Senior Staff Software Engineer-Backend

About the role

The Senior Staff Software Engineer for Scout Motor’s digital products will lead a team in designing and implementing digital solutions for customers and business partners. Key responsibilities include defining and driving the long-term technical strategy for critical digital platforms, shaping technology investments, and leading large, multi-year technical initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the long-term technical strategy for critical digital platforms that span multiple product domains and engineering organizations.
• Partner with senior engineering, product, and business leaders to shape technology investments, platform strategy, and architectural direction.
• Lead the definition of scalable architectural patterns, platform capabilities, and engineering standards used across the digital ecosystem.
• Drive resolution of highly ambiguous and business-critical technical challenges whose outcomes influence multiple products, teams, or functions.
• Identify opportunities to simplify systems, reduce technical debt, and improve organizational engineering effectiveness at scale.
• Lead large, multi-year technical initiatives and provide technical oversight across multiple concurrent programs.
• Build alignment among diverse stakeholders and influence strategic technical decisions across organizational boundaries.
• Serve as a recognized technical authority for backend systems, platform architecture, and software engineering practices.
• Develop and mentor senior engineers, staff engineers, and emerging technical leaders.
• Represent engineering in strategic discussions involving external partners, technology vendors, and executive stakeholders.
• Shape Scout's engineering culture by elevating technical excellence, innovation, and long-term thinking across the organization.
• Drive the adoption of AI-assisted development across teams by defining best practices, evaluating tools, and mentoring engineers.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline.
• 12+ years of experience building and scaling complex software platforms, including significant experience influencing technical strategy at an organizational level.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems architecture, platform engineering, APIs, microservices, cloud-native technologies, and large-scale backend ecosystems.
• Proven track record of defining architectural direction that spans multiple teams, organizations, or product domains.
• Demonstrated success leading highly complex initiatives with significant business, customer, or operational impact.
• Experience establishing engineering standards, reference architectures, and technical governance practices across an organization.
• Recognized expertise in evaluating strategic technology decisions, including platform selection, build-versus-buy analysis, and long-term technical investment planning.
• Exceptional ability to influence senior technical and business stakeholders without direct authority.
• Proven record of mentoring senior engineers and developing future technical leaders.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership to align technical strategy with business objectives.
• Experience representing engineering in strategic engagements with external partners, vendors, and technology providers.
• Strong understanding of organizational scaling challenges, platform evolution, and enterprise architecture practices.

Qualifications

• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Equal opportunity employer.

Skills

• Technical leadership and project management skills.
• Experience with cloud-native technologies and microservices.
• Ability to influence senior technical and business stakeholders.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Experience with AI-assisted development.

Benefits

• Competitive insurance including: Medical, dental, vision, and income protection plans.
• 401(k) program with: An employer match and immediate vesting.
• Generous Paid Time Off including: 20 days planned PTO, as accrued; 40 hours of unplanned PTO and 14 company or floating holidays, annually.
• Up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave for biological and adoptive parents of all genders.
• Paid leave for circumstances related to bereavement, jury duty, voting time, or military leave.

Pay

Initial base salary range: $180,000.00 - $220,000.00 CA initial base salary range: $198,000 - $242,000.00

Schedule

This role will be based out of the Scout Motors location in Fremont, California. This role requires 1 day per week in the office, with regular in-person meetings and events.