Senior Staff Engineer, Guest & Host (Host Listings & Quality)

Airbnb; United States; Remote; USD 248,000 - 310,000; Full time

Job summary

Airbnb is seeking a Senior Staff Engineer to set technical direction for the Guest & Host backend platforms, shaping APIs, data provenance, and platform contracts. You will partner with AI, Trust, and Infrastructure teams to align architecture with product goals and ensure scalable, reliable systems.

You will lead multi-year strategy for Listings and Quality, drive platformization, mentor engineers, and contribute hands-on design and code reviews to reduce operational load while maintaining high

Qualifications

• 12+ years in tech with backend and platform experience.
• 4+ years as an Architect or Staff Engineer owning large-scale systems.
• Strong product and platform judgment for platform decisions.

Responsibilities

• Set the multi-year technical strategy for Listings and Quality backend.
• Partner with AI Platform, Trust, Infrastructure, and Product teams to align architecture.
• Design APIs, data models, and data provenance for AI features.
• Drive platformization, generalization of shared capabilities, and self-service.

Skills

Distributed systems

Backend architecture

APIs design

Data modeling

Leadership / mentorship

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Java

Kotlin

Job description

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join

As a Senior Staff Engineer on Airbnb's Guest & Host team, you'll set the technical direction for the backend platforms at the core of our marketplace. These systems store and serve listing data for Stays, Experiences, and Services, and they decide whether each listing is searchable, visible, and bookable. They also uphold the quality bar for hosts through ML, enforcement, and host guidance. As AI-assisted features and agents become first-class clients of these systems, you'll shape how our APIs, data provenance, and architecture evolve to stay stable, simple, and extensible. You'll partner with engineers across Guest & Host, Trust, Infrastructure, and our AI Platform team to define how listings and quality architecture fits with the rest of Airbnb.

A Typical Day:

• Set the multi-year technical strategy and roadmap for Listings and Quality backend, and bring the team and stakeholders along.
• Partner with AI Platform, Trust, Infrastructure, and Product teams to shape how Listings and Quality architecture fits with the rest of Airbnb, and set the platform contracts between them.
• Design APIs, data models, and data provenance so the platform can safely support AI-assisted features and agents.
• Drive platformization, simplification, and self-service: generalize shared capabilities, consolidate duplicated systems, and let product teams build within guardrails.
• Raise the bar on reliability and engineering practices, and reduce operational load on systems in critical business paths.
• Hands-on development, including design and code reviews.
• Mentor, guide, and support the career growth of individual contributors.

Your Expertise:

• 12+ years of relevant experience in the tech industry; 4+ years of experience in an Architect or Staff Engineer role, with ownership responsibility over large-scale software systems.
• Strong product and platform judgment. You understand how backend architecture choices shape product velocity, and you design for the needs of product teams, hosts, and AI clients.
• Track record of setting a multi-year technical vision for a core platform and delivering it incrementally, such as consolidating services, finishing major migrations, or platformizing shared capabilities.
• Deep backend expertise in distributed systems, data modeling, and API design for large-scale, business-critical platforms, using Java, Kotlin, or similar languages.
• Experience designing APIs and data systems for AI-assisted features and agents, including data provenance, validation, and guardrails.
• Excellent engineering skills and a strong operational mindset, with a track record of improving reliability and reducing operational load on systems in critical business paths.
• Strong communication and influence across orgs and platform teams, including AI/ML platforms. Demonstrated ability to set platform contracts, align stakeholders, and raise the bar for senior and staff engineers through mentorship.
• A proven track record of fostering a culture of Diversity and Belonging, within the organization and across the tech community

Your Location:

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: [e-mail]. Please include your full name, the role you're applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Airbnb values diversity & belonging and is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All individuals seeking employment at Airbnb are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected characteristic.

How We'll Take Care of You:

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Pay Range

$248,000 — $310,000 USD

Reasonable Accommodations:

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance, or an accommodation, please let your recruiter know once you are contacted about a role.