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# Staff Software Engineer (Backend)

- **Company:** Kargo Inc.
- **Location:** New York, NY, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $180,000.0 - $230,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Amazon Web Services, Software Debugging, Software Design Patterns, Distributed Systems, Fault Tolerance, Service-Oriented Architecture, Software Engineering, Concurrency, Backend, Kubernetes, Docker
- **Published:** July 11, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.manhattanjobs.com/job.asp?id=3316910891&tx=KP3535FFF&pt=1&aff=0B19D771-A501-4A5E-8338-2A822B784D54&utm_source=Job%20Feed&utm_medium=textkernel&utm_campaign=DE&utm_term=0B19D771-A501-4A5E-8338-2A822B784D54

## About the Role

* Deep proficiency in Go (or comparable systems/compiled language) with production experience building and operating large-scale distributed systems
 * Strong systems design fundamentals: APIs, service architecture, concurrency, data modeling, fault tolerance, and performance
 * Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS in production environments
 * Operational instincts across monitoring, debugging, incident response, and systemic follow-through
 * Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross-team technical initiatives from problem definition through production rollout
 * Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders

Preferred

 * Familiarity with RTB, SSP, or auction systems - or other performance-sensitive distributed platforms where latency, throughput, and cost must be actively balanced
 * Experience building shared internal platforms or frameworks adopted across multiple engineering teams

## Description

Techies who want to build the future. Creatives who want to design it better.
Communicators to win business. Collaborators to build it. Data pros who turn numbers into insights. Product builders who turn ideas into innovations. Anyone eager to be on a team that doesn't stop to ask what's next, because they're
already building it.

Mission

Kargo's systems move fast and operate at scale - this role exists to make sure they hold up under both. The Staff Software Engineer owns technical direction across backend services and shared platform capabilities, translating ambiguous business needs into durable architecture and reliable execution. Without this role, complexity compounds silently and engineering teams lose the leverage they need to ship with confidence.

This is a hybrid role requiring onsite presence 4 days per week.

Outcomes - What Success Looks Like in 6â??12 Months

 * Architecture is driving alignment, not slowing it down. Service boundaries, interfaces, and design patterns are clearly defined across multiple systems, and teams reference shared standards rather than solving the same problems independently.
 * Major initiatives ship with operational integrity. At least one cross-team technical initiative moves from discovery through production rollout with strong observability, documented tradeoffs, and a clean post-launch record.
 * Platform health is measurably improved. Structural weaknesses are identified and addressed - whether through targeted refactors, new reference implementations, or infrastructure investments - and the impact is visible in reliability or performance metrics.
 * Engineering effectiveness goes up across teams. Tooling improvements, testing strategy, and documentation contributions reduce friction in the development cycle, and other engineers can point to concrete ways this role made their work easier.
 * Senior engineers are growing into broader ownership. At least two engineers have expanded their scope or technical influence, with this role serving as a deliberate catalyst for that growth., Translates Ambiguity Into Direction
 * Takes loosely defined product or business problems and produces clear, actionable technical plans without waiting for full clarity
 * Knows when to move fast, when to invest, and when to hold - and can articulate the reasoning to engineers and stakeholders alike

Raises the Bar Without Holding Court

 * Leads design reviews and technical discussions that bring teams to strong decisions without relying on formal authority or slowing down momentum
 * Establishes reusable patterns and reference implementations that other engineers actually adopt because they're genuinely useful


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