Senior Software Engineer | Backend

Formal; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options grant

Competitive cash compensation

Healthcare coverage

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Formal is building a network security platform for the AI era. We seek an engineer who can design and scale data-intensive backend systems using Go, Kafka, and cloud-native infrastructure.

You will own features end-to-end from design to production, with a focus on performance, reliability, and fast iteration in a startup setting. Candidates should have strong ownership, production debugging skills, and a track record of delivering scalable services on AWS, using Docker, Kubernetes, and

Qualifications

• Software development experience building data-intensive software platforms.
• You value code simplicity and performance.
• Strong knowledge of Golang and its ecosystem.
• Experience with streaming data processing frameworks such as Apache Kafka and Google Pub/Sub.
• Experience debugging and optimizing complex production systems.
• Experience working in DBs, OS, networking, or other systems-level environments.
• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker, ECS, or Kubernetes) and infrastructure as a code technologies (Terraform).
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well within a team.
• You are a strong problem solver and have solid production debugging skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop a high performance data platform that can handle large volumes of data in real-time
• Build new product features from start to finish through to research, implementation, and maintenance
• Help improve performance and reliability of net new and existing features
• Lead any initiative you think may have a strong impact on Formal
• Design scalable services as Formal grows and processes more traffic

Skills

Backend systems

Code simplicity

Production debugging

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Ownership

Tools

Golang

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Apache Kafka

Google Pub/Sub

Postgres

S3

MySQL

AWS

Job description

About Formal

Formal is building a network security platform for the AI era. As agents gain access to sensitive data and production systems, organizations need control over the actions they take and the data they receive. We enforce those controls directly in the network path, with a shared policy layer for humans and agents across databases, infrastructure, APIs, and AI tools.

We are trusted by leading companies such as Cursor, Decagon, Notion, and more to solve problems across data security and compliance, data quality management, and infrastructure access.

Formal is backed by top-tiers VCs including Thrive Capital and Y Combinator with angel investors that include executives and founders from Datadog, Clickhouse, Plaid, and Vanta.

About the Role

Formal is on a mission to build the best engineering team and we're looking for people who want to make outsized impact on shaping the product and building the company.

Our ideal candidate has a deep understanding of building scalable backend systems, a strong sense of ownership, and enjoys owning projects from inception to scaling it in production.

Our tech stack currently involves Golang, Rust, Temporal, Datastore protocols (Postgres, S3, Kafka, MySQL, Snowflake, Redshift, SSH), and AWS

What you'll do

• Design and develop a high performance data platform that can handle large volumes of data in real-time

• Build new product features from start to finish through to research, implementation, and maintenance

• Help improve performance and reliability of net new and existing features

• Lead any initiative you think may have a strong impact on Formal

• Design scalable services as Formal grows and processes more traffic

What You Need

• Software development experience building data-intensive software platforms

• You value code simplicity and performance

• Strong knowledge of Golang and experience with its ecosystem

• Experience with streaming data processing frameworks such as Apache Kafka and Google Pub/Sub

• Experience debugging and optimizing complex production systems

• Experience working in DBs, OS, networking, or other systems-level environments

• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker, ECS, or Kubernetes) and infrastructure as a code technologies (Terraform)

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well within a team

• You are a strong problem solver and have solid production debugging skills

Nice-to-Haves

• You have worked in a fast, high-growth startup environment before

• You have experience using tools like Temporal and Render

• You have extensive knowledge of datastore protocols (Postgres, S3, Kafka)

• Familiarity with cloud computing platforms, such as Azure or GCP

Compensation

• This role offers cash compensation and a stock options grant.

• The positioning of offers within a certain range depends on various factors, including: candidate experience, qualifications, skills, and business requirements.
  

Benefits (for U.S.-based full-time employees)

• 100% medical, dental & vision insurance coverage for you

  • Partially covered for your dependents

• Flexible PTO