Staff Systems Engineer

About the role

DoorDash Labs is actively building the next generation of delivery platforms, and the Staff Systems Engineer role is central to this effort. This position is responsible for architecting and integrating systems that power advanced delivery operations, including robotics and automation. You will serve as the primary architect who bridges hardware, software, and operational workflows to ensure performance, scalability, and safety are achieved consistently. The role requires ownership of the end-to-end technical lifecycle, from initial concept and requirements definition through deployment and continuous improvement. You will translate ambiguous business and operational goals into coherent, testable system architectures that align with strategic objectives. Success in this role means ensuring that all subsystems function in harmony under defined constraints, enabling reliable and scalable delivery solutions.

What you'll do

The scope of this role is broad and deeply technical, requiring a systems-level perspective across the entire delivery ecosystem. You will translate business and operational goals into detailed technical requirements and precise interface specifications that guide engineering execution. A core responsibility is maintaining documentation that explicitly allocates safety, performance, and functional constraints across all subsystems, ensuring clarity and traceability. You will conduct rigorous risk assessments and trade studies to evaluate design alternatives and guide critical design decisions. You will also design verification and validation strategies, including comprehensive test plans and simulation requirements that prove system correctness before deployment.

As the primary technical point of contact, you will engage with regulatory bodies, operations teams, and cross-functional engineering groups to ensure alignment and compliance. You will define system architectures that balance cost, performance, safety, and maintainability for delivery platforms across diverse environments. Leading the development of technical roadmaps is essential, connecting short-term feature execution to long-term product vision and operational needs. You will collaborate closely with data teams to ensure telemetry and operational data directly inform system behavior, improvements, and anomaly resolution.

Breaking down complex product initiatives into clear technical tasks for cross-functional teams is a key daily activity, enabling coordinated execution across software, mechanical, electrical, and reliability engineering. You will establish and enforce standards and best practices for system design across the Labs organization, raising the quality and consistency of technical outputs. Interface with external partners to ensure compliance with industry regulations and technical expectations is also part of the role. You will support the creation of technical proposals and presentations for both internal and external stakeholders, communicating complex systems clearly and effectively. Mentoring junior engineers on systems thinking, documentation rigor, and disciplined design processes will help elevate the overall capability of the team. Finally, you will drive the identification and resolution of emergent system-level issues before they impact real-world operations, protecting reliability and customer trust.

Requirements

The qualifications for this role reflect the complexity and safety-critical nature of delivery robotics and automation. A Bachelor's or advanced degree in Systems, Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, or a closely related engineering field is required. You must bring 8+ years of experience in systems engineering or requirements management within high-complexity or safety-critical sectors, demonstrating a consistent track record of delivering robust technical solutions. Proficiency in requirements management software such as DOORS, Jama, or Polarion is essential for tracing, versioning, and maintaining system requirements.

A background in developing and validating requirements for autonomous vehicles, aerospace, or other safety-critical systems is critical, as the same rigor applies to delivery platforms. You must be able to coordinate effectively across software, mechanical, electrical, and reliability engineering disciplines, acting as the integrator who ensures alignment. Strong analytical and organizational skills are required to manage complexity, juggle multiple priorities, and maintain clarity in documentation and decision-making.

Skills & tools

Mastery of requirements management tools is a core part of this role, including DOORS, Jama, or Polarion for capturing, tracing, and maintaining system requirements. Proficiency in Python is required to support automation, data analysis, and scripting needs. Strong SQL skills are necessary to query operational data, validate system behavior, and support analytics efforts that feed into system improvements.

Practical notes

Compensation for this role includes base salary and equity grants, with specific ranges varying by level. Base salary ranges are: I4 ($130,600 to $192,000), I5 ($159,800 to $235,000), and I6 ($193,800 to $285,000). Benefits are comprehensive and include a 401(k) with match, 16 weeks of paid parental leave, medical, dental, and vision coverage, disability insurance, and flexible paid time off. To ensure compliance and consistency, the company uses the Covey tool for specific hiring processes in NYC.