Staff Backend Engineer, Docs

Cantos Ventures; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Parental leave

Lunch provided

Job summary

Scribe, based in San Francisco, is seeking a Staff Engineer to join our Core Engineering team. You will shape the systems behind how millions create, share, and render documentation, contributing to system design and mentoring engineers across the team.

You will lead backend work on our Django monolith, optimize queries and endpoints, and decide when to extend the monolith or invest in service extraction for high-scale systems, while championing automated testing and observability.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of backend development experience at scale.
• Deep expertise in Python.
• Experience optimizing endpoints and database queries.
• Advocate automated testing and reliable software practices.
• Experience mentoring engineers and leading code reviews.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of new features for document viewing/editing, embeds, and exports.
• Improve performance and scalability across core workflows.
• Collaborate with product and design to deliver intuitive editing experiences.
• Make architectural calls on monolith vs service extraction for high-scale systems.
• Raise engineering excellence through code reviews, testing, observability, and performance.

Skills

Python

Backend development

Performance optimization

Automated testing

Code reviews

Tools

Django

Job description

About Scribe

Scribe is where exceptional people come to do the best work of their careers. More than 94% of the Fortune 500 use Scribe to own their specialized intelligence: the unique way their teams work, decide, and get things done. Our Specialized Intelligence platform automatically captures how work happens and turns it into a living asset that helps people and AI agents do their best work.

We're growing fast, since our founding in 2019, we've grown to 7 million users across 600,000 businesses. Based in San Francisco, we've been named a LinkedIn Top Startup, are valued at over $1 billion, and are backed by leading investors. Join us in our mission to transform how people do work.

About the Role

We're looking for a Staff Engineer to join our Core Engineering team, which owns the most essential experiences at Scribe: viewing and editing documents, managing pages, embeds, exports, and key integrations. You'll shape the systems behind how millions of users create, share, and consume documentation, contributing to system design, elevating engineering culture, and mentoring engineers across the team.

What You'll Do

• Lead development of new features in our Django monolith, focused on core document viewing, editing, embeds, and exports
• Improve performance and scalability by optimizing database queries, endpoints, and caching layers across critical workflows
• Partner with product and design to deliver intuitive, reliable editing and rendering experiences at scale
• Make architectural calls on when to extend the monolith versus invest in service extraction for high-scale systems
• Raise the bar on engineering excellence through code reviews, mentorship, and strong practices in testing, observability, and performance

What We're Looking For

• You've built backend applications at high scale and availability for 8+ years
• You have deep, extensive experience with Python
• You know how to optimize endpoint performance and database queries
• You advocate strongly for automated testing
• You've implemented engineering best practices, not just read about them

Nice to have

• Experience with Django
• Startup experience

Location

Hybrid. Based in San Francisco. We work from the office 3 days per week.

Compensation

Salary varies by location. All full-time employees receive equity in Scribe. Final offers depend on experience and scope.

Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents
• Flexible paid time off and company holidays
• 401(k)
• Paid parental leave
• Daily catered lunch (SF office)
• Commuter benefits
• Home office stipend

At Scribe, we celebrate our differences and are committed to creating a workplace where all employees feel supported and empowered to do their best work. Scribe is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.