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Staff Backend Engineer (sourcing test)

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Zero

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Staff Backend Engineer to join our engineering team and play a pivotal role in shaping the technical foundation of our platform. In this senior individual contributor role, you will design and build scalable, high-performance systems that power our products and serve our users reliably at scale.

As a Staff Backend Engineer, you will lead critical technical architecture decisions, drive engineering excellence across the organization, and serve as a technical mentor to engineers at all levels. This is an opportunity to make a significant impact on both our technology stack and engineering culture.

Key Responsibilities

  • Design, develop, and maintain scalable backend systems and distributed architectures that handle high-volume traffic and complex data processing requirements
  • Lead technical architecture decisions and provide strategic direction for backend infrastructure, ensuring alignment with business objectives and engineering best practices
  • Drive the design and implementation of robust APIs and microservices that enable seamless integration across internal and external systems
  • Mentor and guide engineers across the team, conducting code reviews, sharing knowledge, and fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous improvement
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including product managers, frontend engineers, and DevOps to deliver end-to-end solutions
  • Establish and champion engineering standards, best practices, and development processes that improve code quality, system reliability, and team productivity
  • Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, optimize system efficiency, and ensure high availability and fault tolerance
  • Evaluate and introduce new technologies, tools, and frameworks that enhance our technical capabilities and developer experience
  • Participate in on-call rotations and incident response, leading post-mortem analyses and implementing preventive measures

Required Qualifications

  • 7+ years of professional software engineering experience with a strong focus on backend development
  • Deep expertise in designing and building distributed systems with proven experience handling scale, concurrency, and fault tolerance
  • Strong proficiency in one or more backend programming languages such as Python, Java, Go, or similar
  • Extensive experience designing and implementing RESTful APIs and/or GraphQL services with a focus on performance, security, and developer experience
  • Solid understanding of cloud infrastructure and services (AWS, GCP, or Azure), including compute, storage, networking, and managed services
  • Proven track record of leading complex technical projects from conception through delivery, with demonstrated impact on engineering outcomes
  • Experience with database technologies including both SQL and NoSQL solutions, with understanding of data modeling, query optimization, and scaling strategies
  • Strong knowledge of software architecture patterns, design principles, and system design best practices
  • Excellent problem-solving skills with the ability to debug complex issues across distributed systems
  • Outstanding communication and collaboration skills, with experience mentoring engineers and influencing technical decisions across teams

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes
  • Background in DevOps practices including CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, and monitoring/observability tools
  • Knowledge of message queuing systems and event-driven architectures (Kafka, RabbitMQ, etc.)
  • Experience with performance optimization, caching strategies, and CDN integration
  • Contributions to open-source projects or technical writing/speaking experience
  • Previous experience in a Staff or Principal Engineer role at a high-growth technology company

What We Offer

  • Competitive salary and equity compensation package
  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance coverage
  • Flexible work arrangements with remote-friendly culture
  • Generous paid time off and company holidays
  • Professional development budget for conferences, courses, and learning resources
  • Modern technology stack and tools that empower you to do your best work
  • Collaborative team environment that values innovation, ownership, and continuous learning
  • Opportunity to work on challenging technical problems with significant business impact

Application

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Staff Backend Engineer (sourcing test) at Zero