Software Engineer, Platform New York City, San Francisco

Vercel Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 208,000 - 312,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Healthcare

Mentorship events

WFH budget

Flexible time off

Job summary

Vercel is seeking a Software Engineer to join the Platform team to build observability systems, including metrics, logs, and traces, to improve reliability and engineering velocity. The role reports to the Platform Engineering Manager and offers onsite, hybrid, or remote work arrangements in a rapidly growing infrastructure environment.

You will design scalable observability solutions, collaborate with Backend and Platform teams, and engage in cost attribution tooling and vendor integrations.

Qualifications

• Proficient in TypeScript, with backend/infrastructure experience.
• Hands-on experience with Go, Rust, or Zig in production systems.
• Experience with distributed computing systems at scale.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure, including object storage.
• Familiarity with observability tooling and concepts (Datadog, Grafana, New Relic, Splunk, or CNCF-based stacks such as Prometheus-compatible backends).

Responsibilities

• Design and build high-scale, internal observability systems (metrics, logs, and traces) that give engineering and the business visibility into Vercel's own infrastructure.
• Build cost attribution and chargeback tooling so spend can be accurately mapped to the parts of the business driving it, reducing reliance on third-party tools like Datadog.
• Partner with Backend and Platform teams to instrument services for compliance, auditing, and record-keeping requirements.
• Evaluate, integrate, and help operate observability infrastructure across our existing vendors and the CNCF ecosystem.
• Ship pragmatic, high-leverage visibility quickly that drives improvement in how build, deploy, and operate our systems.
• Work closely with Backend and Platform engineers to scale observability infrastructure to the throughput and cardinality of Vercel's full production traffic.

Skills

TypeScript

Go

Rust

Distributed systems

Cloud infrastructure

Observability tooling

Tools

Datadog

Grafana

New Relic

Splunk

Prometheus

Job description

About Vercel:

Vercel is the agentic infrastructure company. We free people and agents to ship what’s next.

For more than a decade, Vercel has shaped how the web is built. As the team behind Next.js, v0, and AI SDK, we create products that help builders move from idea to production with speed, security, and exceptional developer experience.

Now, software is entering a new era, and the next generation of products will not just be used by people. They will be built, extended, and operated by agents.

We are building the platform for that future, trusted by companies like OpenAI, PayPal, Ramp, Supreme, and millions of developers worldwide. Whether you’re building our products, supporting our customers, growing our community, or shaping our story, you’ll help define what comes next.

About the role:

We are looking for a Software Engineer to join our Platform team. You will build the observability systems that give Vercel visibility into how we build, ship, and operate our systems. Core Platform owns Vercel’s reliability, resilience, and engineering velocity. We’re looking for engineers to create observability for everything from cost attribution to deployment velocity, alongside the logs, metrics, and traces necessary to optimize how Vercel builds its systems. This is a role with a wide breadth where we quickly develop critical systems and improve the entire Vercel code base. You will report to Eric Larson, Engineering Manager, Platform and will be located onsite, hybrid, or remote.

If you’re based within a pre-determined commuting distance of one of our offices (SF, NY, London, or Berlin), the role includes in-office anchor days on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, even if the role is listed as remote. For location-specific details, please connect with our recruiting team.

What you will do:

• Design and build high-scale, internal observability systems (metrics, logs, and traces) that give engineering and the business visibility into Vercel's own infrastructure.
• Build cost attribution and chargeback tooling so spend can be accurately mapped to the parts of the business driving it, reducing reliance on third-party tools like Datadog.
• Partner with Backend and Platform teams to instrument services for compliance, auditing, and record-keeping requirements.
• Evaluate, integrate, and help operate observability infrastructure across our existing vendors and the CNCF ecosystem.
• Ship pragmatic, high-leverage visibility quickly that drives improvement in how build, deploy, and operate our systems.
• Work closely with Backend and Platform engineers to scale observability infrastructure to the throughput and cardinality of Vercel's full production traffic.

About you:

• Proficient in TypeScript, with backend/infrastructure experience.
• Hands-on experience with Go, Rust, or Zig in production systems.
• Experience with distributed computing systems at scale.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure, including object storage.
• Familiarity with observability tooling and concepts (Datadog, Grafana, New Relic, Splunk, or CNCF-based stacks such as Prometheus-compatible backends).

Bonus if you:

• Have contributed to or worked closely with CNCF observability projects.
• Built, scaled, and improved internal developer platforms.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation package, including equity.
• Inclusive Healthcare Package.
• Learn and Grow - we provide mentorship and send you to events that help you build your network and skills.
• Flexible Time Off.
• We will provide you the gear you need to do your role, and a WFH budget for you to outfit your space as needed.

The San Francisco, CA base pay range for this role is $208,000-$312,000. Actual salary will be based on job-related skills, experience, and location. Compensation outside of San Francisco may be adjusted based on employee location. The total compensation package may include benefits, equity-based compensation, and eligibility for a company bonus or variable pay program depending on the role. Your recruiter can share more details during the hiring process.

Vercel is committed to fostering and empowering an inclusive community within our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Vercel encourages everyone to apply for our available positions, even if they don't necessarily check every box on the job description.