Staff Software Engineer ⭐

Job description

Join our Framework team: the engineering foundation that makes Achievers scale. This team owns authentication, API gateways, interservice communication, caching, feature flag management, and the base libraries that every Go and Python service at Achievers is built on — all sitting at the critical path of everything we ship. Your work here has a multiplier effect. The libraries, platforms, and tooling you build are used by roughly 100 engineers across the company. When you raise the floor — better DX, faster onboarding, more consistent patterns, AI-first tooling — the whole engineering organization moves faster. Please note that this is a back-end focused role. Successful candidates will be able to bring a strong backend engineering background and be excited about continuing to deepen their expertise in backend and platform development. At this time, this role is not intended as a transition role for engineers whose primary experience and career interests are front-end-focused. Why you'll love this role: What makes this team unique is the breadth of its perspective. Framework is the one team that holds end-to-end understanding of how base libraries must interact with the infrastructure layer and the CI/CD pipeline. That bird's-eye view of the platform means this team is where platform-wide challenges land — and where the solutions that unblock everyone else originate. Right now, the team is in the middle of some of the most technically interesting work in the company: modernizing our authentication and API gateway architecture. These are high-stakes architectural shifts that require both deep technical judgement and the ability to drive alignment across teams. If you're energized by building for builders — designing systems that are secure, highly available, and genuinely pleasant to work with — and you want your architectural decisions to have company-wide reach, this is the team. How you’ll shape our software engineering practices: Provide guidance and mentorship to a team of software developers with varying experience levels, fostering an environment of continuous learning and improvement.  Design, build, and maintain innovative product features that enhance the Achievers platform.  Work closely with product managers, designers, and other engineering teams to define requirements and translate them into technical solutions. Actively participate in cross-functional planning sessions to align on priorities and dependencies.  Be hands-on with the codebase, actively engaging in code reviews and ensuring best practices are followed.  Utilize a wide range of modern tools and technologies, including Python, Go, Kubernetes, Docker, Drone, Google PubSub, GraphQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Microservices, to solve complex challenges.  Architect high-performance, highly available, and secure software solutions that scale to millions of users.  Ship code regularly—multiple times a day, enabling continuous improvement and rapid delivery of new features.  Take full ownership of features or modules from design through deployment, ensuring the quality and reliability of the codebase.  Monitor application performance and optimize code to ensure it meets scaling, performance, and security requirements as the product grows.  Contribute to and enforce engineering best practices, standards, and guidelines for coding, testing, and infrastructure across the team. Lead and initiate engineering improvements, whether it’s through tooling, processes, or adopting new technologies, to ensure the team is working effectively.   Ensure that systems, designs, and decisions are well-documented, making it easier for other engineers to understand, maintain, and expand upon your work.  Continuously learn and stay up-to-date with industry trends, emerging technologies, and software engineering practices to bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the team.  Guide junior engineers not only on technical solutions but also on career development, helping them set goals, identify growth areas, and improve their soft skills. Experience we feel will set you up for success: 8+ years of relevant back-end software development experience leading projects and especially system design, with at least 3 of them in a Senior/Staff capacity. Excellent written and verbal communication skills Strong programming skills in Python or Go are highly advantageous. Comfortable working in a UNIX/Linux environment Experience with Docker and Kubernetes. Strong understanding of microservices architecture. Experience with distributed systems. Experience with API gateway design, gRPC, and service-to-service communication patterns Experience designing authentication and authorization systems (OAuth2, OIDC, PKCE, JWT) Ability to analyze business requirements and create technical design documents aligned with architecture standards Passion for performance profiling and benchmarking. Experience executing large-scale migrations with zero downtime in production systems Track record of building shared libraries or SDKs used across large engineering organizations Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field Experience working in Agile teams Why Achievers is a Great Place to Work™ At Achievers, we believe recognition is a powerful driver of connection. With more than 4.3 million users across 190 countries, our employee recognition and rewards platform empowers organizations to build cultures where people feel seen and valued, everyday. We’re a team of passionate, thoughtful builders who care deeply about our product, our customers, and each other. Visit achievers.com to see how we’re inspiring recognition everywhere. Our Approach to Total Rewards $140,000 - $180,000 reflects the salary range for this role, depending on experience, skills, and market data. We’re committed to providing a fair and competitive offer based on what you bring to the team. Each A-Players' compensation is reviewed at least annually against performance and impact in role. We want you to see your path to growth, understand your impact, and feel valued every step of the way. Benefits and Perks for permanent full-time employees: ✨ Rewards for your impact through our Recognition and Rewards program 🩺 Health Benefits and Life Insurance Coverage beginning on your first day 👶🏼 Parental Leave Top-up 🙌🏼 Employer matched RRSP contributions 🏖️ Flexible Vacation to recharge, so you can bring your best 🤝🏽 Employee and Family Assistance Program offering mental health, legal, and financial counselling 🚀 Supported professional development and career growth (Linkedin Learning, mentorship) 👏🏼 Employee-Led Employee Resource Groups that celebrate our diversity 🧘‍♀️ Regular events designed to build connection, belonging, and well-being 🇨🇦 Hybrid flexibility, with time in our beautiful Liberty Village, Toronto office Achievers is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse, inclusive workplace where everyone can do their best work. We encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply. Achievers is committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any accommodations for your interview, such as assistive technology, wheelchair accessibility, or alternative formats of materials, please let us know. We are happy to make necessary arrangements to support your needs. Join our Framework team: the engineering foundation that makes Achievers scale. This team owns authentication, API gateways, interservice communication, caching, feature flag management, and the base libraries that every Go and Python service at Achievers is built on — all sitting at the critical path of everything we ship. Your work here has a multiplier effect. The libraries, platforms, and tooling you build are used by roughly 100 engineers across the company. When you raise the floor — better DX, faster onboarding, more consistent patterns, AI-first tooling — the whole engineering organization moves faster. Please note that this is a back-end focused role. Successful candidates will be able to bring a strong backend engineering background and be excited about continuing to deepen their expertise in backend and platform development. At this time, this role is not intended as a transition role for engineers whose primary experience and career interests are front-end-focused.