Staff Backend Engineer, CX Systems & Architecture

Whatnot Inc.; New York, San Francisco, Seattle (NY, CA, WA); Remote; USD 210,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday policy

Health insurance

Work from home

Home office allowance

Cell phone stipend

Wellness allowance

Childcare allowance

Family planning benefits

401k employer match

Dogfood budget

Parental leave

Job summary

Whatnot is seeking a Staff+ Backend Engineer to build the systems behind a world-class Customer Experience platform. You’ll tackle increasingly complex CX needs across buyers, sellers, and support channels, delivering reliable and scalable backend services and AI-assisted support.

Based near one of our US hubs (New York, San Francisco, or Seattle) or remote, you’ll lead multi‑team initiatives, own end‑to‑end delivery, and mentor others while shaping the technical direction and platform health.

Qualifications

• Customer-facing systems experience in CX, post-purchase, or similar operationally complex areas.
• Backend experience building reliable, scalable services; Python/Elixir and PostgreSQL are useful.
• Ability to set technical direction and evolve legacy systems without blocking delivery.
• Own initiatives from discovery to launch, measuring impact and managing risk.
• Translate customer needs into pragmatic, scalable technical solutions with business sense.
• Commitment to observable behavior, safe changes, testing, and recoverable workflows.
• Lead and mentor as staff-level engineer; influence without formal authority.
• Collaborate across CX, Product, Ops, AI, Payments, Logistics, Trust, and other teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture and delivery across multi-team CX initiatives.
• Define AI-assisted support safety and measurable improvements.
• Build configurable, observable automation and cross-surface integrations.
• Strengthen backend workflows handling decisions, refunds, returns, and follow‑ups.
• Work with CX, Product, Operations, AI, Payments, Logistics, Trust, and other teams.

Skills

CX domain depth

Backend systems

Tech strategy

End-to-end ownership

Product judgment

Reliability mindset

Staff-level leadership

Collaborative mindset

Job description

Whatnot is seeking a Staff+ Backend Engineer to build the systems behind a world-class Customer Experience platform. You’ll tackle increasingly complex CX needs across buyers, sellers, and support channels, delivering reliable and scalable backend services and AI-assisted support.

Based near one of our US hubs (New York, San Francisco, or Seattle) or remote, you’ll lead multi‑team initiatives, own end‑to‑end delivery, and mentor others while shaping the technical direction and platform health.