Staff Software Engineer

Coupang; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 152,000 - 282,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life

401K Plan with Company Match

PTO 18-21 days/year

Paid Holidays

Paid Parental leave

FSA / HSA

EV charging station

Job summary

Coupang in Mountain View, CA is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead the design and evolution of large-scale distributed systems powering the AI lifecycle. You will own critical platform initiatives, shaping architecture and mentoring engineers across teams.

You will build scalable resource managers, developer tools, and observability solutions, collaborating with product owners, TPMs, and compliance to deliver secure, high-performance ML workflows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8 years of professional software development experience, or 6 years with an advanced degree.
• Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems in cloud environments.
• Proficiency in Java, Go, or Python.
• Experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP and cloud-native development practices.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement the development of a next-generation Resource Manager and AI developer tools, enabling efficient, secure, and policy-compliant data access across hybrid environments.
• Lead the design of scalable, event-driven microservices for optimized resource management.
• Build and enhance developer tools that improve workflow orchestration, model management, observability, and operational efficiency.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to architectural decisions that shape the future of AI infrastructure.
• Collaborate with Product owner, TPMs, and Compliance teams to define end-to-end ML model development lifecycle experiences.
• Drive operational excellence by improving system reliability, performance, monitoring, and incident management practices.
• Take end-to-end ownership of critical platform initiatives from design through operation and continuous improvement.

Skills

Distributed systems

Java

Go

Python

Cloud platforms

System design

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

gRPC

Spring

Hibernate

REST APIs

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK

Kafka

Cassandra

ClickHouse

MongoDB

Job description

Company Introduction

We exist to wow our customers. We know we’re doing the right thing when we hear our customers say, “How did I ever live without Coupang?” Born out of an obsession to make shopping, eating, and living easier than ever, we’re collectively disrupting the multi-billion-dollar e-commerce industry from the ground up. We are one of the fastest-growing e-commerce companies that established an unparalleled reputation for being a dominant and reliable force in South Korean commerce.

We are proud to have the best of both worlds — a startup culture with the resources of a large global public company. This fuels us to continue our growth and launch new services at the speed we have been since our inception. We are all entrepreneurs surrounded by opportunities to drive new initiatives and innovations. At our core, we are bold and ambitious people that like to get our hands dirty and make a hands-on impact. At Coupang, you will see yourself, your colleagues, your team, and the company grow every day.

Our mission to build the future of commerce is real. We push the boundaries of what’s possible to solve problems and break traditional tradeoffs. Join Coupang now to create an epic experience in this always-on, high-tech, and hyper-connected world.

Role Overview

The Resource Fabric Engineering team builds and operates the foundational infrastructure and developer tools that power the AI lifecycle across Coupang. Our mission is to provide scalable, reliable, and intelligent platforms that enable teams to efficiently build, deploy, and manage AI workloads. We develop core services including resource management, workflow orchestration, model lifecycle tooling, and observability solutions that support machine learning innovation at scale. We are looking for a Staff Software Engineer to lead the design and evolution of large-scale distributed systems and drive technical excellence across the platform.

What You Will Do

• Design and implement the development of a next-generation Resource Manager and AI developer tools, enabling efficient, secure, and policy-compliant data access across hybrid environments.

• Lead the design of scalable, event-driven microservices for optimized resource management.

• Build and enhance developer tools that improve workflow orchestration, model management, observability, and operational efficiency.

• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to architectural decisions that shape the future of AI infrastructure.

• Collaborate with Product owner, TPMs, and Compliance teams to define end-to-end ML model development lifecycle experiences.

• Drive operational excellence by improving system reliability, performance, monitoring, and incident management practices.

• Take end-to-end ownership of critical platform initiatives from design through operation and continuous improvement.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.

• 8 years of professional software development experience, or 6 years with an advanced degree.

• Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems in cloud environments.

• Proficiency in at least one modern programming language such as Java, Go, or Python.

• Experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP, and cloud-native development practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong expertise in distributed systems technologies including Kafka, Cassandra, ClickHouse, MongoDB, or similar platforms.

• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, gRPC, Spring, and microservices architecture.

• Experience building infrastructure, tooling, or platforms supporting machine learning and AI workloads.

• Experience integrating with AI/ML frameworks or pipelines (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, ONNX).

• Experience with observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack).

• Deep expertise in Java Spring Boot, Hibernate, and RESTful API design.

• Strong understanding data governance, compliance, and access control in distributed systems.

• Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives and influence cross-functional stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.

Pay & Benefits

Our compensation reflects the cost of living across several US geographic markets. At Coupang, your base pay is one part of your total compensation.

The base pay for this position ranges from $152,000/year in our lowest geographic market to $282,000/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on several factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

General Description of All Benefits

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life, AD&D insurance

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HSA)

• Long-term/Short-term Disability

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) program

• 401K Plan with Company Match

• 18-21 days of the Paid Time Off (PTO) a year based on the tenure

• 12 Paid Holidays

• Paid Parental leave

• Pre-tax commuter benefits

• MTV - [Free] Electric Car Charging Station

General Description of Other Compensation

“Other Compensation” includes, but is not limited to, bonuses, equity, or other forms of compensation that would be offered to the hired applicant in addition to their established salary range or wage scale.

Recruitment Process

• Application Review - Phone Interview - Onsite (or Virtual Onsite) Interview – Offer

• The exact nature of the recruitment process may vary according to the specific job and may be changed due to scheduling or other circumstances.

• Interview schedules and the results will be informed to the applicant via the e-mail address submitted at the application stage.

Details to Consider

• This job posting may be closed prior to the stated end date for application if all openings are filled.

• Coupang has the right to rescind an offer of employment if a candidate is found to have submitted false information as part of the application process.

• Those eligible for employment protection (recipients of veteran’s benefits, the disabled, etc.) may receive preferential treatment for employment in accordance with applicable laws.

Privacy Notice

Coupang is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or gender (including pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, transgender status), national origin, age, disability, medical condition, HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C status, marital status, military or veteran status, use of a trained dog guide or service animal, political activities, or affiliations, citizenship, or any other characteristic or class protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation in the recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail].

Job Requisition ID: R0076195