Senior Software Engineer

Spotify; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Spotify in Toronto is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Authorization team within Platform. This backend-focused role designs and operates scalable services powering authorization, permissions, and team management across Spotify.

You will own critical systems enabling creators and partners to securely access content and capabilities. You'll collaborate with product, frontend, and data teams, evolve architectures for growth, and contribute across the stack while leading backend

Qualifications

• Experience designing, building, and operating backend services.
• Strong knowledge of Java and backend technologies.
• Experience with distributed systems requiring reliability and scale.
• Comfort with architecture, APIs, data flows, and platform impact.
• Ability to connect technical decisions to business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, deploy, and operate scalable backend services for authorization, permissions, and team management.
• Own critical systems enabling creators, teams, agents, licensors, and partners to securely access content and capabilities.
• Evolve backend architecture to support growth in users and products, maintaining reliability, performance, and security.
• Improve systems and workflows for access to content, profiles, and teams.
• Make pragmatic trade-offs balancing long-term architecture with product needs.
• Partner with engineers and cross-functional teams to build reusable platform capabilities.
• Contribute to frontend and data work when useful while leading backend efforts.
• Raise engineering quality through judgment, design discussions, and operational excellence.

Skills

Backend design

Distributed systems

Java

Relational databases

System architecture

Collaboration

Product-driven mindset

Security

Job description

The Platform team creates the technology that enables Spotify to learn quickly and scale easily, enabling rapid growth in our users and our business around the globe. Spanning many disciplines, we work to make the business work; creating the infrastructure, tooling, frameworks, and capabilities needed to welcome a billion customers.

Spotify is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join the Authorization team within Platform. Our team builds and operates the authorization and permissioning systems that enable creators and their teams to securely access and manage their presence across Spotify. What began by supporting Spotify for Artists has grown into foundational capabilities used across Spotify, including Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks.

This is a backend-focused role working on systems that sit on a critical path for Spotify's creator ecosystem. You'll help us evolve these systems as they grow in scale and complexity, bringing strong backend engineering expertise while collaborating across product, frontend, and data when needed.

What You'll Do:

• Design, build, deploy, and operate scalable backend services that power authorization, permissions, and team management across Spotify.

• Take ownership of critical systems that enable creators, teams, agents, licensors, and other partners to securely access and manage the right content and capabilities.

• Evolve our backend architecture to support continued growth in users, use cases, and Spotify products while maintaining high standards for reliability, performance, and security.

• Improve the systems and workflows that enable creators to gain access to their content, profiles, and teams.

• Make thoughtful technical decisions and trade-offs, balancing long-term architecture with solutions that meet current product and business needs.

• Partner with engineers and cross-functional collaborators across Spotify to understand authorization needs and build reusable platform capabilities.

• Contribute to frontend experiences and data-related work when useful, while bringing deep expertise and leadership to backend engineering.

• Raise engineering quality through strong technical judgment, design discussions, operational excellence, and knowledge sharing across the team.

Who You Are:

• You have deep experience designing, building, and operating backend services, with strong knowledge of Java or comparable backend technologies.

• You have experience owning distributed, high-scale, or business-critical systems where reliability, performance, and security matter.

• You have experience working with relational databases at scale, including performance optimization and database tuning.

• You think beyond individual services and can reason about architecture, APIs, dependencies, data flows, and the impact technical decisions have across a broader platform.

• You have experience working in a product-driven environment and connect technical decisions to user and business outcomes.

• You make pragmatic engineering trade-offs and know when a simpler solution is more valuable than unnecessary technical complexity.

• You collaborate effectively within and across teams, sharing context and helping others make better technical decisions.

• You are comfortable contributing across the stack when needed, while your strongest expertise is in backend engineering.

Where You'll Be:

• This role is based in Toronto

• We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! There will be some in person meetings, but still allows for flexibility to work from home.

Spotify is an equal opportunity employer. You are welcome at Spotify for who you are, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or what’s playing in your headphones. Our platform is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all thrive, contribute, and be forward-thinking! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our differences that we will find the power to keep revolutionizing the way the world listens.

At Spotify, we are passionate about inclusivity and making sure our entire recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We have ways to request reasonable accommodations during the interview process and help assist in what you need. If you need accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know - we’re here to support you in any way we can.