Senior Staff Engineer, Platform R&D

What You'll Be Working On

Rapid Prototyping & Experimentation

• Lead fast-cycle R&D efforts across MAPS domains using AI-augmented workflows to prototype not just the recommended solution, but the full solution space
• Compress the time from idea to working proof-of-concept so teams can make better decisions faster

Product Viability & Scoping

• Partner with engineering and product to evaluate the viability of new platform capabilities
• Identify where net-new products overlap with or can extend existing platform services, reducing duplication and accelerating time-to-value

Cross-Domain Technical Leadership

• Float across all MAPS teams and domains as an embedded R&D resource
• Provide senior technical guidance on architecture, implementation approach, and build-vs-extend tradeoffs without being constrained to a single product area

Ambiguity Reduction

• Own the early, fuzzy stages of product and feature work — defining scope, surfacing risk, and producing concrete artifacts (prototypes, technical specs, feasibility assessments) that make downstream engineering and product work faster and more precise

Platform Pattern Recognition

• Continuously identify commonalities across domains and surface opportunities to consolidate, reuse, or generalize platform capabilities — keeping the MAPS portfolio coherent as it grows

What You'll Bring to the Team

Prototyping Depth

• Proven ability to rapidly build high-fidelity prototypes across a range of technologies
• Comfortable moving fast, exploring multiple approaches in parallel, and knowing when good enough is the right call

AI-Augmented Development

• Demonstrated experience using AI tools to accelerate software development, research, and technical decision-making
• Push the limits of these tools

Cloud Platform Expertise

• Strong understanding of managed cloud services, distributed systems, and platform engineering patterns
• Able to recognize how new ideas map to or diverge from existing infrastructure

Product Instincts

• Ability to engage early in ambiguous product spaces, ask the right questions, and translate fuzzy requirements into scoped, buildable increments

Cross-Functional Communication

• Exceptional ability to synthesize and communicate complex technical tradeoffs to both engineering and product audiences
• Comfortable presenting findings, recommendations, and prototypes to senior stakeholders

Collaborative Influence

• Able to operate without formal authority — earning trust across teams through technical credibility, clear thinking, and consistent delivery

Professional Experience

• 10+ years of software development experience, including significant time in senior individual contributor or staff-level roles
• Experience with modern compiled or systems languages (Go, Rust, Java, C++) and cloud-native infrastructure

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and equity packages
• Restricted Stock Units
• Paid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programs
• Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
• Employer contributions to HSA account
• Paid parental leave
• Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
• Professional development & tuition reimbursement
• Mental health & wellness support
• Commuter benefits (parking & transit)
• Cell phone stipend
• 401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
• Volunteer time off
• Global travel insurance & emergency assistance
• Daily meals allowance
• Additional perks & programs specific to location