Senior Software Engineer

Thenewyorktimes; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The New York Times is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Reflections team in New York City. You will build and maintain backend and API-driven services using Go, TypeScript, Node.js, and GraphQL, collaborating with cross-functional teams.

Role requires 5+ years of backend experience, cloud infra expertise (AWS/GCP), and strong CI/CD practices. Hybrid work model, with on-site presence at NYC headquarters two days a week.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building scalable backend and API-driven services for web and mobile using REST or GraphQL.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with design, product, web/backend, and native mobile engineers to refine and develop features.

Skills

REST/GraphQL

Backend development

SQL databases

Cloud infrastructure

CI/CD & observability

Team leadership

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

CloudFormation

PostgreSQL

Job description

Senior Software Engineer, Reflections

The Reflections team at The New York Times is looking for a Senior Software Engineer. You will be part of a diverse group that includes native mobile engineers, web/backend engineers, QA, product managers, designers, and data experts.

The Reflections team focuses on personalizing the Times experience, making it feel "yours." We aim to help users effortlessly discover and engage with the journalism they value most, strengthening and deepening their relationship with the Times.

Responsibilities

• Work with design, product, web/backend, and native mobile engineers to refine and develop new features.
• Build systems in modern technologies including Go, TypeScript, Node.js/Express, GraphQL, and write high‑quality code with best practices in mind.
• Contribute ideas that shape the direction of our products and take on work that is meaningful to you.
• Participate in technical discussions with native mobile, web, backend engineers, and other owners of internal and external dependencies.
• Work with all parts of the stack and learn new skills.
• Provide production support by participating in on‑call rotations for the systems and tools we build.
• Contribute to iteration on internal team processes and norms.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience building and optimizing scalable backend and API‑driven services for web and mobile applications using REST or GraphQL.
• 5+ years of experience developing backend systems using modern programming languages such as Go, TypeScript, or Node.js.
• 5+ years of experience with SQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL), including data modeling and query performance optimization, plus familiarity with NoSQL technologies (e.g., DynamoDB).
• 3+ years of experience building and operating cloud infrastructure on AWS or GCP, including containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes), infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation), managed databases, networking, and storage services.
• Demonstrated proficiency with CI/CD, automated testing, observability, monitoring, and feature flag deployments.
• Experience leading projects through the full software development lifecycle, collaborating with stakeholders, and mentoring engineers through code reviews, pairing, and technical discussions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with GraphQL federation and building scalable subgraphs within larger distributed architectures.
• Work in a team with product, design, data, and other engineering groups.
• Contribute to system design and architecture across multiple services or domains.
• Help shape team processes, documentation, and norms that support a healthy, inclusive engineering culture.

This role will require limited on‑call hours. An on‑call schedule will be determined when you join, taking into account team size and other variables. This role also requires availability to our core working hours which are 10am – 6pm ET.

This role is hybrid, located at our New York City headquarters, and typically requires coming into the office two days per week.

The annual base pay range for this role is between $140,000—$160,000 USD.

Benefits may include medical, dental and vision benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), a company‑matching 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid sick days, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement and professional development programs.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here.

The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email [e-mail]. Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

The Company encourages those with criminal histories to apply, and will consider their applications in a manner consistent with applicable "Fair Chance" laws, including but not limited to the NYC Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act.