Staff Backend Engineer – AI-Powered Growth Engine

Airbnb; United States; On-site; USD 212,000 - 265,000; Full time

Job summary

Airbnb is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for the Ads Platform to lead the technical strategy and hands-on work on the AI-powered Growth Engine across paid channels. You will architect systems that autonomously manage the lifecycle of paid campaigns, from creative generation to optimization.

You’ll partner with Marketing, Product, Design, ML/AI, and data teams to ship scalable, safe, and high-impact improvements, mentor engineers, and drive cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced,

Qualifications

• 9+ years of hands-on software engineering experience.
• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in CS or equivalent.
• Technical leadership: guiding project teams and setting strategy.
• Strong focus on efficiency, availability, and quality.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration.
• Bonus: experience with paid advertising platforms.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction for the Growth Engine and architecture for creatives, bids, budgets, and audiences.
• Write and review code, establishing engineering standards across the platform.
• Partner with Marketing, Product, and Design to translate growth objectives into platform capabilities.
• Advance the AI-assisted roadmap and de-risk with staged rollouts.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to a collaborative culture.
• Collaborate with ML/AI and data teams on models and signals for optimization.

Skills

Hands-on software engineering

Technical leadership

Communication & collaboration

Mentoring

Education

CS degree (Bachelor/Master)

Job description

Airbnb is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for the Ads Platform to lead the technical strategy and hands-on work on the AI-powered Growth Engine across paid channels. You will architect systems that autonomously manage the lifecycle of paid campaigns, from creative generation to optimization.

You’ll partner with Marketing, Product, Design, ML/AI, and data teams to ship scalable, safe, and high-impact improvements, mentor engineers, and drive cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced,