Staff Software Engineer, Communication & Connectivity

Airbnb; United States; Remote; USD 204,000 - 255,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus opportunities

Equity

Employee Travel Credits

Job summary

A leading online marketplace in the United States is seeking an experienced data engineer to design and build large-scale data systems. You will create scalable data pipelines and collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance product features. The ideal candidate will have over 9 years of experience, strong CS fundamentals, and expertise in data processing frameworks. This position is remote eligible and offers a competitive salary.

Qualifications

• 9+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Experience in product-focused environments.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead initiatives to design and build large-scale data systems.
• Create reliable data pipelines for processing diverse sources.
• Mentor and develop engineers on the team.

Skills

Strong CS fundamentals

Experience with Apache Spark or Flink

Excellent communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in CS/EE

PhD in relevant field

Tools

Distributed data processing frameworks

Job description

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join

We connect Airbnb’s community with the right information, in the right place, at the right time. We tailor Messaging & Notifications so hosts on Airbnb can streamline their operations, and travelers get just the information they need to enjoy their stay worry-free. Additionally, we are building new connections within our community to help enrich the experience of hosting & traveling on Airbnb: easing the process of hosting, and adding meaning to our guest’s trips.

The data team utilizes industry-leading tools, builds scalable data systems and applies cutting‑edge ML models to provide insights and empower all products in the Communication and Connectivity (CnC) organization.

The Difference You Will Make

At CnC, data is foundational to our organization’s success. This role will lead key initiatives to design and build large‑scale, distributed data systems – both batch and real‑time processing. The data will power machine learning models and unlock new product features. You’ll be at the center of cross‑functional collaboration, bridging backend, frontend/client, and machine learning engineering teams.

CnC is applying GenAI and large language models (LLMs) to power products that enhance the Airbnb experience in various surfaces including highly used ones like Messaging. We’re building a robust ML platform to power our product ambitions.

A Typical Day

• Shape the team’s long‑term vision and roadmap in close collaboration with cross‑functional partners across Airbnb
• Build strong relationships with partner engineering teams, including backend, client, data science, analytics, and ML, to drive aligned and impactful outcomes
• Design, develop, and maintain reliable, scalable data pipelines – both batch and real‑time – that collect, process, and serve data from diverse sources across Airbnb
• Implement robust offline and online feature building processes to enable faster production of ML products
• Architect and build ML infra and optimize for performance, scalability, and cost‑effectiveness
• Mentor and develop engineers on the team, while also contributing to and influencing the broader data engineering community at Airbnb

Your Expertise

• 9+ years of relevant industry experience with a Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in CS/EE, or equivalent experience, or 6+ years of experience with a PhD
• Strong CS fundamentals, and knowledge of architecture and common design patterns
• You’re passionate about being in a product‑focused environment where everyone cares deeply about customer impact
• You have experience of running data processing pipelines in production using distributed data processing frameworks like Apache Spark or Flink
• Experience collaborating with client, backend, ml, analytics teams, product and business partners
• Effectively work across team boundaries to establish overarching data architecture, data flow, and provide guidance to individual teams
• Experience working on/with end‑to‑end Machine Learning products
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal

Your Location

This position is US – Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. Click here for the up‑to‑date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively‑led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.

How We’ll Take Care of You

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.

Pay Range

$204,000 – $255,000 USD