Backend Software Engineer
About The Position
About Quizlet: At Quizlet, our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. Our $1B+ learning platform serves tens of millions of students every month, including two-thirds of U.S. high schoolers and half of U.S. college students, powering over 2 billion learning interactions monthly. We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike. We’re energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools. Let’s Build the Future of Learning Join us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential. About the Team: Our Backend Engineering teams build the core services and systems that power Quizlet’s product experiences at scale. From APIs to distributed systems, we focus on reliability, performance, and scalability to support millions of learners worldwide. We partner closely with Product, Data, and Infrastructure teams to deliver robust systems that enable rapid product development. About the Role: We’re hiring Backend Software Engineers across multiple levels (Staff Backend Software Engineers - Principal Backend Software Engineers), with leveling and team placement determined through the interview process. In this role, you’ll design, build, and operate backend services that power key product features and internal systems. You’ll work on high-impact systems that require strong engineering fundamentals, thoughtful system design, and a focus on performance and reliability. Success is measured by your ability to deliver scalable systems, improve platform quality, and drive engineering excellence. We’re happy to share that this is an onsite position in our San Francisco office. To support collaboration, we ask employees to be in the office at least three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Requirements
- Experience building and operating backend systems in production
- Strong fundamentals in system design, APIs, and distributed systems
- Experience with modern backend technologies (e.g., Java, Kotlin, Python, Go or similar)
- Familiarity with cloud infrastructure and scalable architectures
- Ability to work across ambiguity and drive projects end-to-end
- Strong collaboration and communication skills
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services and APIs
- Develop systems that are reliable, performant, and easy to operate
- Collaborate with Product, Frontend, Data, and Infrastructure teams to deliver end-to-end solutions
- Improve system architecture, performance, and scalability
- Contribute to observability, testing, and operational excellence
- Participate in system design, code reviews, and technical discussions
Benefits
- Company stock options
- Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, Dental, VSP Choice)
- Employer-sponsored 401k plan with company match
- Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth
- Paid Family Leave
- FSA
- HSA
- Commuter benefits
- Wellness benefits
- 40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choice
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
Education Level
No Education Listed
