Staff Software Engineer, Search Platform - Backend

Turo Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 182,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

In-office hybrid schedule

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Retirement match

Learning & Development stipend

Travel credit

Cell phone stipend

Job summary

Turo is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for its Search Platform in San Francisco. You will build scalable, low-latency distributed systems powering the core search stack and collaborate with product, design, and fellow engineers to deliver impactful features.

You will ship high-quality code, review work, and drive architectural improvements in a fast-paced, in-office hybrid environment three days a week (Mon/Wed/Thu). The team values diverse experiences and strong CS fundamentals.

Qualifications

• Typically a minimum of 7+ years experience shipping high-scale code to production.

Responsibilities

• Build scalable, low-latency, highly available distributed systems powering the Search Platform.
• Collaborate with product management, design, and engineers to develop product features that drive metrics.
• Produce high-quality, maintainable code, test it, review it, and ship it.
• Identify areas to improve and scale architecture and application design.
• Develop tools to diagnose and fix problems.
• Ensure proper technical design and documentation.
• Work in a changing environment where creative solutions are valued.

Job description

About the team

Turo's Search Platform is looking for a brilliant Staff, Software Engineer who have a passion for consumer products and want to join an energetic team that is changing the way people think about travel.

We ship code daily, A/B test extensively, and have a primary role in creating the product from inception to implementation.

There's much to do, and you'll be responsible for making some real cool stuff happen.

Our APIs, internal services, and web apps are at the core of our stable of software that's reinventing mobility.

Turo highly values having employees working in‑office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. This is central to how we work, and this role will be subject to our current in‑office hybrid schedule that requires Turists to work in the office three days per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We expect that employees will meet these required in‑office days consistently as part of their role.

We are committed to building a diverse team. If you are from a background that's underrepresented in tech, we'd love to meet you. Aside from an award winning work environment and the opportunity to be part of the world's largest car sharing marketplace, we are also growing the team quickly – join us! Even if you don't meet every qualification, we are looking for people with enthusiasm for what we do and we will consider you for this and other possibilities.

What you will do

• You will build scalable, low-latency, highly available distributed systems that power and evolve the infrastructure behind our Search Platform.
• You will collaborate extensively with product management, design, and engineers to develop product features that drive our metrics.
• You will produce high-quality maintainable code, test it, collaboratively review it and ship it.
• You will identify areas to improve and scale our architecture and application design.
• You will develop tools and utilities to diagnose and fix problems.
• Ensure proper technical design and documentation.
• Work efficiently in a constantly changing and growing environment where the process is fluid and creative solutions are desired.

Your profile

• Typically a minimum of 7+ years experience shipping high-scale code to production.
• Hands-on experience with search engines (Opensearch or Elasticsearch) Strong proficiency in cloud-native architectures (AWS, Kubernetes, etc.)
• Fluent in at least one language - e.g., Java, Python, Ruby, Go, or C Possess strong computer science fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, database concepts, distributed systems, and search.
• Enjoys solving problems and helping others meet their goals.
• Passionate about search, streaming, database or other backend technologies.
• Bonus if you have Bachelor's/Master's degree or equivalent in Computer Science or related field Experience working with ML-based ranking infrastructure.
• Strong communicator - Explaining complex technical concepts to designers, support, and other engineers is no problem for you.

Compensation and benefits

• Competitive salary, equity, benefits, and perks for all full‑time employees.
• For this role, the target base salary range in San Francisco is $182,000–$228,000 annually. This role is also eligible for equity and benefits.
• Employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance (Country specific).
• Retirement employer match.
• Learning & Development stipend to invest in your professional development.
• Turo host matching program.
• Turo travel credit.
• Cell phone and internet stipend.
• Paid time off to relax and recharge.
• Paid holidays, volunteer time off, and parental leave.
• For those who are in the office full‑time or hybrid we have in‑office lunch, office snacks, and fun activities.

About Turo

Turo is the world's largest car sharing marketplace where you can book the perfect car for wherever you’re going from a vibrant community of trusted hosts across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and France.

Discover Turo at https://turo.com, the App Store, and Google Play, and check out our blog, Field Notes. Read more about the Turo culture according to Turo CEO, Andre Haddad.

Diversity and Inclusion

Turo is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a participant in the U.S. Federal E-Verify program. Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. We welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives.

Turo will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, as applicable.

We welcome candidates with physical, mental, and/or neurological disabilities. If you require assistance applying for an open position, or need accommodation during the recruiting process due to a disability, please submit a request to People Operations by emailing [e-mail].

Recruiting Process

Turo AI Policy: Turo may use AI-enabled tools to support our recruiting operations, including gathering information from candidates, drafting communications, helping with interview note-taking and assessment, and so on. These tools only supplement our team; all decisions to advance or hire candidates are made by Turo employees. While we welcome candidates to use AI-enabled tools to help prepare for their interviews, the use of such tools, including any AI chatbots or note-takers, is not permitted during live interviews or technical assessments. We want to see how you consider and solve problems in real-time, so interviews and assessments are all you (unless we indicate otherwise and ask you specifically to use an AI-enabled tool to answer a question). If during the application process you require the use of an AI-enabled tool as a reasonable accommodation for a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].