Staff Backend Engineer — Fable Platform Lead

Scribd, Inc.; Portland (OR); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work model

Comprehensive health coverage

Mental health support

Generous paid time off

Paid parental leave

Retirement matching

Learning and development programs

Wellness stipends

Complimentary Scribd access

Job summary

Scribd, Inc. is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for their Fable Core team in Portland, OR, to guide backend infrastructure and enhance reliability for the Fable social reading product. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of backend experience, especially in Python/Django and cloud operations, and is skilled in incident management and cross-functional collaboration. The role includes setting technical direction, leading incident responses, and fostering team mentorship. The position offers flexible work arrangements and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of backend experience, including Python/Django and one other stack.
• Experience operating production systems on a major cloud.
• Track record of owning incidents end-to-end.
• Ability to write a TDD that a staff peer trusts.
• Strong collaboration skills with senior PM and design partners.
• Root cause analysis mindset.
• Hands-on experience with engineering tools in production.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction for the Fable backend.
• Own backend reliability and platform health.
• Lead incident response and drive post-mortems.
• Participate in cross-team planning.
• Mentor team members and review pull requests.
• Evolve the backend platform for faster shipping.
• Implement agentic engineering practices.

Skills

Python/Django

Cloud Operation

Cross-functional collaboration

Incident Management

TDD (Test Driven Development)

Tools

Kubernetes

Postgres

Datadog

GCP

AWS

Job description

Scribd, Inc. is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for their Fable Core team in Portland, OR, to guide backend infrastructure and enhance reliability for the Fable social reading product. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of backend experience, especially in Python/Django and cloud operations, and is skilled in incident management and cross-functional collaboration. The role includes setting technical direction, leading incident responses, and fostering team mentorship. The position offers flexible work arrangements and comprehensive benefits.