Staff Backend Architect – Communications Platform

Webhosting; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 185,500 - 299,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dog-friendly workplace

Job summary

Squarespace is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend to lead the technical direction of the Communications Platform in a hybrid NYC setting. You will drive architecture, shape the roadmap, and mentor a small but high-impact team delivering email, in‑product notifications, and push channels.

You will contribute hands-on Java development while guiding reviews, setting standards, and addressing systemic risks to ensure reliability and security across services.

Qualifications

• Strong backend engineering experience with Java.
• Experience leading architecture, design reviews, and roadmap execution.
• Mentor and empower backend/frontend engineers to improve system design and ownership.

Responsibilities

• Drive the architecture, design, and implementation of the Communications Platform’s services (Email Delivery, In-Product Notifications, Push Notifications).
• Define and own the technical strategy for platform modernization and reliability hardening.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership and mentorship to the engineering team, guiding system design and decision making.
• Write high-quality Java code and lead design/code reviews and architectural decisions.
• Identify systemic risks in performance, reliability, security, and operability before incidents occur.
• Be a key technical partner on cross-team architecture initiatives.
• Balance short-term delivery with long-term platform health and clearly communicate tradeoffs.

Skills

Java

System design

Mentorship

Code reviews

Architecture leadership

Tools

GitHub Copilot

Claude Code

Cursor

Job description

Squarespace is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend to lead the technical direction of the Communications Platform in a hybrid NYC setting. You will drive architecture, shape the roadmap, and mentor a small but high-impact team delivering email, in‑product notifications, and push channels.

You will contribute hands-on Java development while guiding reviews, setting standards, and addressing systemic risks to ensure reliability and security across services.