Staff Backend Engineer
Job description
About the role
This role focuses on backend systems that serve hardware engineering teams. The position owns data infrastructure used for mission-critical systems such as rockets, satellites, and autonomous vehicles. The work supports the evolution of physical systems data platforms into the AI era.
Software engineers turn product ideas into working code. Engineers work in small teams, review each other's work, and ship in small batches. Most teams follow agile practices such as sprints and daily standups. Engineers also write tests, fix bugs, and improve performance. The field values clear communication as much as technical skill. Engineers spend part of every week on planning, code review, and debugging, not just writing new code. The ability to explain a technical decision in plain words separates strong engineers from the rest.
Key facts
What you'll do
Own features end-to-end, guiding capability from initial design through post-launch improvement to address real customer problems.
Optimize backend systems to achieve high performance, scalability, and reliability for critical infrastructure.
Participate in on-call rotations to debug live issues and enhance observability for production systems.
Requirements
Hold a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or another STEM discipline as a baseline for technical work.
Bring 7+ years of experience in backend or infrastructure roles to handle complex data platforms.
Demonstrate a strong understanding of distributed systems fundamentals including state management, fault tolerance, and recovery.
Show experience with Go, Rust, or Python, and maintain strong Linux and networking fundamentals for system operations.
Apply deep knowledge of SQL and operational database practices such as indexing, migrations, and tuning.
Build and scale APIs using REST and gRPC/Protobuf to serve internal and external consumers.
Exhibit strong debugging skills and a production-first mindset to resolve issues in live environments.
Nice to have
Use familiarity with streaming or time-series data systems such as Kafka, Flink, or TimescaleDB where event-driven patterns apply.
Perform performance tuning and profiling at query or service layers to address bottlenecks in data paths.
Leverage observability tools like Datadog, Grafana, and related platforms to monitor system health.
Contribute using background in hardware or telemetry-heavy environments common to aerospace and defense workloads.
Practical notes
U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, or protected status under ITAR/EAR is required.
Onsite collaboration occurs twice weekly from San Francisco, with additional alignment every two weeks.
Typical interview steps
Hiring for engineering roles usually starts with a recruiter screen, followed by one or two technical rounds. Candidates often solve a coding problem, discuss past projects, and answer system design questions. Some loops include a take-home task. Final rounds typically cover team fit and give candidates a chance to ask questions. Interviewers look for how you break down an unfamiliar problem, not just whether you reach the answer. Practicing a few problems aloud and reviewing your own past projects are the best preparation.
Good to know
The role centers on data infrastructure for physical systems and relies on backend technologies such as Go, PostgreSQL, and streaming platforms. Teams work with observability stacks and modern DevOps tooling including Kubernetes and CI/CD pipelines. The environment emphasizes reliability, performance, and scalability for hardware engineering workflows.
Career growth
Engineering careers usually progress from individual contributor to senior, staff, and principal levels. Some engineers move into management and lead teams of five to twenty people. Others stay on the technical track. Growth follows demonstrated impact, not tenure alone. A typical engineering ladder has clear levels with defined expectations for scope, quality, and mentorship. Moving up usually requires owning outcomes end to end rather than completing assigned tickets.