Staff Software Backend Engineer, Tech Lead - Foundations at NetBox Labs

Matcha; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

NetBox Labs seeks a Staff Software Backend Engineer to technically lead our Foundations team. This role owns architecture for authentication, authorization, secrets management, and telemetry, partnering with the Foundations Engineering Manager on people and process while you direct technical execution.

You will define API contracts, drive core services to GA, and set engineering standards across the team. Strong Linux, distributed systems, and API design experience are essential.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software development with ownership of a platform or infrastructure area.
• 3+ years in a B2B software startup or high-growth org.
• Direct experience with authentication and authorization systems (OAuth/SSO/RBAC).
• Experience leading engineering work without formal manager authority.
• Backend programming in Python and Go.
• Experience designing APIs used by other teams.
• Strong Linux and distributed systems fundamentals.
• Track record making technical decisions under ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of the Platform Authorization Service (PAS).
• Set the technical direction for identity, SSO, access control, and secrets management.
• Lead delivery of Foundations core services (login, authorization, tenancy).
• Act as the primary technical decision maker for Foundations.
• Lead and mentor the Foundations engineering team in daily work.
• Partner with the Foundations Engineering Manager and Product Manager on execution.
• Drive core components through GA launch.
• Define API contracts for platform services consumed by Delivery Platform and Application teams.
• Work with the Foundations Product Manager to align technical plans with product priorities.
• Set engineering standards for code review, testing, and documentation.

Skills

Python

Go

OAuth

SSO

RBAC

APIs

Linux

Distributed systems

Architectural direction

Mentorship

Tools

Kubernetes

Git

Terraform

Job description

NetBox Labs seeks a Staff Software Backend Engineer to technically lead our Foundations team. Foundations is the platform team that builds shared platform primitives that other engineering teams depend on including core services for authentication, access control, customer secrets management, and customer telemetry. This role will own the technical direction for Foundations. You will partner with the Foundations Engineering Manager, who owns people and process, while you own architecture and technical execution.

Responsibilities:

• Own the architecture of the Platform Authorization Service (PAS), the system that controls access across the platform.

• Set the technical direction for identity, single sign-on (SSO), access control, secrets management services and more.

• Lead delivery of Foundations core services, including login, authorization, and tenancy.

• Act as the primary technical decision maker for Foundations.

• Lead and mentor the Foundations engineering team through daily technical work.

• Partner with the Foundations Engineering Manager and Product Manager on team execution.

• Drive core components through to GA (general availability) launch.

• Define API contracts for platform services that others consume, including Delivery Platform and Application teams.

• Work with the Foundations Product Manager to align technical plans with product priorities.

• Set engineering standards for code review, testing, and documentation across the team.

Requirements:

• 7+ years of software development experience, including technical ownership of a platform or infrastructure area.

• 3+ years of experience in a B2B software startup or high-growth organization.

• Direct experience with authentication and authorization systems (for example, OAuth, SSO, or role-based access control).

• Experience leading engineering work without formal manager authority.

• Backend programming experience in Python and Go.

• Experience designing APIs consumed by other engineering teams.

• Strong Linux and distributed systems fundamentals.

• A track record of making technical decisions under ambiguity.

Nice to Have:

• Experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration.

• Experience with network management or infrastructure software (for example, NetBox).

• Open-source contributions or project involvement.

• Comfort with AI-enhanced tooling (for example, Copilot, ChatGPT, Cursor).

Join NetBox Labs. Help build the identity and access foundation the rest of the platform relies on.

About NetBox Labs:

NetBox Labs helps companies build and manage complex networks. We help customers accelerate network automation by delivering open, composable products and supporting the network automation community.

NetBox Labs is the commercial steward of open source NetBox, the world’s most popular network source of truth, and Orb, the next-generation open source network observability platform. Our products include NetBox Enterprise, a fully supported self-managed NetBox with advanced features, and NetBox Cloud, a secure, scalable, and reliable SaaS edition of NetBox.

NetBox powers thousands of companies, and NetBox Labs is backed by investment from Notable Capital (formerly GGV), Grafana Labs CEO Raj Dutt, Flybridge, IBM, Salesforce Ventures, and Mango Capital.

Our culture and values:

• We own and solve problems with high attention to detail.

• Our open source contributors, users, customers & team are all part of our community. When our community wins, we win.

• We prioritize simplicity and think twice before adding complexity

• Clear communication helps keep our team aligned and collaborating smoothly.

NetBox Labs is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We believe diverse teams build better software, and we welcome applicants of every race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, and veteran status. If you need accommodation at any point in the process, just let us know.