Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Platform)

Role Description

We are looking for a Staff or Principal-level software engineer to join our Compute team. This is a backend-heavy role with a focus on computation, performance, data systems design, and systems architecture. You'll drive architectural decisions that compound over years, write the technical designs that shape how the team builds, and directly influence the long-term trajectory of Hex's compute platform — all while staying deeply hands-on in the codebase.

What you will do:

• Evolve Hex's execution architecture — the graph-based system that compiles, plans, and runs user notebooks — including proposing and building entirely new compute components that support faster, smarter execution.
• Drive parallel execution strategies and caching approaches that reduce latency and minimize unnecessary round trips to external data warehouses.
• Instrument complex systems to surface and diagnose performance problems to give the team and our customers a much clearer picture of where time is being spent.
• Collaborate across engineering and product to support new platform capabilities, such as building an internal query language that compiles to the appropriate dialect for any connected warehouse.
• Author and review technical proposals, and mentor engineers to implement ambitious designs effectively.
• Propose and roadmap long-term designs with clear milestones across quarters.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of backend engineering experience, with a strong focus on computation, performance, database/storage optimization, and systems architecture.
• Experience with parallel execution strategies, caching strategies, and the trade-offs involved in remote data warehouse computation.
• A track record of solving difficult, large-scale systems design problems involving significant data and operational complexity — writing code and reviewing code of your teammates.
• The ability to move from abstract, vague problems to well-articulated, well-reasoned technical solutions — and to roadmap ambitious designs with clear milestones across quarters.
• A strong communicator; comfortable leading technical work and collaborating across a remote-first team.
• Python and/or TypeScript required; experience with both is a plus.

Requirements

• Working knowledge of Kubernetes, Docker and cloud infrastructure (nice to have).
• Some frontend experience — this is a backend-focused role, but a willingness to occasionally wire a feature all the way through is a plus.

Benefits

• Competitive total rewards package, including market-benched salary & equity.
• Comprehensive health benefits.
• Flexible paid time off.

Company Description

Our product is a web-based notebook and app authoring platform. Our frontend is built with Typescript and React, using a combination of Apollo GraphQL and Redux for managing application state and data. On the backend, we also use Typescript to power an Express/Apollo GraphQL server that interacts with Postgres, Redis, and Kubernetes to manage our database and Python kernels. Our backend is tightly integrated with our infrastructure and CI/CD, where we use a combination of Terraform, Helm, and AWS to deploy and maintain our stack.

This role is fully remote anywhere within the US Eastern timezone, with the option to work from our NYC office.

The salary range for this role is: $221,250 - $348,500. The salary range shown may be a reflection of additional factors such as geographical location and skill ranges/levels we’re open to. Placement in the salary range will be decided upon completion of the interview process, taking into account factors like leaving room for growth, internal fairness & parity, your demonstrated skills, and the depth of your experience.