Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.
In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. We’ve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.
Why join Handshake now:
Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue
About Handshake AI
Human data is the core infrastructure to AI advancement. Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities with various data-intensive post-training techniques. We believe that data spend for AI training will increase by 3-5x in the next few years and continue for much longer as models take on new domains. Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale.
We’re hiring an Associate Software Engineer to help build our Reinforcement Learning Environments (RLE) platform—the systems where frontier AI models learn to complete real-world work.
This is a hands-on, growth-oriented role where you’ll contribute to building core systems, learn quickly from senior engineers, and gain exposure to cutting-edge AI infrastructure.
Location: San Francisco, CA (in-office, 5 days/week)
What You’ll DoContribute to building RLE environments and supporting infrastructure
Implement features across backend systems and frontend interfaces
Work with senior engineers to improve system reliability and performance
Help build modular workflow domains (e.g., engineering, finance, legal)
Support data pipelines that power model training and evaluation
0–2 years of experience (internships or full-time) in software engineering
Familiarity with backend development and APIs
Working knowledge of ReactJS and TypeScript
Understanding of databases (e.g., PostgreSQL) and basic system design
Eagerness to learn and operate in fast-paced environments
Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, GCP)
Experience with data pipelines or ML-adjacent systems
Interest in AI/ML or simulation systems
Ships reliable features that improve RLE functionality
Grows into owning small components independently
Contributes to faster iteration and better developer velocity
Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life.
The below benefits are for full-time US employees.
🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coachin
💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
💻 Office: Commuting support, free lunch, and gym in our SF office
🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses
Skills Required
- 0-2 years of experience (internships or full-time) in software engineering
- Familiarity with backend development and APIs
- Working knowledge of ReactJS and TypeScript
- Understanding of databases (e.g., PostgreSQL) and basic system design
- Eagerness to learn and operate in fast-paced environments
- Exposure to cloud platforms (AWS, GCP)
- Experience with data pipelines or ML-adjacent systems
- Interest in AI/ML or simulation systems
Handshake Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Handshake and has not been reviewed or approved by Handshake.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off practices include flexible/unlimited PTO, companywide recharge weeks in summer and winter, plus additional volunteer and personal holiday time. Feedback suggests sabbaticals and coordinated breaks help people actually use rest time.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave is described as extended for primary and secondary caregivers, and family-oriented policies are highlighted. Fertility and family-support resources are referenced in public materials.
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Healthcare Strength — Core coverage spans medical, dental, and vision, with added mental-health resources and wellness programming. Feedback suggests these supports contribute meaningfully to overall wellbeing.
Handshake Insights
What We Do
Handshake is the #1 place to launch a career with no connections, experience, or luck required. The platform connects up-and-coming talent with 650,000+ employers - from Fortune 500 companies like Google, Nike, and Target to thousands of public school districts, healthcare systems, and nonprofits. Earlier this year, we announced our $200M Series F funding round. This Series F fundraise and new valuation of $3.5B will fuel Handshake’s next phase of growth and propel our mission to help more people start, restart, and jumpstart their careers.
Why Work With Us
How someone builds their career is foundational. We believe in working with the higher education community to help students build meaningful careers. We are at the nexus of universities, students and employers— and we’re able to connect the very best pieces of each side. We’re proud to create a community where students can be more successful.
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