Summary
Shape the architecture of highly scalable backend platforms, lead technical initiatives, mentor engineering teams, and build reliable distributed systems for a fast-growing technology organization.
Highlights
Lead backend architecture, influence technical strategy, mentor experienced engineers, and solve large-scale distributed systems challenges with strong compensation and equity.
Description
Principal Backend Software Engineer 📍 San Francisco, CA
About the Role
We're looking for a Principal Backend Software Engineer to join our team in San Francisco.
This is a senior individual contributor role for someone who wants to shape the architecture and technical direction of our backend systems — not just write code, but make the decisions that determine how the whole thing scales.
What You'll Do
Design and build the core backend systems that power our product, with an emphasis on scalability, reliability, and performanceDrive architectural decisions across services, data stores, and infrastructureSet the technical standard for the backend org — code quality, system design patterns, observability, and incident responseMentor and elevate senior and staff engineers through design reviews, pairing, and technical leadershipPartner closely with product, infrastructure, and frontend teams to shape roadmap and technical strategyIdentify and resolve systemic technical debt, bottlenecks, and reliability risks before they become incidentsContribute to hiring — help us find and assess exceptional backend talent
What We're Looking For
10+ years of backend software engineering experience, with a meaningful portion at staff+ levelDeep expertise in at least one modern backend language (e.g., Go, Python, Java, Rust, C++) and strong opinions on when to use whatProven track record designing and operating distributed systems at scale — microservices, event-driven architectures, data pipelines, or similarStrong command of relational and non-relational databases, caching layers, and messaging systemsExperience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and CI/CD best practicesA history of leading large technical initiatives end-to-end: scoping, building consensus, shipping, and iteratingClear, concise communicator who can translate complex technical tradeoffs for both engineers and non-technical stakeholdersComfortable working onsite in San Francisco — this is not a remote role
Nice to Have
Experience at high-growth startups or companies navigating significant scale inflection pointsFamiliarity with ML/AI infrastructure or real-time data systemsOpen-source contributions or published technical writingExperience building and scaling platform/infrastructure teams
What We Offer
Competitive salary and equity compensationComprehensive health, dental, and vision coverageOnsite perks in our San Francisco officeThe chance to work alongside a world-class engineering team solving hard problems
