Senior Software Engineer / Observability / SRE

Waabi; Toronto; On-site; CAD 148,000 - 249,000; Full time

Job summary

A cutting-edge AI technology company based in Toronto is seeking a skilled software engineer to lead the architecture of its monitoring and observability stack. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in software engineering or performance engineering, along with a solid proficiency in Python, Rust, or C/C++. Responsibilities include optimizing performance across systems and developing benchmarks. We offer competitive compensation and an inclusive workplace culture.

Benefits

Competitive compensation and equity awards

Health and Wellness benefits

Unlimited Vacation

Flexible hours and Work from Home support

Daily drinks, snacks, and catered meals

Regularly scheduled team building activities

Qualifications

• 5+ years software engineering or systems/performance engineering experience with complex project ownership.
• Proficient in Python, Rust, C/C++; strong CS fundamentals and system design skills.
• Hands-on with Linux internals and perf tooling.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead the architecture of monitoring and observability stack.
• Develop workloads and benchmarks for performance validation.
• Analyze and optimize end-to-end performance across systems.

Skills

Python

C/C++

Rust

Linux internals

Kubernetes

Distributed systems

Clear communication

Education

BS in CS/EE or related

Tools

OpenTelemetry

Grafana OSS

Perf tooling

Job description

Waabi, founded by AI visionary Raquel Urtasun, is the leader in Physical AI. With a world‑class team, we’re unlocking the next era of autonomous transportation with technology that’s powering commercial autonomous trucks and robotaxis. Waabi is backed by and partners with world leaders in AI, automotive, logistics, and deep tech.

With offices in Toronto, San Francisco, Dallas, and Pittsburgh, Waabi is growing quickly and looking for diverse, innovative and collaborative candidates who want to impact the world in a positive way. To learn more visit: www.waabi.ai

We are constantly expanding our compute footprint in the cloud, and need to expand our observability and monitoring capabilities alongside. We currently use the built‑in AWS monitoring tools, but this doesn’t work with our on‑premise stuff and aren’t user friendly. There are a number of options out there we could deploy, but all of them require some attention and work. Even if we go a vendored route, we still need at least one person to own this area.

You Will…

• Design and lead the architecture and development of Waabi’s monitoring and observability stack, used to monitor the health and performance of cloud and on‑prem environments.
• Develop and extend workloads and benchmarks (compute, storage, network, ML/AI) and integrate stress, chaos, and regression tests to validate hardware and platform choices.
• Analyze and optimize end‑to‑end performance across hardware, firmware, Linux kernel, runtimes, and distributed services using advanced profiling tools (perf, eBPF, flamegraphs, tracing frameworks).
• Build automation and observability tooling (Go/Python/Java, Kubernetes/Docker) for CI/CD‑based performance regression detection, telemetry, alerting, and anomaly detection.
• Work with client teams to support their applications’ observability requirements.
• Influence system architecture and tooling decisions that improve how Waabi builds, monitors, and scales its infrastructure.
• Drive execution and quality, writing design docs, setting milestones, mentoring ICs, and communicating insights and results to stakeholders and leadership.

Qualifications

• 5+ years software engineering or systems/performance engineering experience (BS in CS/EE or related), with demonstrated end‑to‑end ownership of complex projects.
• Proficient in at least one of: Python, Rust, C/C++; strong CS fundamentals and system design skills.
• Hands‑on with Linux internals (CPU scheduling, memory, I/O, networking) and perf tooling (perf, eBPF, flamegraphs, tracing frameworks).
• Experience with Kubernetes, microservices, and distributed systems; comfort building production services and pipelines.
• Proven track record of clear communication, writing design docs, and leading cross‑functional efforts.

Bonus

• Experience deploying and managing observability platforms (OpenTelemetry, Grafana OSS).
• Performance tuning for databases/streaming/batch/ML platforms; GPU/xPU or Arm performance exposure.
• Experience tuning stream processing, batch or ML platforms (e.g. Argo Workflows, PyTorch).
• Familiarity with microservices debugging and distributed tracing (OpenTelemetry, Prometheus).

The US yearly salary range for this role is: $148,000 - $249,000 USD in addition to competitive perks & benefits. Waabi (US) Inc.’s yearly salary ranges are determined based on several factors in accordance with the Company’s compensation practices. The salary base range is reflective of the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Note: The Company provides additional compensation for employees in this role, including equity incentive awards and an annual performance bonus.

Perks/Benefits

• Competitive compensation and equity awards.
• Health and Wellness benefits encompassing Medical, Dental and Vision coverage (for full‑time employees only).
• Unlimited Vacation.
• Flexible hours and Work from Home support.
• Daily drinks, snacks and catered meals (when in office).
• Regularly scheduled team building activities and social events both on‑site, off‑site & virtually.
• As we grow, this list continues to evolve!

Waabi is a technology start‑up building technologies to transform the way the world moves. Join our talented team to be a part of the future and to make an impact!

Waabi is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive, and accessible workplace for all our employees. We seek applicants of all backgrounds and identities, across race, color, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, age, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military or veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or parental status, caregiver status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. We make workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please let our recruiting team know.