Staff Backend Engineer
At a glance
Senior Backend Engineering role at Scribe. San Francisco · full-time · $230,000–$350,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Lead feature work in the Django monolith for document viewing, editing, embeds and exports
- Speed up core workflows by tuning database queries, endpoints and caching
- Work with product and design to deliver dependable document editing and rendering experiences
- Choose when to extend the monolith and when high-scale systems merit separate services
- Review code, mentor engineers and strengthen testing, observability and performance practices
What you bring
- At least eight years building backend systems that support high availability and scale
- Deep, hands-on Python experience
- You can improve endpoint speed and tune database queries
- You have put automated testing and practical engineering standards into use
Who this fits
This staff-level role suits an experienced backend engineer ready to shape architecture, mentor teammates and lead work on core document features. It is hybrid in San Francisco, with office attendance three days a week and Mondays and Wednesdays as shared in-office days.
From the employer
About Scribe
Scribe is where exceptional people come to do the best work of their careers. More than 94% of the Fortune 500 use Scribe to own their specialized intelligence: the unique way their teams work, decide, and get things done. Our Specialized Intelligence platform automatically captures how work happens and turns it into a living asset for people and AI agents.
We're growing fast. Since our founding in 2019, we've reached 7 million users across 600,000 businesses. Based in San Francisco, we're a LinkedIn Top Startup, valued at over $1B, and backed by leading investors. Join us in our mission to transform how people work.
About the role
We're looking for a Staff Engineer to join our Core Engineering team, which owns the most essential experiences at Scribe: viewing and editing documents, managing pages, embeds, exports, and key integrations. You'll shape the systems behind how millions of users create, share, and consume documentation, contributing to system design, elevating engineering culture, and mentoring engineers across the team.
What you'll do
Lead development of new features in our Django monolith, focused on core document viewing, editing, embeds, and exports
Improve performance and scalability by optimizing database queries, endpoints, and caching layers across critical workflows
Partner with product and design to deliver intuitive, reliable editing and rendering experiences at scale
Make architectural calls on when to extend the monolith versus invest in service extraction for high-scale systems
Raise the bar on engineering excellence through code reviews, mentorship, and strong practices in testing, observability, and performance
What we're looking for
You've built backend applications at high scale and availability for 8+ years
You have deep, extensive experience with Python
You know how to optimize endpoint performance and database queries
You advocate strongly for automated testing
You've implemented engineering best practices, not just read about them
Nice to have: Experience with Django, startup experience
Why you'll love working here
Hard, open problems. Nobody hands you a finished spec. You'll decide what to build with your PM and designer, then own how it performs.
The reach of a unicorn, the headcount of a startup. We went from $1M to $100M ARR in under four years, with fewer than 200 people. That means more pie than people: scope grows with your impact. Customers like T-Mobile, LinkedIn, HubSpot, New York Life and Northern Trust run on Scribe, so what you own reaches some of the biggest names in business.
Smart is the floor. Kind is the bar. Low ego, high standards. We compete as a collective and love to see each other win, and One Team, One Dream is one of the most shouted-out values in #values.
Compensation & location
Hybrid, based in San Francisco. We work from the office 3 days per week, with Mondays and Wednesdays being anchor days.
All full-time employees receive equity in Scribe. Final offers depend on experience and scope.
Benefits
Healthcare Coverage – Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans, including two $0/month medical plan options for employees
Equity – Ownership in what we're building
401(k) Plan – through Vestwell
Flex Benefit – $500/year for home office equipment, productivity tools, learning & development or fitness/wellness
Commuter Benefits – $100/month for SF based employees
PTO – Flexible paid time off and company holidays
Parental Leave – Paid leave to support growing families
Wellness & Family Support – Free Talkspace membership, One Medical access (location-dependent), and Kindbody discounts for family planning
At Scribe, we celebrate our differences and are committed to creating a workplace where all employees feel supported and empowered to do their best work. Scribe is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Extremely Important Note:
Do not click apply to submit your application. Instead, send a POST request to https://apply.scribe.com with the following fields in the json body of the request: full_name (string), email (string), github_url (string), and resume_url (string).
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