Staff Software Engineer (Developer Productivity)

Ironclad; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401K

Wellness reimbursement

Flexible vacation policy

Generous parental leave

Work from home opportunities

Job summary

Ironclad is seeking a hands-on Staff or Senior Staff Engineer to improve how the team builds, tests, and ships software. You will own local tooling, build/test systems, release automation, and Backstage, while mentoring engineers and guiding adoption.

You’ll partner with SRE and other teams to shape the technical roadmap, drive cross-team projects, and ensure reliable, scalable development across the stack including TS/JS, Kubernetes, and cloud CI/CD tooling.

Qualifications

• 8+ years software engineering experience.
• Senior Staff: 12+ years; leadership across teams.
• Strong programming in TypeScript, Go or Python; shell scripting.
• Production experience with Kubernetes and containers on cloud platforms.
• Experience leading cross-team technical projects and migrations.
• Excellent written communication and design documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead improvements to how Ironclad engineers build, test, and ship software.
• Own local development tooling, build/test systems, release automation, and Backstage.
• Mentor engineers and drive adoption of owned tools.
• Set technical direction and roadmap with other teams; drive priorities & tradeoffs.
• Improve webpack/Jest/Vitest builds; migrate NX to Bazel-based workflows.
• Build Kubernetes tooling enabling product teams to make changes independently.
• Own CI path from commit to production, including Kargo, verification, and rollback.
• Extend Backstage with plugins for deployment, monitoring, and incident data.
• Maintain fast, reliable local development environments across engineers' machines.

Skills

JS/TS tooling

SRE/infrastructure

TypeScript

Go

Python

Kubernetes

Docker

CI/CD

Backstage

GitOps

Tools

Bazel

Nx

Kargo

Argo CD

Terraform

Pulumi

GitHub Actions

CircleCI

GCP

AWS

Azure

Backstage plugins

Job description

• As a Staff or Senior Staff Engineer on the Developer Productivity team, you’ll lead improvements to how Ironclad engineers build, test, and ship software
• Our team owns local development tooling, build and test systems, release automation, and our Backstage developer portal
• We work closely with SRE at the intersection of developer tooling and infrastructure
• You’ll help shape the team’s technical direction and roadmap, working closely with engineers across Ironclad to understand where development slows down and what would make the biggest difference
• You’ll turn those problems into practical tools and features, lead implementation and adoption, and use feedback to guide what comes next
• You’ll also mentor engineers and share responsibility for supporting the tools we own
• We’re hiring at both the Staff and Senior Staff levels, with level determined through the interview process
• We expect technical leadership at both levels
• At Senior Staff, you’ll take broader ownership of the team’s direction, align priorities across teams, and lead improvements that benefit engineering as a whole
• Make JavaScript/TypeScript builds and tests faster and more reliable across webpack, Jest, and Vitest. Improve our Bazel build system, including remote caching, and lead the remaining migration off NX
• Build Kubernetes tooling that lets product teams make routine application changes independently
• Own the path from commit to production, including CI, environment promotion through Kargo, verification, and rollback
• Extend Backstage with plugins that connect deployment, monitoring, and incident data
• Make local development environments quick to start and consistent across engineers’ machines
• Use build times, CI reliability, lead time, and deployment frequency to identify problems and prioritize improvements
• Help set the team’s technical roadmap in partnership with other engineering teams. Identify problems, define solutions, and lead delivery and adoption, keeping engineering leadership informed of priorities, progress, and tradeoffs
• Lead technical discussions, mentor engineers, and participate in the team’s support rotation
• Our stack includes TypeScript, React, Node.js, and Docker containers running on Kubernetes in Google Cloud Platform

Benefits

• Dental, and vision insurance
• 401K
• Wellness reimbursement
• Flexible vacation policy
• Generous parental leave for both primary and secondary caregivers
• Work from home opportunities
• Health insurance

We’re looking for a hands-on technical leader with deep JavaScript/Typescript build and test experience, a background in SRE or infrastructure, and a track record of delivering projects that other teams adoptAlignment with Ironclad’s values: drive, intent, integrity, and empathyDeep experience with JavaScript and TypeScript build and test tools, such as webpack, Jest, or Vitest, including diagnosing slow builds and flaky tests at scaleStaff: 8+ years of software engineering experience. Senior Staff: 12+ years. For either level, at least 3 years in SRE, infrastructure, build systems, CI/CD, or developer toolingStrong programming skills in TypeScript, Go or Python, and comfort with shell scriptingExperience leading technical projects that required adoption across teams, as a tech lead or engineering manager while staying hands-onClear written communication, including design documents, technical proposals, and migration guides engineers can followProduction experience with Kubernetes and containers on GCP, AWS, or Azure, and CI systems such as CircleCI or GitHub ActionsBazel or Nx, particularly migrations of JavaScript or TypeScript monoreposKargo, Argo CD, or other GitOps toolingInfrastructure as code, such as Terraform or PulumiBuilding Backstage plugins