Staff Software Engineer, Privacy & Safety Regulations

Etsy; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 197,000 - 267,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity package

Annual performance bonus

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Etsy seeks a Senior Software Engineer for Privacy & Safety Regulations to lead architecture for global privacy platforms. You will collaborate across product, engineering, privacy law, and security to translate complex requirements into scalable systems and APIs.

The role emphasizes ownership of data access, deletion, and governance workflows while driving quality and operational excellence in a large codebase.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering experience leading architecture and delivery for complex systems.
• Strong backend platforms, APIs, and distributed systems in large codebases.
• Proficiency in PHP, Python, Java, Go or similar with clean, maintainable code.
• Experience with cloud (ideally GCP), CI/CD, observability, and incident response.
• Ability to explain technical tradeoffs and align across teams.
• Collaborative approach with legal, compliance, security and risk partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical design and scale privacy platforms for the marketplace.
• Build and optimize consent, data access/deletion, classification, and Safety by Design workflows.
• Partner with Legal to map compliance needs to practical APIs and data models.
• Create reusable patterns and docs for privacy-preserving features.
• Contribute code and drive quality through reviews and standards.
• Monitor privacy metrics and automate operational toil with self-service tooling.

Skills

Leadership

Backend design

Distributed systems

Code quality

Cloud & operations

Communication

Policy translation

Privacy domain

Job description

Company Description

Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. We build, power, and evolve the tools and technologies that connect millions of entrepreneurs with millions of buyers around the world. As an Etsy employee, you will tackle unique, meaningful, and large-scale problems alongside passionate coworkers, all the while making a rewarding impact and Keeping Commerce Human.

Company Description

Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. We build, power, and evolve the tools and technologies that connect millions of entrepreneurs with millions of buyers around the world. As an Etsy employee, you will tackle unique, meaningful, and large-scale problems alongside passionate coworkers, all the while making a rewarding impact and Keeping Commerce Human. We believe exceptional companies are built by exceptional teams, and we're intentional about it. That means hiring great people, setting them up for success from day one, and giving them real reasons to grow their careers here. We invest in development that goes beyond promotions, and we foster the trust and relationships that help people do their best work together. We are proud to have an engineering culture that encourages career growth and learning. You can learn more about our philosophies, tools, and some of the challenges we’ve been solving on our Engineering blog. Our product work is mostly in PHP and MySQL.

What’s the role?

This is a full-time position reporting to the Engineering Manager, Privacy & Safety Regulations. Privacy & Safety Regulations Team Builds The Systems, Platforms, And Engineering Practices That Help Etsy Process And Access Personal Data According To Customer Expectations. We Partner With Product, Engineering, Privacy Legal, Security, Trust & Safety, Marketing Technology, And Other Teams To Make The Privacy-preserving Path The Easiest Path To Follow. Some Of Our Team Values Are

• We work together to form an effective, high-functioning, and fun team.
• We source ideas and collaborate with other teams.
• We prioritize speed to learning, building space in our timelines to clean up and iterate.
• We prioritize equitable treatment, inclusivity, and diversity.

What does the day-to-day look like?

• Architecture & Strategy: Lead the technical design and scale of marketplace-wide privacy platforms, ensuring high reliability, observability, and performance.
• Core Privacy Systems: Build and optimize systems for consent/preference management, data access/deletion requests, classification, and Safety by Design workflows.
• Legal & Product Collaboration: Partner with Legal to translate sophisticated compliance requirements into practical APIs, data models, and implementation plans.
• Developer Enablement: Create paved paths, reusable patterns, and documentation that make building privacy-preserving features default and effortless for developers.
• Hands-On Delivery & Standards: Contribute to production code, evaluate build-vs-buy decisions, and drive technical quality through architecture and code reviews.
• System Health & Operations: Mitigate architectural risks, supervise privacy metrics, join support rotations, and automate operational toil using self-service tooling.
• Mentorship & Alignment: Guide and pair with engineers to resolve technical ambiguity and drive execution across teams.]
• Of course, this is just a sample of the kinds of work this role will require! You should assume that your role will encompass other tasks, too, and that your job duties and responsibilities may change from time to time at Etsy's discretion, or otherwise applicable with local law.

Qualities that will help you thrive in this role are:

• Experience & Leadership: 7+ years of software engineering experience (or Staff-level equivalent) leading architecture and delivery for complex, ambiguous systems.
• Backend & System Design: Strong hands-on expertise building reliable backend platforms, APIs, and distributed systems within large codebases.
• Tech Stack & Code Quality: Proficiency in at least one production language (PHP, Python, Java, Go, etc.) with a focus on clean, testable, and maintainable software.
• Cloud & Operations: Experience with cloud infrastructure (ideally GCP), CI/CD, service observability, and production incident response.
• Communication & Influence: Ability to explain complex technical tradeoffs clearly and build cross-functional alignment across product, legal, and engineering teams.
• Policy & Compliance Translation: Collaborative approach to working with legal, compliance, security, and risk partners to turn policy requirements into scalable engineering controls.
• Privacy & Security Domain: Foundational knowledge of privacy-by-design, data minimization, access controls, data pipelines, metadata systems, PII discovery, classification, and lineage.

Compensation & Benefits

In addition to salary, you'll be eligible for an equity package, an annual performance bonus, and our competitive benefits that support you and your family. Base salary is determined by your location, skills, and experience.

Etsy uses two geographic pay zones to reflect the labor markets where we compete for talent: one called Geo-1, covering the New York City metropolitan area, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle metropolitan area, and one called Geo-2, covering all other U.S. locations. Salary ranges for this role vary by zone and are listed below.

Location

We prioritize candidates based within commutable distance of Etsy's Brooklyn Office. Depending on proximity, we ask team members to come in once or twice per week. Remote candidates outside commutable distance may be considered on a case-by-case basis, with the expectation of occasional travel to the office. Learn more details about our work modes and workplace safety policies here.

Salary Range

• Geo-1: 197,000.00 - 267,000.00 USD Annual
• Geo-2: 178,000.00 - 240,000.00 USD Annual

Our Promise

At Etsy, we believe that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace furthers relevance, resilience, and longevity. We encourage people from all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and experiences to apply. Etsy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion or creed, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, citizenship or immigration status, marital or familial status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status**, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law**. If, due to a disability, you need an accommodation during any part of the interview or hiring process, please let your recruiter know and we will work with you to meet your needs. While Etsy supports visa sponsorship, sponsorship opportunities may be limited to certain roles and skills.