. Compensation and Structure Competitive salary plus equity. Compensation is commensurate with experience. This role is fully remote within the United States or Canada. Why Us Your users are your colleagues. You’ll see how your work is used, hear where it falls short, and have the opportunity to improve it directly. As part of a small engineering team, you’ll help shape both the product and the systems behind it, with ownership over work that changes how the we deliver legal services. We encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn’t match every item above. Blackletter welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. For recruitment accommodations, contact contact@blackletterfirm.com.

Requirements

Must-haves

Build and improve product features across the frontend and backend.
Create intuitive, responsive interfaces that make complex work easier.
Design clear data models, reliable APIs, and integrations between systems.
Build robust data pipelines and improve the reliability and performance of our software.
Work directly with users to understand their needs and translate feedback into practical improvements.
Own work from initial problem definition through implementation, testing, deployment, and iteration.
Make pragmatic technical decisions that balance speed, quality, security, and maintainability.
Who We Are Looking For
5+ years of professional experience in software engineering or a closely related role, with meaningful experience shipping full-stack applications.
Strong frontend skills with modern frameworks such as React, with an eye for usability and polish.
Strong backend fundamentals, including API design, relational databases, data modeling, and integrations.
Experience designing maintainable systems and making sound architectural tradeoffs.
High agency and ownership: a track record of identifying problems, driving solutions, and delivering useful outcomes.
Product judgment and clear communication, including the ability to work effectively with nontechnical users.
A practical approach to testing, observability, and debugging across the stack.
Experience working with modern AI-based engineering tools to complete work.
Experience building AI-powered/agentic products.
Python experience and familiarity with cloud infrastructure.
Experience working on complex business software or in an early-stage company
Legal-industry experience isn’t required.
Compensation and Structure
Competitive salary plus equity. Compensation is commensurate with experience. This role is fully remote within the United States or Canada.
We encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn’t match every item above. Blackletter welcomes applicants from all backgrounds. For recruitment accommodations, contact contact@blackletterfirm.com.

Nice-to-haves

None flagged.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

aireactapipython

Platform: gem
Effort: medium