Staff Software Engineer, Core Shopping

<div class="content-intro"><p><strong>We're transforming the grocery industry</strong></p> <p><span class="im">At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.</span></p> <p>Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.</p> <p><strong>Instacart is a Flex First team </strong></p> <p>There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. <a href="https://instacart.careers/remote/" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://instacart.careers/remote/&source=gmail&ust=1651869232122000&usg=AOvVaw37OlxP8hAKN7nq4YwHQH7e">Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.</a></p></div><h1>Overview</h1> <p>Instacart has become a vital service for millions, and we're assembling a team to lead the future of online grocery shopping. We're seeking a hands-on engineering leader to guide the redesign and re-platforming of our core systems, with a focus on Personalization, Content Platform, Recommender Systems, and Feeds. Join us to play a crucial role in pushing the boundaries of innovation in the Instacart App and Website. As the driving force behind key shopping functions that impact millions globally, you will work closely with the Home, Storefront, Search and Discovery teams. If you're ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table and be part of our transformative journey. </p> <h2>About the Role</h2> <p>As a Staff Engineer, you will play a pivotal role within our Core Shopping Team, driving engineering initiatives and architectural decisions across multiple teams in Instacart's Online Grocery Pillar. You will engage in hands-on coding to design and develop the next generation serving stack and services supporting the Instacart product. In this role, you’ll be expected to conduct engineering reviews to ensure high standards, and identify unifying patterns and systems to enhance architectural coherence. Your leadership will influence teams across the organization towards a platform-oriented approach, fostering innovation and efficiency. Working closely with cross-functional teams, including machine learning, product, and design, you will establish and drive our technical vision, ensuring alignment on product vision and delivering impactful solutions. </p> <h2>About the Team</h2> <p>Join a dynamic team at the heart of Instacart's success, leading the core shopping experience that millions of users rely on. This team owns the main Instacart customer facing products and all underlying systems powering it. We are obsessive about perfecting every aspect of the customer shopping journey on the app, encompassing UX formats, feeds, algorithms, personalization, recommender engines, and ranking systems to deliver an exceptional experience. Our team thrives on collaborative problem-solving in a fast-paced environment.</p> <h2>About the Job</h2> <ul> <li>Conduct engineering reviews to ensure high standards across all projects.</li> <li>Identify unifying patterns and systems, improving architectural coherence and efficiency.</li> <li>Architect and implement service-oriented solutions to address systemic issues.</li> <li>Mentor junior engineers, fostering growth and technical excellence.</li> <li>Align and partner with cross-functional teams to deliver impactful solutions and drive technical strategy.</li> </ul> <h2>About You</h2> <h3><em>Minimum Qualifications</em></h3> <ul> <li>Proven experience in a senior engineering role with a focus on architecture and system design.</li> <li>Strong proficiency in coding and ability to engage in complex problem-solving.</li> <li>Experience designing and working on systems utilized by more than 30 engineers.</li> <li>Ability to lead engineering reviews and provide guidance to team members.</li> <li>Exceptional communication skills to influence and drive technical strategy.</li> <li>Previous experience in building scalable, reliable systems in a fast-paced environment.</li> </ul> <h3><em>Preferred Qualifications</em></h3> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science or a related field.</li> <li>Experience working alongside machine learning, product, and design teams.</li> <li>Previous experience in Search, Recommendations and Personalization technologies and industry trends. Experiencing building platforms in this space supporting feature teams is a meaningful advantage.</li> <li>Experience with Postgres/MySQL and OpenSearch is a plus.</li> <li>A deep understanding of the online grocery or e-commerce sector.</li> </ul> <p>#LI-Remote</p><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="description"><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy </span><a href="https://instacart.careers/flex-first/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please rea</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">d more about our benefits offerings </span><a href="https://instacart.careers/taste-of-instacart/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. <br><br></span><span style="font-weight: 400;">For US based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.</span></p></div><div class="title">CA, NY, CT, NJ</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$260,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$289,000 USD</span></div></div><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">WA</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$249,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$277,000 USD</span></div></div><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">OR, DE, ME, MA, MD, NH, RI, VT, DC, PA, VA, CO, TX, IL, HI</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$239,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$266,000 USD</span></div></div><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">All other states</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$216,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$240,000 USD</span></div></div></div>

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