Staff Software Engineer, API Design and Governance

At eBay, we're more than a global ecommerce leader — we’re changing the way the world shops and sells. Our platform empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world. We’re committed to pushing boundaries and leaving our mark as we reinvent the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts. Our customers are our compass, authenticity thrives, bold ideas are welcome, and everyone can bring their unique selves to work — every day. We're in this together, sustaining the future of our customers, our company, and our planet. Join a team of passionate thinkers, innovators, and dreamers — and help us connect people and build communities to create economic opportunity for all. About The Team eBay’s Developer Ecosystem team offers resources that help developers create solutions to make buying and selling on eBay faster and easier. The team builds and manages eBay’s Public APIs and eBay’s world-class Developer Portal, which helps onboard new developers, gets them started with eBay APIs, and answers their questions about our products. APIs are first-class products at eBay. APIs allow our developer community to create powerful experiences and manage their eBay business at scale. Our goal is a large ecosystem of developer applications that contribute to our buyers and sellers. About The Role We are seeking a highly experienced Software Design Engineer to design and build scalable, high-performance systems & APIs that power seamless end-to-end customer experiences. This is an individual contributor role for a hands-on technical leader who drives architecture, solves complex distributed systems challenges, and partners multi-functionally to deliver customer-first solutions at scale. A key focus of this role is designing clear, scalable, and well-governed APIs and service contracts that enable consistent, high-quality integration across systems. You will influence system design, internal API standards (REST, GraphQL), and long-term technical strategy while remaining deeply engaged in implementation. What You’ll Do Design and implement scalable, resilient fullstack systems supporting core platform capabilitiesArchitect high-traffic, distributed systems across multiple domainsLead the design of robust, intuitive, and evolvable APIs and service contractsDefine and enforce standards for API design, documentation, versioning, observability and governanceDrive clarity and consistency in technical specifications, ensuring they are precise, consumable, and scalableWrite high-quality, maintainable, and performant codeLead complex technical initiatives end-to-end, from design through production rolloutApply SOLID principles and advanced design patterns to ensure clean, extensible architecturesDesign multi-threaded and highly concurrent systems with strong performance guaranteesContribute to enterprise architecture decisions and cross-domain technical alignmentCollaborate with Product, UX, Data, and Business teams to translate requirements into scalable technical solutions What You Will Bring 10+ years of experience in the software industryDeep expertise in at least one of: Java, Python, or KotlinStrong knowledge of software design principles (SOLID) and design patternsDeep expertise in GraphQL schema composition and evolution, including building user-focused APIs, optimizing query performance, and maintaining backward compatibility at scale.Proven ability to design and operate GraphQL APIs in large-scale systems, with strong understanding of API architecture (alongside REST/RPC), versioning strategies, and efficient data fetching patterns.Expert-level understanding of:Multi-threading and concurrencyDistributed systems designEnterprise-scale architectureDemonstrated ability to create clear, consistent, and well-documented service contracts and technical specificationsExperience driving API design standards, consistency, and governance across teamsExperience with agentic coding assistants like claude code, cursor or github copilotProven experience building and scaling high-traffic, transaction-heavy systemsStrong understanding of system performance, availability, and observability Nice To Have Experience with Federated GraphQL architectures (e.g., Apollo Federation or similar)Experience designing and scaling modern frontend systems using TypeScript/JavaScript with frameworks such as React (or similar)Experience with microservices and cloud-native architecturesBackground in large-scale platforms or multi-tenant architecturesExperience with search systems, recommendation engines, pricing systems, or payment flowsExperience driving technical strategy across multiple team Technical Leadership Expectations Acts as a system-level problem solver — designs for scale, resilience, and long-term maintainabilityChampions high-quality API design and treats APIs as long-lived productsDrives clarity, precision, and standardization in system design and specificationsMakes sound architectural trade-offs balancing performance, cost, and development velocityCustomer-obsessed outlook — understands how technical decisions impact performance, reliability, and user experienceDrives technical clarity in ambiguous, high-complexity problem spacesSets the standard for engineering quality and operational excellence Additional Details This job posting relates to an existing vacancy within eBay. eBay is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, or other legally protected status. If you have a need that requires accommodation, please contact us at talent@ebay.com. We will make every effort to respond to your request for accommodation as soon as possible. View our accessibility statement to learn more about eBay's commitment to ensuring digital accessibility. We use cookies to enhance your experience and may use AI tools for administrative tasks in the hiring process. To learn how we handle your personal data and use AI responsibly, please visit our Talent Privacy Notice, Privacy Center, and AI Hiring Guidelines.