Staff Software Engineer

Makeswift; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 186,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Commerce is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead the design, development, and evolution of large-scale distributed systems powering our open commerce platform. You will guide architectural directions across domains, mentor engineers, and ensure scalable, secure delivery for tens of thousands of merchants worldwide.

In this role you’ll drive integration of AI technologies, including GenAI, stay ahead of cloud and distributed systems trends, and partner with product managers to translate

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of professional software engineering experience delivering production systems.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, plus 10+ years of professional software development experience with demonstrated leadership.
• Experience with back-end development across two or more server-side languages (e.g., PHP, Go, Scala, Java, Python, Ruby).

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and evolution of scalable, reliable, high-performance distributed systems.
• Drive architectural discussions across domains and participate in cross-domain groups.
• Mentor senior engineers and contribute to building reliable systems powering the Commerce platform.
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and engineering leaders to translate requirements into technical solutions.

Skills

Backend development

Distributed systems

Cloud platforms

Microservices

Mentorship

Architectural leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Software Engineering

Tools

AWS

GCP

Sentry

Kibana

Datadog

Job description

Welcome to the Agentic Commerce Era At Commerce, our mission is to empower businesses to innovate, grow, and thrive with our open, AI-driven commerce ecosystem. As the parent company of BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift, we connect the tools and systems that power growth, enabling businesses to unlock the full potential of their data, deliver seamless and personalized experiences across every channel, and adapt swiftly to an ever-changing market. We believe in harnessing AI responsibly to unlock new possibilities, and we’re looking for individuals who use it intentionally to solve problems, accelerate outcomes, and expand what’s possible in their role. Our purpose is to help businesses confidently solve complex commerce challenges so they can build smarter, adapt faster, and grow on their own terms. If you want to be part of a team of bold builders, sharp thinkers, and technical trailblazers who shape the future of commerce, this is the place for you. The Staff Software Engineer is a senior technical leader within the Engineering organization, responsible for influencing architectural direction across multiple domains and ensuring our platform scales efficiently and securely for over 60,000 merchants worldwide. In this role you will lead the design, development, and evolution of large-scale distributed systems while helping shape how AI technologies including machine learning models and GenAI solutions, are integrated into our current and future products. You will guide teams toward high-impact technical solutions, mentor senior engineers, and contribute directly to building innovative, reliable systems that power the Commerce platform. This role is highly collaborative. You will partner closely with product managers, designers, and engineering leaders across global offices to ensure shared context, customer-focused decisions, and continuous learning within our engineering culture.

What You’ll Do

Technical Direction & Architecture: Lead the design, development, and evolution of scalable, reliable, high-performance distributed systems Drive architectural discussions that span multiple domains across the platform, and participate in cross-domain architectural working groups Contribute to the definition and execution of our long-term technical roadmap Ensure technical decisions align with goals of performance, scalability, reliability, security, and maintainability

AI & Emerging Technology: Drive initiatives to integrate AI technologies, including machine learning models and GenAI solutions, into existing and future products Evaluate emerging AI infrastructure and development practices, and advocate for adoption where they deliver clear customer or engineering value Stay abreast of advancements in distributed systems, cloud technologies, and artificial intelligence, and share that knowledge across teams

Engineering Excellence: Build and maintain high-performance, reliable, and secure software systems. Lead by example in writing testable, maintainable code that meets high quality standards Participate in and lead in-depth code reviews, advocating for best practices that improve software quality and reliability Identify and address performance bottlenecks, scalability challenges, and system reliability issues Build tools and frameworks that enable faster, safer delivery of value by other engineers

Collaboration & Mentorship: Collaborate effectively with software engineers, product managers, designers, and stakeholders across global teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers at all levels Promote a culture of knowledge sharing, continuous improvement, and mentorship across teams

Who You Are

Minimum of 10 years of professional software engineering experience delivering production systems Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience), plus 10+ years of professional software development experience with demonstrated leadership in technical direction and architecture Expertise in back-end development with two or more server-side languages (e.g., PHP, Go, Scala, Java, Python, Ruby) Proven experience in architecting, building, and maintaining large-scale distributed systems Strong understanding of distributed systems concepts, including consensus, consistency, and fault tolerance Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or similar) and microservices architecture Solid experience with SQL, in-memory storage, and other data storage solutions Experience operating and monitoring services in production, including familiarity with observability tooling (e.g., Sentry, Kibana, Datadog) Solid grasp of software design principles, testing strategies, and modern development practices Strong problem-solving and debugging skills Excellent communication skills and able to articulate design decisions and rationale across technical and non-technical audiences Proven track record of technical leadership and mentorship Comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving clarity across complex initiatives Passionate about learning, teaching, and promoting engineering excellence

Preferred Qualifications

Experience building product solutions with LLMs and GenAI technologies Familiarity with modern AI infrastructure, such as vector databases, model orchestration tools, inference frameworks, and cloud-native ML workflows Experience with SaaS or multi-tenant platforms operating at significant scale

Work Where You Thrive

For candidates based in the Austin or Atlanta metro area, the position follows a hybrid work model with three days per week in the office, balancing focused individual work with meaningful in-person collaboration.

Pay Transparency

#LI-REMOTE #LI-GC1 (Pay Transparency Range: $186,000.00 - $280,000.00) Compensation Transparency The national base salary range for this role is posted above in this job post. Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as relevant experience, skills, qualifications and geographic location. We also consider internal equity to help ensure fair and consistent pay practices across our teams. Where applicable, this role may also be eligible for variable compensation (such as bonus or commission), equity, and benefits in accordance with local policies. Details will be shared during the hiring process. We are committed to equitable and transparent pay practices that align to market data, internal equity, and individual contribution.

Inclusion and Belonging

At Commerce, we believe that celebrating the unique histories, perspectives and abilities of every employee makes a difference for our company, our customers and our community. We are an equal opportunity employer and the inclusive atmosphere we build together will make room for every person to contribute, grow and thrive. We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible hiring experience for all candidates. If you require accommodations or adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Learn more about the Commerce team, culture and benefits at https://www.commerce.com/careers/

We’re a group of clever, committed, curious people, unleashing talent in all we do. We believe in the power of togetherness, striving at the edge of what’s possible, impacting the lives of billions of people for the better. In all we do, We Do Extraordinary–and that’s no small feat! Our people are our power. It’s only through dedication, collaboration, and inspiration that we can Do Extraordinary. We’re natural problem-solvers, champions of empowering businesses, and hungry learners… but we also play nerf wars in the office, support each other, and hang out outside of work.