Staff Backend Engineer

About the role

Faire is seeking a technical leader to join the Ads Supply pod and scale our advertising infrastructure. You will architect high-performance systems for premium ad formats, including video and brand creative, while partnering with cross-functional teams to drive experimentation and growth. In this capacity, you will own the design and delivery of the foundational systems that power the advertising marketplace, ensuring reliability and performance under demanding conditions. You will be responsible for translating high-level product ambitions into robust technical strategies that align with the broader business objectives of the wholesale platform. The role requires deep collaboration with diverse stakeholders to define requirements and shape the technical roadmap for the Ads Supply organization. You will establish the architectural guardrails that enable rapid iteration while maintaining strict standards for system stability. Ultimately, your work will directly influence the efficiency and effectiveness of the advertising ecosystem that connects retailers with brands.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Design the end-to-end architecture for next-generation ad formats and a unified serving layer.
• Build automated systems for ad serving, optimization, and A/B testing.
• Develop framework-level solutions to accelerate the shipping of new ad formats.
• Prototype and experiment with new ad ideas based on market trends and user needs.
• Collaborate with Product, Design, and Data Science to deliver high-impact, cohesive solutions.
• Establish standards for availability, scalability, and operational excellence.
• Mentor engineers and promote a culture of technical ownership.
• Implement advanced data retrieval mechanisms using search technologies to support dynamic ad targeting.
• Optimize content delivery pathways to ensure low-latency responses for high-volume traffic scenarios.
• Integrate third-party services and internal tools to create seamless workflows for advertising operations.
• Analyze system performance metrics to identify bottlenecks and drive infrastructure improvements.
• Lead technical discussions to make informed decisions on technology stack evolution.
• Ensure all implementations adhere to security and compliance standards for handling advertising data.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing sessions to elevate the technical capabilities of the entire engineering team.

Requirements

• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• 3+ years of experience as a technical leader for complex, cross-team projects.
• Expertise in building and scaling ad formats or user-facing content delivery systems.
• Proven track record of operating high-performance, low-latency backend systems at scale.
• Proficiency in using modern AI tooling within daily engineering workflows.
• Ability to translate ambiguous business problems into clear technical and product direction.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems principles and their practical application.
• Demonstrated ability to write clean, maintainable, and well-documented code.

Nice to have

• Experience with cross-platform development.
• Background in building creative serving infrastructure for digital advertising, specifically for video or interactive formats.
• Knowledge of machine learning and generative AI applications in advertising, such as ranking, retrieval, and optimization.

Skills & tools

• Backend: Kotlin, Java 16, Hibernate, Guice, Jersey
• Search and data: Elasticsearch, FAISS, Redis, DynamoDB
• Communication: Protocol Buffers, HTTP, JSON
• Infrastructure: AWS, Kubernetes, Buildkite, Datadog

Practical notes

This is a hybrid role requiring 3 days per week in the office (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and one flex day). Employees have the flexibility to work remotely for up to 4 weeks per year. Faire provides equal employment opportunities and offers reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities during the recruitment process. The compensation range is set based on the Toronto market and reflects the total expected contribution for the role. The equity package is designed to align long-term incentives with company success. This position operates within the Ads Supply team, which is a critical component of the Faire technology organization. The role demands a high degree of autonomy and collaboration. Candidates should be prepared to engage in deep technical problem-solving on a daily basis. The successful applicant will be expected to mentor junior engineers and contribute to the broader engineering culture. This role is not suitable for individuals seeking a purely isolated or non-collaborative environment. The fast-paced nature of the advertising technology space requires adaptability and a willingness to learn new technologies quickly. You will be expected to participate in on-call rotations as part of maintaining system reliability. The ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders is essential. This position offers the opportunity to work on impactful problems at a rapidly growing company. Faire is committed to building a diverse team and fostering an inclusive workplace.