Senior Software Engineer, Project Lead

sonos; Goleta (CA); Hybrid; USD 164,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model (2 days from home)

Job summary

Sonos, Inc. in Goleta, CA is seeking a Senior Software Engineer, Project Lead to drive AI-augmented development, modernize backend services, and design scalable data APIs across teams. The role requires leadership across Data, Release, and Product teams, with a focus on performance and reliability.

The position supports a hybrid work model (2 days remote) and requires a Bachelor's degree with 6+ years in software engineering, Java/Spring Boot experience, and strong API/data skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering or related field plus 6 years of experience.
• 2 years of experience in database optimization, including indexing, execution plan analysis, and connection pool tuning (HikariCP).
• 4 years of experience with Java and Spring Boot (Spring Data JPA) to design pageable, sortable, and dynamically filtered APIs.
• 1 year of experience utilizing Generative AI tools (GitHub Copilot, Claude, or Google Gemini) for code generation.
• 2 years of experience stabilizing and upgrading unmaintained services, including major language upgrades (Java) and custom metrics.
• 2 years of experience deploying microservices in containerized environments (Kubernetes).
• 4 years of experience developing stable testing infrastructure and automated test frameworks.

Responsibilities

• AI-Augmented Development Leadership: drive developer productivity by integrating Generative AI tools into the software lifecycle to accelerate code generation, unit testing, and debugging.
• Backend Performance Engineering: modernize high-throughput data services by migrating legacy logic into containerized microservices and tuning databases.
• Application Data Strategy & API Design: lead design/implementation of complex search and data APIs with sortable, pageable, dynamic filters.
• Legacy Ecosystem Stabilization: own unmaintained services; upgrade Java versions and implement observability frameworks.
• Strategic Stakeholder Management: act as technical bridge for cross-functional teams and align tech strategy with business goals.
• Testing Infrastructure Robustness: stabilize testing frameworks and implement simulator-based testing to reduce CI latency.
• Technical Project Leadership: coordinate multi-engineer tasks and mentor teams on new frameworks and best practices.
• May work from home 2 days a week.

Skills

Leadership

API Design

Data Modeling

Performance Tuning

CI/CD

Testing Infrastructure

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering/Software Engineering or related field

Tools

Java

Spring Boot

Kubernetes

HikariCP

GitHub Copilot

Git/GitHub

Job description

At Sonos we want to create the ultimate listening experience for our customers and know that it starts by listening to each other. As part of the Sonos team, you'll collaborate with people of all styles, skill sets, and backgrounds to realize our vision while fostering a community where everyone feels included and empowered to do the best work of their lives.

Senior Software Engineer, Project Lead (Job Code: NJ0726)

JOB DETAILS

• AI-Augmented Development Leadership: Drive developer productivity by championing the integration of Generative AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Google Gemini) into the software development lifecycle to accelerate code generation, unit testing, and complex debugging.
• Backend Performance Engineering: Lead the modernization of high-throughput data services by migrating legacy business logic into optimized containerized microservice architectures; direct database performance tuning, including the optimization of connection pooling and execution plan analysis to ensure system stability.
• Application Data Strategy & API Design: Lead the design and implementation of complex search and data retrieval APIs; establish departmental standards for efficient data access layers, including the implementation of sortable, pageable, and dynamically filtered query structures to optimize service response times.
• Legacy Ecosystem Stabilization: Take ownership of unmaintained, mission-critical services; lead major version upgrades (e.g., Java 11) and implement custom metrics and observability frameworks to transform legacy tools into reliable, production-grade components of the enterprise software ecosystem.
• Strategic Stakeholder Management: Act as the primary technical bridge for cross-functional engineering teams; drive technical decision-making by articulating complex architectural considerations and ensuring that technical strategies align with broader business requirements.
• Testing Infrastructure Robustness: Lead initiatives to stabilize functional testing frameworks; design and implement simulator-based testing methodologies to reduce environment latency and improve the overall reliability of the continuous integration (CI) toolchain.
• Technical Project Leadership: Serve as a technical lead for major multi-engineer tasks; coordinate project workstreams for senior peers and proactively mentor team members on new frameworks, distributed services, and engineering best practices.
• May work from home 2 days a week.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor's degree (or foreign equivalent) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related technical field plus 6 years of experience in the offered position or a related software engineering position.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• 2 years of experience in database optimization, including indexing strategy, execution plan analysis, and connection pool tuning (HikariCP).
• 4 years of experience with Java and Spring Boot (including Spring Data JPA) to design pageable, sortable, and dynamically filtered APIs.
• 1 year of experience utilizing Generative AI tools (GitHub Copilot, Claude, or Google Gemini) for code generation and automated testing.
• 2 years of experience stabilizing and upgrading unmaintained services, including performing major language version upgrades (Java) and implementing custom performance metrics.
• 2 years of experience managing and deploying microservices within containerized environments (Kubernetes).
• 4 years of experience developing stable testing infrastructure, including the use of automated test frameworks, simulator frameworks, and automated testbeds.
• 2 years of experience with modern CI/CD pipelines, version control (GitHub), and shift-left testing methodologies.
• 2 years of experience in a leadership capacity, coordinating deliverables across multiple functional teams (Data, Release, and Product teams) and managing stakeholder dependencies.

OTHER

• Salary: $182,166 per year.

JOB LOCATION

Sonos, Inc.
301 Coromar Dr.
Goleta, CA 93117

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

If offered employment, must have legal right to work in U.S.

APPLY GUIDELINES

Must reference JOB CODE#: NJ0726 when applying

Your profile will be reviewed and you'll hear from us once we have an update. At Sonos we take the time to hire right and appreciate your patience.

At Sonos we consider a wide range of factors when determining compensation, which may lead individual compensation to vary depending on job related qualifications, skills, and experience. All full time employees are eligible for merit increases, discretionary bonuses, and equity. Our job postings may span more than one career level and the base pay range may be modified in the future based on changing market conditions.

Please note that compensation details listed in US job postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits.

We also offer a comprehensive benefits program with choice and flexibility in mind to help support the health, wealth, and overall well-b