Software Development Engineer IV

Avalara

4h • Remote

About The Position

Avalara is an AI-first company. We expect every engineer and manager to use AI to enhance productivity, quality, innovation, and customer value. AI is embedded in our workflows, and products — and success at Avalara requires embracing AI as an essential capability, not an optional tool. As a Software Development Engineer, Backend on the Returns team, you will design and deploy microservices to power next-generation tax compliance products. You will report to the Director of Engineering, Returns-as-a-Service Framework. This is a remote opportunity. #LI-Remote This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Avalara is an AI-first Company AI is embedded in our workflows, decision-making, and products. Success here requires embracing AI as an essential capability. You’ll bring experience using AI and AI-related technologies, ready to thrive here. You’ll apply AI every day to business challenges - improving efficiency, contributing solutions, and driving results for your team, our company, and our customers. You’ll grow with AI by staying curious about new trends and best practices, and by sharing what you learn so others can benefit too.

Requirements

• 4 years work experience building and operating production backend systems
• 4 years knowledge of AWS primitives (VPC networking, IAM, security, observability, billing) and experience migrating or operating workloads across multiple cloud providers
• Proficiency in one or more backend languages (TypeScript/Node.js, Go, Python, Java) and comfort working full-stack when needed
• Hands-on experience calling or hosting generative-AI models (OpenAI, Bedrock, Vertex, Hugging Face) with understanding of prompt design, token costs, rate limits, and basic RAG patterns

Responsibilities

• Develop microservices in a modern stack.
• Manage the cloud infrastructure: provision, secure, and tune workloads on AWS (EKS, ECS, Lambda, RDS, DynamoDB, SQS, EventBridge, IAM) and evaluate or integrate other cloud vendors when needed (e.g., Azure OpenAI, GCP Vertex).
• Integrate generative-AI APIs and tooling: prototype, productionize, and monitor features using providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Bedrock; orchestrate prompts/agents by LangChain or custom frameworks; enforce data-privacy guardrails.
• Champion engineering best practices: CI/CD with GitLab Actions, infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/CDK), automated testing, SLO/Service level agreement ownership, and cost optimization.
• Mentor and collaborate: pair on tricky problems, review PRs with empathy, and partner with product, design, and ML teams to ship valuable experiences.

Benefits

• Total Rewards
• In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses.
• Health & Wellness
• Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance.
• Inclusive culture and diversity
• Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture. We also have a total of 8 employee-run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees