Staff Software Engineer - Backend
At a glance
Senior Backend Engineering role at Motive. San Francisco · $140,000–$193,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Build dependable backend services that handle telemetry from large fleets of sensors, beacons and asset gateways
- Run Kafka and Flink pipelines to produce equipment locations, geofence events, trips and alerts
- Create and maintain APIs used by internal teams and external applications
- Coordinate with embedded and IoT teams on device data formats and feature delivery
- Improve code quality and technical debt while working on AWS infrastructure and supporting other engineers
What you bring
- At least five years developing software
- A bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or a related discipline
- Experience with distributed systems and event-driven or streaming pipelines, such as Kafka, Flink or similar
- Background with relational and NoSQL databases and cloud infrastructure
Who this fits
You’ll suit work that combines cloud backend systems with data from physical IoT devices, including collaboration with embedded and IoT teams. The role is hybrid, with two office days each week. Applicants must be authorized to access technology controlled under U.S. export regulations.
From the employer
Who we are:
Motive empowers the people who run physical operations with tools to make their work safer, more productive, and more profitable. For the first time ever, safety, operations and finance teams can manage their drivers, vehicles, equipment, and fleet related spend in a single system. Combined with industry leading AI, the Motive platform gives you complete visibility and control, and significantly reduces manual workloads by automating and simplifying tasks.
Motive serves nearly 100,000 customers – from Fortune 500 enterprises to small businesses – across a wide range of industries, including transportation and logistics, construction, energy, field service, manufacturing, agriculture, food and beverage, retail, and the public sector.
Visit gomotive.com to learn more.
About the Role:
As a Staff Software Engineer on the Equipment Monitoring team, you will build the backend systems that give fleets unmatched visibility into the location, utilization, and health of their equipment - trailers, reefers, construction machinery, and small assets. Our data comes from IoT devices in the field: Asset Gateways, BLE environmental and door sensors, and Beacons. You will design and operate the ingestion and stream-processing pipelines (Kafka, Flink) that turn this raw sensor telemetry into accurate real-time locations, geofence events, trips, and alerts. You will collaborate closely with our Embedded/firmware and IoT teams on device payloads and end-to-end data flows, making this a great role for engineers who enjoy working near the hardware while building cloud services at scale.
What You'll Do:
- Develop highly observable, reliable, and scalable backend services that process telemetry from hundreds of thousands of IoT devices (sensors, beacons, asset gateways).
- Build and operate stream-processing pipelines (Kafka, Flink) powering geo-fencing, alerting, trip construction, and asset location.
- Design, build, and maintain scalable APIs for both internal and external applications.
- Collaborate with Embedded, IoT, and cross-functional teams on device data contracts and end-to-end feature delivery.
- Champion engineering excellence by proactively reducing technical debt and improving code quality.
- Leverage AI tools such as Cursor, CoPilot to increase productivity and code quality.
- Actively work on our AWS Cloud infrastructure, and mentor and learn from other engineers to foster a culture of continuous growth.
What We're Looking For:
- B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or related field
- 5+ years software development experience
- Experience building distributed systems and event-driven/stream-processing pipelines (Kafka, Flink, Kinesis or similar)
- Experience in modern programming languages. Proficiency in Ruby, Golang, Kotlin/Java is a plus.
- Experience with Relational and NoSQL databases such as PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, Redis, and Cassandra
- Experience building for Cloud Infrastructure such as AWS, GCP, Azure or private clouds
- Experience with IoT/sensor data or geospatial systems (geofencing, location) is a plus
- Ownership and Problem Solving mindset
- Hybrid in the office two days a week
Your compensation may be based on several factors, including education, work experience, and certifications. For certain roles, total compensation may include restricted stock units. Motive offers benefits including health, pharmacy, optical and dental care benefits, paid time off, sick time off, short term and long term disability coverage, life insurance as well as 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). Learn more about our benefits by visiting Motive Perks & BenefitsThe base compensation range for this role is:$140,000—$193,000 USD
Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is one of Motive's core values. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives.
Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.
UK Candidate Privacy Notice here.
The applicant must be authorized to receive and access those commodities and technologies controlled under U.S. Export Administration Regulations. It is Motive's policy to require that employees be authorized to receive access to Motive products and technology.
Regarding US-based roles, depending on your role and primary work location, Motive Technologies, Inc. (“Employer”) discloses candidates may be required to execute a non-compete covenant with the Employer. This requirement does not apply to lawyers, interns, or employees working in CA, MN, MT, ND, OK, or where otherwise prohibited by law.
Non-compete covenant terms in all other jurisdictions will be subject to the applicable statutory requirements, including but not limited to, procedures, industry related prohibitions, or salary and compensation thresholds.
All job postings are for existing vacancies. Please note; some interviews or new-hire training sessions may be held in person at one of our global offices.
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