Staff Software Engineer

🧠 About Cortex

Cortex helps engineering teams ship better software faster. We're an AI-powered Internal Developer Portal that enforces reliability standards across every team automatically, so organizations can move fast without breaking things. Our customers reduce incidents by 30%, cut MTTR by an average of 50%, and ensure that AI code doesn't compromise service quality. Companies like Canva, Grammarly, and Skyscanner rely on Cortex to drive measurable impact on their most critical engineering outcomes.

📍Location

We’re fully remote and welcome candidates from across the US. We get together a few times a year for company offsites where we build stronger relationships, kick off important work, and genuinely enjoy spending time together.

🤝 The Team

Our team is ~80 people building something developers actually want to use. We recently raised a $60M Series C led by Scale Ventures (alongside Sequoia and IVP). We're focused on making engineering teams more effective. You can read more about our latest funding round here.

💼 Job Summary

We are seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to join our engineering team. As the Staff Backend Engineer you will be responsible for establishing the architectural framework for significant parts of our product. You will work closely with engineering, design and product management teams to develop foundational systems to support scalability and efficient delivery while ensuring appropriate technical design.

💻 Responsibilities

Define both architecture and best practices for large portions of the product

Lead and contribute to the design, development, and implementation of scalable backend systems

Implement core systems technologies that allow us to scale and deliver

Head efforts for clarity and alignment of technical direction and vision

Collaborate with leaders and product to develop the vision and deliver key features

Foster a challenging and safe environment for engineers to learn and grow

Set the bar for high quality engineering across the organization

Advocate for best practices, focusing on system design, overall performance and testing

Optimize existing backend systems to improve performance, scalability, and reliability

✔️Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent work experience

10+ years of experience designing and implementing scalable, high-performance backend systems

Solid fundamental problem solving skills and a drive to build high-quality software

Solid understanding of computer science concepts, common design patterns, and engineering best practices

Strong understanding of database technologies (NoSQL)

Strong communication and collaboration skills

Ability to mentor and coach engineering team members

Experience at a previous startup is a plus

💰 Compensation

Starting Salary Range: $245-260k

Competitive Equity Package

*Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role is eligible for equity and benefits.

🌴 Perks & Benefits

National medical, dental & vision insurance (we cover 100% for employees!)

Unlimited PTO & flexible working hours

401k plan

Gender-neutral parental leave

$1000 yearly Learning & Development stipend

$400 monthly perks stipend (use it on anything)

Pet Insurance

Cortex is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Cortex is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please email people@cortex.io.