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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Sr. Staff Engineer (Backend) - **Company:** Shield AI - **Location:** San Diego, United States (Remote available) - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Java (Programming Language), Artificial Intelligence, Amazon Web Services, Cloud Computing, Continuous Integration, Github, Software Engineering, Datadog, Circleci, Grafana, Backend, Kotlin, Kubernetes, Docker - **Published:** August 26, 2026 - **Apply:** https://arc.dev/remote-jobs/j/redirect/pfdzw713st ## About the Role * 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong record of group-level technical leadership. * Experience with technologies such as Kotlin, Java or Go, with a deep understanding of system design for scale and performance. * Experience introducing and scaling shared infrastructure, frameworks, or libraries across multiple teams. * Proficiency with CI/CD workflows (e.g., CircleCI, GitHub), cloud infrastructure (AWS, Docker, Kubernetes), and observability tools (e.g., Datadog). * Demonstrated ability to drive architectural clarity and strategic technical alignment across functions. * Experience translating customer and clinical needs into reliable, maintainable, and high-impact technical solutions. * A track record of driving meaningful improvements in developer experience, team velocity, and system sustainability. ## Description We are seeking a visionary and technically exceptional Sr. Staff Engineer to lead architectural innovation and strategic technical direction. This individual will operate at the organizational level, shaping the long-term technical landscape, enabling cross-functional execution at scale, and aligning engineering efforts with product and business outcomes. You Will * Architectural Vision & Strategy Define and evolve the architectural vision for customer-facing systems in alignment with business strategy. Lead cross-org initiatives that address long-term scale, system boundaries, and foundational capabilities * Technical Leadership & Governance Establish patterns and frameworks that ensure quality, resilience, and operational excellence across the organization. Serve as the authority on design decisions and foster alignment across teams * Org-Wide Enablement & Collaboration Collaborate with engineering and product leadership to shape product direction and ensure our architecture supports strategic goals. Drive org-wide adoption of scalable practices, tools, and development norms * Mentorship & Talent Growth Mentor senior technical leaders, elevating engineering capabilities across the organization. Champion initiatives that foster talent density, engineering rigor, and a culture of continuous learning * Ambiguity Navigation & Execution Acceleration Lead through complexity and ambiguity, clarifying direction where ownership is unclear. Remove organizational blockers, simplify decision-making, and accelerate delivery of strategic initiatives * Customer-Centric Engineering Translate customer needs and product goals into scalable technical solutions. Define principles and patterns that embed customer obsession into our platform's architecture * Sustainability & Scalability Design systems and team boundaries to support sustainable growth. Drive investment in non-functional priorities (e.g., observability, migrations, reliability) early in the design process, * Create alignment and momentum in ambiguous or complex technical spaces. * Balance short-term deliverables with long-term scalability, system health, and customer experience. * Lead with curiosity, adaptability, and principled decision-making. * Take initiative to address cross-squad blockers, scale constraints, or misaligned priorities before they escalate. * Drive consistent, action-oriented execution even without perfect clarity. * Mentor senior engineering talent and reinforce a culture of growth, feedback, and high technical standards. * Inspire confidence through transparency, humility, and deep technical credibility. * Advocate for customers through scalable, resilient design that anticipates clinical complexity and future scale. ## Related Videos - [Developer Experience in the Age of AI](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1118-developer-experience-in-the-age-of-ai) - [Innovating Developer Tools with AI: Insights from GitHub Next](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1268-innovating-developer-tools-with-ai-insights-from-github-next) - [Kotlin Multiplatform - True power of native code reuse](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/4-kotlin-multiplatform-true-power-of-native-code-reuse) - [Docker Compose: Rediscovered](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1978-docker-compose-rediscovered) - [The AI-Native Engineering Org: What’s Real, What’s Hype, What’s Next](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100004-the-ai-native-engineering-org-what-s-real-what-s-hype-what-s-next) - [Bringing AI Model Testing and Prompt Management to Your Codebase with GitHub Models](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1536-bringing-ai-model-testing-and-prompt-management-to-your-codebase-with-github-models) ## 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) - [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers) - [What is Software Engineering in the Age of AI?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/640-what-is-software-engineering-in-the-age-of-ai) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [Dev Digest 132 - Binging WADFlix?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/473-dev-digest-132-binging-wadflix) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers)