Sr Software Engineer, Platform

NRG Energy; Washington (Washington County); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

NRG Energy is hiring a Senior Software Engineer to help build and operate the next generation of platform infrastructure. You’ll design and run high‑scale cloud services, APIs and IoT integrations powering real‑time experiences for millions of devices.

You’ll collaborate with cross‑functional teams across mobile, backend, and data, own critical components end‑to‑end, and help establish engineering practices that scale with our Seattle footprint and rapid growth.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience building and operating production systems.
• Experience designing distributed systems with scalability, availability, and performance in mind.
• Experience building REST and/or gRPC APIs.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ownership.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement high-scale cloud services and APIs used by apps and devices.
• Own systems end-to-end: design, deployment, observability, and production operations.
• Contribute to and lead architecture discussions for new platform capabilities.
• Build systems that are secure, resilient, and low-latency in a distributed environment.
• Develop event-driven systems and integrations across IoT, backend services, and mobile platforms.
• Mentor engineers and raise the overall engineering bar.

Skills

Distributed systems

APIs (REST/gRPC)

Cloud-native tooling

Event-driven architectures

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

CI/CD

MongoDB

Kafka

MQTT

Job description

Senior Software Engineer – Platform Infrastructure

Welcome to the intersection of energy and home services. At NRG, we’re driven by our passion to create a smarter, cleaner and more connected future.

Vivint Smart Home, an NRG owned company, is a leading smart home company in the United States, dedicated to redefining the home experience with intelligent products and services. We find purpose in proactively protecting and keeping our customers connected to home, no matter where they are. Join the Smart Home team to create smarter, safer and more sustainable homes.

Who We Are

Vivint Smart Home is redefining the future of home automation and security at massive scale. With millions of connected devices and customers across North America, we operate one of the largest IoT platforms in the industry – powering real-time experiences that matter in our customers’ homes every day. We’re building a new engineering presence in Seattle to accelerate innovation and raise the bar on platform engineering. This team will take on some of the hardest distributed systems and infrastructure challenges in the company. If you’re excited by ownership and the opportunity to build systems that operate at scale in the real world, this is your chance to help shape both the technology and the culture from the ground up.

The Opportunity

We are hiring experienced engineers to help define and build the next generation of Vivint’s platform infrastructure. You will design and operate systems that power real‑time smart home experiences—spanning cloud services, event pipelines, APIs, and IoT integrations. Your work will directly impact millions of devices and customers.

This Is a High‑ownership, High‑impact Role Where You’ll

• Build and scale distributed systems that handle large volumes of real-time events
• Drive architecture and technical direction, not just implementation
• Improve performance, reliability, and operability of core platform services
• Collaborate across mobile, backend, embedded, and data teams to deliver end‑to‑end experiences
• Help establish engineering practices and technical culture for a growing Seattle team

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement high‑scale cloud services and APIs used by mobile apps, cameras, and smart home devices
• Own systems end‑to‑end: design, deployment, observability, and production operations
• Contribute to and lead architecture discussions for new platform capabilities
• Build systems that are secure, resilient, and low‑latency in a distributed environment
• Develop event‑driven systems and integrations across IoT, backend services, and mobile platforms
• Mentor engineers and raise the overall engineering bar

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience building and operating production systems (we are open to Senior → Staff level)
• B.S. in Computer Science or related field preferred
• Strong experience in Go, Python, or similar backend languages
• Experience designing distributed systems with scalability, availability, and performance in mind
• Experience building REST and/or gRPC APIs
• Strong problem‑solving skills and a track record of ownership and execution
• Experience working with modern cloud‑native tooling (containers, orchestration, CI/CD)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with event-driven architectures (Kafka, messaging systems)
• Experience with IoT systems or device communication protocols (e.g., MQTT)
• Familiarity with Kubernetes, Docker, and cloud infrastructure
• Experience with NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB)
• Experience with video streaming and technologies (e.g. MP4, HLS, ffmpeg)
• Experience using AI-assisted development tools for engineering workflows

What Makes This Role Different

• Greenfield team in Seattle – help define the culture, technical direction, and hiring bar
• Massive real-world scale – millions of connected devices generating continuous event streams
• Full ownership – from design through production
• Cross-domain complexity – IoT + cloud + mobile + real-time systems
• Innovation-first culture – including programs like quarterly Innovation Week to explore new ideas

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Performance bonus (AIP)
• Comprehensive health benefits, 401(k), and wellness programs
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Flexible time off

Why Join Us

You’ll work on systems that matter—where reliability, latency, and correctness directly affect people’s homes and safety. This is a chance to join at an inflection point, influence the architecture, and help build a high-caliber engineering hub.

NRG Energy is committed to a drug and alcohol-free workplace. To the extent permitted by law and any applicable collective bargaining agreement, employees are subject to periodic random drug testing, and post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing. EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability. Level, Title and/or Salary may be adjusted based on the applicant's experience or skills. Official description on file with Talent.