Staff Software Engineer

Zest for Tech; United States; Remote; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Healthcare (dental & vision)

Fully remote across US

Job summary

Zest for Tech is hiring a Staff Backend Engineer to design and scale distributed systems and high-performance services. This hands-on role centers on Python, APIs, and architectural decisions with ownership over technical direction.

You will build scalable backend infrastructures across the stack, mentoring engineers and shaping production-grade systems for large-scale user loads. Remote work across the US is supported.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering experience focused on production-scale systems.
• Strong Python backend and API development (REST/GraphQL).
• Experience building distributed, high-concurrency systems (100k+ users).
• Experience with cloud platforms, ideally GCP, and scalable architectures.

Responsibilities

• Design and scale distributed backend systems supporting high data volumes.
• Build high-performance APIs and backend services.
• Lead architectural decisions across complex prod systems for scalability and reliability.
• Collaborate across backend, cloud, data, and other engineering areas.
• Drive technical direction and mentor other engineers.

Skills

Python backend engineering

REST/GraphQL APIs

Distributed systems

High-concurrency

GCP cloud

Job description

Staff Backend Engineer | Remote US | Up to $200k-$230k + Equity

We're working with a growing, well-funded tech company that's hiring a Staff Backend Engineer to design, build and scale complex distributed systems and high-performance backend services.

This is a hands‑on engineering role focused on Python, backend architecture and large-scale production systems, with significant ownership over technical direction and architectural decisions.

They're looking for an engineer who can independently tackle complex technical challenges, work across different areas of the stack and build systems capable of supporting significant scale.

What you'll be working on

• Designing and scaling distributed backend systems supporting high volumes of users and data.
• Building high-performance APIs, backend services and data-driven applications.
• Leading architectural decisions across complex production systems, with a focus on scalability, reliability and performance.
• Working across backend, cloud infrastructure, data and other areas of engineering where needed.
• Driving technical direction, improving engineering standards and mentoring other engineers.

What they're looking for

• 12+ years of software engineering experience, with extensive experience designing and scaling production systems.
• Strong proficiency in Python, with deep expertise in backend engineering and API development (REST/GraphQL).
• Proven experience building distributed systems and high-concurrency applications, ideally supporting 100k+ concurrent users or similarly demanding workloads.
• Experience with cloud platforms, ideally GCP, and designing reliable, scalable service architectures.
• Strong architectural judgement, with the ability to independently solve complex problems and influence technical direction beyond your immediate team.

What's on offer

• $190k-$230k base + equity.
• Fully remote across the US.
• Fully covered healthcare dental and vision