Senior-Staff Software Engineer, Engineering Productivity

About the role

You will join the Infrastructure team to refine our build systems and developer tooling, with a primary focus on Bazel and C++ environments. In this capacity, you will drive cross-company initiatives that enable firmware and microservice developers to iterate more efficiently and with greater confidence. The role requires you to act as a technical leader who shapes how foundational tools are designed, maintained, and evangelized across the organization. You will own the roadmap for engineering tooling, ensuring that it aligns with both immediate project needs and long-term scalability goals. A core part of your work will involve improving the daily developer experience and productivity across the entire company. You will oversee Kubernetes development and deployment tools to create a seamless and reliable workflow for distributed teams. Furthermore, you will develop and maintain testing frameworks for both software and hardware, ensuring robust validation throughout the development lifecycle. Finally, you will provide technical guidance and support to other engineering teams while assisting in scaling and growing the engineering organization through process and platform improvements.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Improve the daily developer experience and productivity across the organization by identifying bottlenecks and implementing targeted tooling improvements.
• Create and manage the roadmap for engineering tooling, prioritizing initiatives that deliver the highest impact for cross-functional teams.
• Oversee Kubernetes development and deployment tools to ensure reliable, scalable, and efficient workflows for infrastructure operations.
• Develop and maintain testing frameworks for both software and hardware, focusing on automation, reliability, and integration.
• Provide technical guidance and support to other engineering teams, helping them adopt best practices and resolve complex build and deployment issues.
• Assist in scaling and growing the engineering team by designing processes and platforms that accommodate rapid growth without sacrificing quality.
• Design and implement custom Bazel rules and toolchains tailored to the specific needs of firmware and microservice development.
• Drive the adoption of Bazel caching strategies and remote execution to significantly reduce build times and improve resource utilization.
• Lead efforts in modernizing and migrating legacy build systems to more efficient and maintainable solutions such as Bazel.
• Ensure deep understanding of C/C++ compilation, linking, and dependency management to guide teams in optimizing their build workflows.
• Collaborate closely with firmware and microservice developers to ensure that tooling meets real-world development needs.
• Conduct code reviews, design discussions, and technical interviews to maintain high engineering standards across the organization.
• Document and communicate architectural decisions, processes, and best practices to ensure consistency and knowledge sharing.
• Participate in on-call rotations to support critical build and deployment infrastructure as needed.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in a relevant role, with a demonstrated impact on large-scale software development.
• Strong background in C/C++ build systems such as Make, CMake, or Meson, including hands-on experience managing complex dependency graphs.
• Deep understanding of C/C++ compilation, linking, and dependency management, including practical knowledge of compiler flags and toolchain behavior.
• Experience with modernizing and migrating build systems from legacy solutions to modern frameworks like Bazel.
• Proven track record using Bazel within large-scale monorepo environments, managing multiple projects and teams.
• Proficiency in designing Bazel toolchains for C/C++ and writing custom Bazel rules to extend the build system.
• Knowledge of Bazel caching strategies and remote execution to optimize build performance and reduce latency.
• Familiarity with cross-platform builds across Linux, macOS, and Windows, ensuring consistent behavior in all development environments.
• Understanding of incremental compilation and build system performance tuning to maximize developer productivity.
• Experience with firmware development and deployment pipelines, including constraints specific to embedded systems.
• Ability to work effectively in an onsite role in San Mateo with flexibility to work from home when appropriate.
• Willingness to engage in hands-on technical work, including writing, reviewing, and debugging complex build and test infrastructure.
• Commitment to following and contributing to company standards, ensuring that tooling remains consistent and maintainable.
• Strong communication skills, enabling you to translate technical concepts into actionable guidance for diverse engineering teams.

Nice to have

• Experience with bzlmod for dependency management to streamline external library integration and versioning.
• Familiarity with cross-platform builds across Linux, macOS, and Windows, ensuring robust support for diverse development environments.
• Background in incremental compilation and build system performance tuning to further reduce build times and resource usage.
• Experience with firmware development and deployment pipelines, including specialized toolchains and testing strategies.

Skills & tools

• Bazel
• C/C++
• Kubernetes
• Build systems (Make, CMake, Meson)

Practical notes

• Annual pay range: $130,000 to $280,000 USD.
• Compensation includes base pay and eligibility for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units.
• Visa sponsorship is available and the company will assist with the process for successful candidates.
• Benefits include 100% covered employee healthcare premiums (80% for family), HSA/FSA options, mental health support, paid parental leave, fertility benefits, professional development stipends, daily lunches, and commuter benefits.
• Verkada is an equal opportunity employer.