Instacart
Staff Software Engineer, Storage
Job Description
We're transforming the grocery industry
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.
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.
Instacart is a Flex First team
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. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.
OVERVIEW
Our backend systems power the clients used by millions of customers every year to buy their groceries online. These systems must also support tight integration with the largest retailers in the US and Canada. Engineering at Instacart provides the opportunity to work on challenging scaling problems while also designing the features that will define our industry. You will learn how to build in an open collaborative environment serving millions of requests daily.
ABOUT THE JOB
- You will be part of a small team, with a large amount of ownership and autonomy for managing things directly.
- You will work closely with other application engineering teams and internal stakeholders, owning a large part of the process from problem understanding to shipping the solution.
- You will ship high quality, scalable and robust solutions with a sense of urgency.
- You will have the freedom to suggest and drive high-impact initiatives related to Storage solutions that unlock new innovations, accelerate application development, create resiliency & high-availability, and right-size storage needs company-wide.
Instacart's technology is constantly changing and adapting. Some of the technologies you would use at Instacart include:
- Languages: Go, Ruby and Python
- Platforms: RDS Postgres, DynamoDB, Elasticache, Elasticsearch, EC2 and selected GCP services
- Observability and Analytics: Datadog, Snowflake, Sentry
If you have experience with these technologies, you will have the opportunity to dive deeper. If you haven't used these technologies you will have the chance to learn from the collective experience of our team.
ABOUT YOU
Minimum Qualifications:
- 10+ years of working experience as a software engineer in one or more large-scale cloud services or application development environment
- 4+ Years working with AWS RDS Postgres with a strong knowledge of SQL
- Self-motivation and an enjoyment for a growth-oriented startup environment
- A strong sense of ownership that drives improvements for customers as well as automation and scale for the systems.
- The drive & ability to dive deep into technical challenges and champion root causes, solving problems correctly.
- You enjoy being highly productive, shipping code, reviewing others’ PRs and iteratively guiding code bases towards best practices and excellence.
- You are able to scale yourself effectively via junior engineers and accelerate the team through effective designs, written & communication, delegation, establishing standards & best practices, code reviews.
- Strong ability to architect and design systems using common back-end Web technologies (such as Go, Ruby on Rails, Python, etc) in a production environment
- An ability to balance a sense of urgency with shipping high quality and pragmatic solutions
- Experience working with a large codebase on a cross functional team
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, computer engineering, electrical engineering
- You are a mentor to other software engineers, helping equip them and grow as software development professionals
- You like solving the kind of high-impact, org-wide problems that involve tackling abstract challenges and turning them into concrete programs that deliver successfully
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 here.
Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.
For US based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.
Interested in this job?
Applications are no longer being accepted for this job.
Instacart
A grocery delivery service allowing users to order from local stores and have items delivered by personal shoppers.
See more jobsSafe Remote Job Search Tips
Verify Employer Thoroughly
Research the company's identity thoroughly before applying. Check for a professional website with contacts, active social media, and LinkedIn profiles. Verify details across platforms and look for reviews on Glassdoor or Trustpilot to confirm legitimacy.
Never Pay to Get a Job
Legitimate employers never require payment for applications, training, background checks, or equipment. Always reject upfront payment requests or demands for bank details, even if they claim it's for purchasing necessary work gear on your behalf.
Safeguard Your Personal Information
Protect sensitive data like SSN, bank details, or ID copies. Share this only after accepting a formal, written job offer. Ensure it's submitted via a secure company system or portal, never through insecure channels like standard email attachments.
Scrutinize Communication & Interviews
Watch for communication red flags: poor grammar, generic emails (@gmail), vague details, or undue pressure. Be highly suspicious of interviews held only via text or chat apps; legitimate companies typically use video or phone calls.
Beware of Unrealistic Offers
If an offer's salary or benefits seem unrealistically high for the work involved, be cautious. Research standard pay for similar roles. Offers that appear 'too good to be true' are often scams designed to lure you into providing information or payment.
Insist on a Formal Contract
Always secure and review a formal, written job offer or employment contract before starting work or sharing final personal details. Ensure it clearly defines your role, compensation, key terms, and conditions to avoid misunderstandings or scams.