I stopped refreshing job boards. An agent sends me the 8 that matter.

Looking for a job is one of the worst recurring scrolls there is. You open the same five tabs — a startup board, two big-company careers pages, an aggregator that's 70% reposts — and you do it again tomorrow because something might have changed. It's a feed. You're the algorithm. It's exhausting and it doesn't even work that well.

So I described an agent in one sentence: every Monday at 8am, scan the top startup and AI-company careers pages and email me a ranked digest of senior backend/AI roles — salary, location, and one line on why it fits. That was the whole spec. Calafia picked the tools, wrote the agent, put it on a schedule, and it now does the boring part on a loop.

Why an agent beats the scroll here

A job board shows you everything and makes you filter. An agent inverts that: it reads everything and shows you the few that clear your bar. It also remembers what it already sent, so Monday's email leads with what's genuinely new instead of the same OpenAI listing for the third week running. That's the difference between a feed and an assistant — the feed wants your time; the assistant gives it back.

The thing I didn't expect: the why-it-fits line is what makes it usable. "Build the OpenAI API that powers most AI apps — direct API-design + dev-tools focus" is a decision in eight words. I either care or I don't, and I move on. No 20-minute rabbit hole.

See it yourself

Below is a real digest it actually produced — not a mockup, not cherry-picked. Ranked roles, real salary bands, live apply links. If you want this for your own search, copy it and change one sentence (your stack, your salary floor, your cities). It'll run every Monday and you can close those five tabs for good.

What it actually sent

Job Hunt — 8 new matches this week

Here are this week's top job matches for senior backend/AI engineering roles (posted within last 14 days):

🔥 TOP MATCHES

1. OpenAI · Senior Staff Backend Software Engineer, B2B Applications · San Francisco

💰 $230K-$385K + equity

📍 San Francisco (likely remote-friendly given OpenAI's policies)

✅ Build APIs and infrastructure for enterprise AI products, work with research team on next-gen models. 9+ years experience required. Perfect fit for backend + AI product focus.

🔗 https://openai.com/careers/senior-staff-backend-software-engineer-b2b-applications-san-francisco/

2. OpenAI · Senior Staff Backend Software Engineer, API Platform · San Francisco

💰 $230K-$385K + equity

📍 San Francisco (likely remote-friendly)

✅ Design and build the OpenAI API that powers most AI apps. Focus on API design taste and developer experience. Direct AI/dev tools focus.

🔗 https://openai.com/careers/senior-staff-backend-software-engineer-api-platform-san-francisco/

3. Anthropic · Staff + Sr. Software Engineer, Inference · SF/NYC/Seattle

💰 Likely $200K-$350K+ (typical Anthropic range)

📍 San Francisco / New York / Seattle (remote-friendly options available)

✅ Build inference systems for Claude. Core AI infrastructure, staff-level role, top-tier AI safety company.

🔗 https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/anthropic/jobs/4951696008

4. Anthropic · Research Engineer, Universes · Remote-Friendly US

💰 Likely $180K-$300K+

📍 Remote-Friendly (Travel Required) | SF/Seattle/NYC

✅ Build AI agent environments and systems. Explicit remote-US option with top AI research team.

🔗 https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/anthropic/jobs/5061517008

5. Flock Safety (YC S17) · Senior Software Engineer, Backend Integrations · Remote US

💰 $170K-$250K

📍 Remote US (Atlanta-based)

✅ YC company in public safety/AI space. Backend integrations focus, senior level, fully remote US.

🔗 https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/flock-safety/jobs/YME3UnJ-senior-software-engineer-backend-integrations

6. Naïve (YC P25) · Member of Technical Staff · Remote US / SF

💰 $185K-$220K

📍 San Francisco / US / Remote

✅ "Autonomous Company Infrastructure" - AI agents for operations. Fresh YC company, founding team opportunity.

🔗 https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/naive/jobs/P6pmlZO-member-of-technical-staff

7. Clearly AI (YC S24) · Technical Implementation Lead - Security · Remote US

💰 $125K-$175K

📍 Seattle / Remote US/CA

✅ Automate security reviews with AI. Backend focus, YC company, remote-friendly.

🔗 https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/clearly-ai/jobs/zdixMrj-technical-implementation-lead-security

8. Numeral (YC W23) · Software Engineer (Product) · Remote US

💰 $170K-$250K

📍 HQ / Remote US

✅ AI-native sales tax solution. Product engineering, full-stack/backend, AI-first approach.

🔗 https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/numeral/jobs/xcF2zhm-software-engineer-product

---

NOTES:

• OpenAI and Anthropic roles are the strongest matches - top AI companies, senior+ level, backend/infrastructure focus

• Multiple YC startups with AI/agent focus (Naïve, Clearly AI, Numeral)

• All roles posted within last 2 weeks based on search results

• Most have explicit remote-US options or are with companies known for remote flexibility

• Salary ranges align with senior+ expectations ($170K-$385K)

Other companies checked but no matching senior backend roles posted recently:

  • Vercel (rate limited during search)
  • Hugging Face (only 4 open roles currently, none matching criteria)
  • HN Who's Hiring May 2026 (thread exists but rate limited during detailed extraction)

Next week I'll continue monitoring these sources plus dig deeper into the HN thread.

—

Job Hunt Agent

Run: Thursday, May 14, 2026

Open on calafia.ai