Staff Backend Engineer

Sift StackSan Francisco, CA

$200,000 - $250,000 / year

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Overview

Schedule

Full-time

Career level

Senior-level

Remote

Hybrid remote

Compensation

$200,000-$250,000/year

Benefits

Paid Vacation

Job Description

About Sift

Sift is the data infrastructure platform for hardware engineering teams. Sift turns high-frequency telemetry into engineering insights for mission-critical systems. Teams use Sift to build and operate rockets, satellites, autonomous vehicles, energy systems, defense platforms, and more.

Founded by former SpaceX engineers who built the tools behind Dragon and Starlink, Sift is building the data infrastructure to herald the AI era for physical systems.

In This Role, You'll:

Design, build, and operate backend systems that process and store large volumes of real-time telemetry data.
Own features end-to-end, from design to post-launch improvement.
Collaborate with Frontend, Design, and Data teams to ensure features solve real customer problems.
Optimize backend systems for performance, scalability, and reliability.
Contribute to system evolution-migrating services, introducing caches, and improving storage or indexing layers.
Participate in on-call rotations, debugging live issues, and improving observability.
Raise the bar through code reviews, shared patterns, and mentorship.

The Skillset You'll Bring:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or another STEM discipline
7+ years of experience in backend or infrastructure roles.
Strong understanding of distributed systems fundamentals-state, fault tolerance, recovery.
Experience with Go, Rust, or Python, and strong Linux/networking fundamentals.
Deep knowledge of SQL and operational database experience (indexing, migrations, tuning).
Experience building and scaling APIs (REST, gRPC/Protobuf).
Strong debugging skills and a production-first mindset.

Familiarity with Kubernetes, Prometheus, Argo CD, and other modern infrastructure tools.

Bonus Points:

Experience with streaming or time-series data systems (Kafka, Flink, TimescaleDB, etc.).
Experience with performance tuning and profiling at query or service layers.
Familiarity with observability tools (Datadog, Grafana).
Background in hardware or telemetry-heavy environments.

Engineering at SIFT:

You'll join a tight-knit team of world-class engineers building foundational systems for next-gen machines. Technologies you'll work with may include:

Frontend & Backend: Go, gRPC, PostgreSQL, Protobuf, React, TypeScript
Data Infrastructure: Apache Arrow, DataFusion, Flink, Kafka, Parquet, Rust
Ops & Tooling: AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, GitHub Actions, Prometheus, Argo CD, Grafana, Linux

Location:

Sift's headquarters is in Marina Del Rey, CA (Next to LAX). We collaborate in person twice a week-on Mondays and Thursdays-and come together for a full week every two months. We are open to relocating candidates to LA or working from our San Francisco office for the right candidate.

Salary range: $200,000 - $250,000 per year. Plus equity and benefits.

Eligibility:

U.S. Person Required: Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual such as an asylee or refugee in compliance with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) / EAR (Export Administration Regulations) regulations.

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FAQs About Staff Backend Engineer Jobs at Sift Stack

What is the work location for this position at Sift Stack?

This job at Sift Stack is located in San Francisco, CA, according to the details provided by the employer. Some roles may also include multiple work locations depending on the requirement.

What pay range can candidates expect for this role at Sift Stack?

Candidates can expect a pay range of $200,000 and $250,000 per year.

What employment applies to this position at Sift Stack?

Sift Stack lists this role as a Full-time position.

What experience level is required for this role at Sift Stack?

Sift Stack is looking for a candidate with "Senior-level" experience level.

What benefits are offered by Sift Stack for this role?

Sift Stack offers Paid Vacation for this position. Actual benefits may vary depending on the employer's policies and employment terms.

What is the process to apply for this position at Sift Stack?

You can apply for this role at Sift Stack either through Sonara's automated application system, which helps you submit applications 10X faster with minimal effort, or by applying manually using the direct link on the job page.