Staff Software Engineer

Devconnectplatform; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 226,000; Full time

Job summary

Harness is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for its SEI team. You will design, develop, deploy, and maintain backend software in a fast-paced Java environment, collaborating with SRE/DevOps and cross-functional teams to diagnose production issues.

The role emphasizes scalable distributed systems, relational databases, and cloud/Docker/CI/CD proficiency. We offer a remote-friendly, Bay Area or US-wide position with periodic travel, a competitive salary, and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of experience building highly scalable distributed applications and backend services.
• Strong expertise in Java and relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL).
• Experience with SQL tuning and performance optimizations.
• Familiarity with search frameworks like Elasticsearch or SOLR is a plus.
• Cloud experience (AWS/Azure/GCP) and containerization with Docker; CI/CD is a plus.
• Deep understanding of distributed resilient software and debugging.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, deploy, and maintain backend software in a fast-paced Java environment.
• Author specifications and design documents for features; conduct code and design reviews.
• Collaborate with SRE/DevOps and cross-functional teams to deploy and diagnose production issues.
• Own key system components and ensure delivered quality in agile sprints.

Skills

Java

Distributed systems

SQL tuning

Tools

MySQL

PostgreSQL

Elasticsearch

Solr

AWS

Azure

GCP

Docker

CI/CD

Job description

# Staff Software EngineerHarness150k–226k USDFull-timeremote· leadUSAjavamysqlpostgressqlelasticsearchawsazuregcpListed via Jobicy · posted 2 Nov 2026. The application happens there, not on DevConnect.Apply on Jobicy## DescriptionHarness is the AI Software Delivery Platform company, led by technologist and entrepreneur Jyoti Bansal (founder of AppDynamics, acquired by Cisco for $3.7B). Harness has raised approximately $570M in funding and is valued at $5.5B, backed by leading investors including Goldman Sachs, Menlo Ventures, IVP, Unusual Ventures, Citi Ventures, and more. As AI accelerates code creation, the real bottleneck has shifted to everything after the code – testing, deployments, application security, reliability, compliance, and cost optimization. Harness brings AI and automation to this “outer loop,” helping teams ship software faster while maintaining security and governance throughout the entire software delivery lifecycle.Powered by Harness AI and the Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, the Harness Platform applies deep context and intelligent automation across the software delivery lifecycle with governance and policy-driven controls embedded throughout the platform.Over the past year, Harness powered over 185M deployments, 82M builds, 18T flag evaluations, 8M security scans, 9.1B optimized tests, 3T protected API calls, and helped manage $2.8B in cloud spend — enabling customers like United Airlines, Morningstar, and Choice Hotels to accelerate releases by up to 75%, reduce cloud costs by up to 60%, and achieve 10x DevOps efficiency.With a global team across 26 offices and 27 countries, Harness is shaping the future of AI software delivery — and we’re looking for exceptional talent to help us move even faster.Position SummaryHarness Software Engineering Insights (SEI) is where engineering meets engineering intelligence. As part of this team, you’ll work on a deeply technical product that connects to 40+ developer tools like Jira and GitHub, processes millions of events, and turns raw SDLC data into actionable metrics.This is a product that engineers build for engineers, where you’ll see your work directly impact how thousands of developers build software. Expect challenges in data modeling, systems design, developer UX, and secure cloud integrations — all to help engineers and leaders build faster, better, and smarter.About The Role- Design, develop, deploy and maintain critical software in a fast-paced quality conscious Java environment.- Author software functional specifications and design documents for features developed.- Quickly understand complex systems/code and own key pieces of the system, including the delivered quality- Work in an agile environment, using iterative development cycles and a short customer feedback loop- Design and implementation of scalable backend software solutions- Diagnose and troubleshoot complex problems in a distributed computing environment.- Perform peer reviews of specifications, design, and code- Quickly understand complex systems/code and own key pieces of the system, including the delivered quality- Work alongside Site Reliability Engineers/DevOps and cross functional teams to deploy software or diagnose/troubleshoot any production related issuesAbout You- 8-10+ years of experience developing highly scalable, distributed applications, products, and backend services using Java- A desire to build products that solve complex technical problems for end users- Experience with relational databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL- Experience with SQL query tuning, performance optimizations is a plus- Experience with search frameworks like Elasticsearch, SOLR is a plus- Experience with applications hosted on AWS/Azure/GCP is a plus- Familiarity with Docker and CI/CD processes is a plus- Deep understanding of how distributed resilient software is built and deployed- Excellent problem solving and debugging skills- Experience working in short release cyclesReady to Build Something Engineers Love. This is your chance to shape the systems that shape how software gets built. Join Harness today!Work LocationBay Area or Remote in the U.S. with periodic travel requiredWhat You Will Have At Harness- Competitive salary- Comprehensive healthcare benefits- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)- Flexible Time Off and Parental Leave- Quarterly Harness TGIF-Off / 4 days- Monthly, quarterly, and annual social and team-building events- Recharge & Reset Program- Monthly internet reimbursement- Commuter benefitsFactors that may be used to determine your actual pay rate include your specific skills, experience, qualifications, location, and comparison to other employees already in this role. In addition to the base salary, certain roles may qualify for a performance-based incentive and/or equity, with eligibility depending on the position. These rewards are based on a combination of company performance and individual achievements.The Hiring Range For This Position Is $150,000 - $226,000.A valid authorization to work in the U.S. is requiredPay transparency$150,000—$226,000 USDHarness in the news:- Accelerating Our Mission to Bring AI to Everything After Code- Goldman Sachs leads investment in software delivery startup Harness at $5.5 billion valuation- How Harness runs 16 “startups within a startup” at scale | Jyoti Bansal- Harness Research Shows AI Visibility Crisis Fueling Security Nightmare- Harness has been named to the Inc. Power Partner list for software delivery successAll qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin.At Harness, we care about your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. For additional information on this topic, you can visit our privacy Portal: https://harness-privacy.relyance.ai/Note on Fraudulent Recruiting/OffersWe have become aware that there may be fraudulent recruiting attempts being made by people posing as representatives of Harness. These scams may involve fake job postings, unsolicited emails, or messages claiming to be from our recruiters or hiring managers.Please note, we do not ask for sensitive or financial information via chat, text, or social media, and any email communications will come from the domain @harness.io. Additionally, Harness will never ask for any payment, fee to be paid, or purchases to be made by a job applicant. All applicants are encouraged to apply directly to our open jobs via our website. Interviews are generally conducted via Zoom video conference unless the candidate requests other accommodations.If you believe that you have been the target of an interview/offer scam by someone posing as a representative of Harness, please do not provide any personal or financial information and contact us immediately at [e-mail]. You can also find additional information about this type of scam and report any fraudulent employment offers via the Federal Trade Commission’s website (https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams), or you can contact your local law enforcement agency.