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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Senior Principal Software Engineer - **Company:** Shutterfly, Inc. - **Location:** Colorado, United States (Remote available) - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $150,000.0 - $206,250.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Amazon Web Services, Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems, Distributed Systems, Next.js, Service-Oriented Architecture, Shopify, TypeScript, ReactJS, Backend, Kubernetes, Graphql, Front End Software Development, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Terraform, Webhooks - **Published:** July 30, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=5c9942013ecd1091 ## About the Role * 8+ years of experience in backend or platform engineering * Strong experience building and operating distributed systems and APIs at scale * Deep proficiency in GraphQL design and implementation, including federated/supergraph architectures * Experience with Shopify or similar eCommerce platforms * Strong experience with Node.js / TypeScript * Track record of diagnosing hard production failures down to the runtime or transport level, not just restarting services * Demonstrated ownership of systems in production (performance, uptime, reliability) * Ability to operate independently and drive ambiguous, high-impact work to completion * Strong communication skills around tradeoffs and system design decisions Preferred Qualifications: * Hands-on experience with Apollo Federation supergraph architectures * Experience with headless commerce architectures * Familiarity with AWS event-driven messaging (SNS/SQS) * Experience with OpenSearch or similar search/retrieval systems * Experience operating services on Kubernetes with Terraform-managed infrastructure * Experience integrating third-party commerce platforms at scale * Exposure to frontend systems (Next.js / React) for API collaboration ## Description Spoonflower is evolving its eCommerce platform into a modern, service-oriented architecture supporting a global, made-to-order retail environment. We are hiring a Staff Software Engineer (individual contributor) to drive the design and evolution of core backend systems powering our commerce experience. This role reports directly to the Director of Engineering and is for a deeply technical engineer who takes hands-on ownership of major platform areas while partnering closely with other engineers and teams. You will be a key contributor to scaling our platform through Shopify integrations, GraphQL federation, and service-based systems. What You'll Do Here: * Own the design and evolution of core backend services and APIs supporting commerce workflows * Lead architecture and implementation of GraphQL services on our Apollo Federation supergraph * Build and improve Shopify integrations (Storefront API, Admin API, webhooks, order lifecycle) as part of a cross-team effort * Reconcile Shopify's inventory-and-SKU commerce model with our made-to-order, print-on-demand fulfillment flow, where the order lifecycle is the hard problem * Define and improve service boundaries, data models, and integration points across systems * Partner with frontend, product, and platform teams to simplify how teams build and integrate * Diagnose and resolve deep distributed-systems and runtime-level failures, including federation transport behavior, connection-pool issues, and event-loop performance under load * Own production systems, including operability, observability, and incident response * Act as a technical reference point through design reviews, mentoring, and setting engineering standards * Influence roadmap decisions by providing clear tradeoffs grounded in business and system impact ## Related Videos - [GraphQL + Apollo + Next.js: A Lovely Trio](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/311-graphql-apollo-next-js-a-lovely-trio) - [WeAreDevelopers LIVE - Markdown, Liquid and Checkouts](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1814-wearedevelopers-live-markdown-liquid-and-checkouts) - [Watch Tests Go Brrrr! : Getting Started with Cypress in ReactJS](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/282-watch-tests-go-brrrr-getting-started-with-cypress-in-reactjs) - [Rethinking Reactive Architectures with GraphQL ](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/121-rethinking-reactive-architectures-with-graphql) - [Teini - an extremely small webshop leveraging awesome and free tech](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/286-teini-an-extremely-small-webshop-leveraging-awesome-and-free-tech) - [From Zero to Hero: NextJS 13 and Tailwind CSS for Beginners](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/766-from-zero-to-hero-nextjs-13-and-tailwind-css-for-beginners) ## Related Articles - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers) - [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers) - [Fully Remote Software Engineer Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/447-fully-remote-software-engineer-jobs) - [The Best X (Twitter) Accounts for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/294-the-best-x-twitter-accounts-for-developers) - [React Developer Salary [2023]](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/198-react-developer-salary-2023)