Staff Software Engineer

About the role

You will serve as a senior technical leader within the User Platform group, focusing on the authorization infrastructure that supports hundreds of millions of users. This role involves designing and maintaining centralized access control systems to ensure security and scalability across the entire product ecosystem.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Architect and manage core components of the centralized authorization platform, specifically those utilizing SpiceDB.
• Develop patterns, tools, and integration methods to help product teams implement authorization standards.
• Evaluate and execute technical decisions for high-availability infrastructure.
• Coordinate with Security, API Platform, and Admin Experience departments to align on project requirements.
• Define the future direction of the platform, including identity models, access control frameworks, and authorization for agentic AI workflows.
• Provide mentorship to engineering staff regarding system design and IAM best practices.

Requirements

• Proven experience in Identity and Access Management at scale, including production work with RBAC, ReBAC, ABAC, or Zanzibar-style systems.
• Background in backend engineering for high-performance, high-availability services, with Java experience being an advantage.
• Proficiency in system design, specifically breaking down complex, cross-functional challenges into actionable tasks.
• Demonstrated success in driving the adoption of platform capabilities across multiple engineering teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for cross-team collaboration.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with policy languages or authorization engines such as OPA or Cedar.
• Practical experience with Zanzibar-style systems like SpiceDB or Google Zanzibar.
• History of evolving large-scale production services without causing downtime for dependent systems.

Skills & tools

• Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• SpiceDB
• Distributed systems
• System design
• Java
• RBAC / ReBAC / ABAC

Practical notes

This position is based in Sydney and follows a hybrid work model. Interviews are held via virtual meetings. When applying, please include your pronouns and specify any reasonable adjustments required for the interview process.