Staff Engineer, Backend Platform

Zūm • Redwood City, CA

105d • $220,000 - $260,000

About The Position

Zum is a rapidly expanding Series E startup backed by industry leaders Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, Spark Capital, and GIC, with a bold mission to transform the stagnant school transportation industry. Operating in over 15 states across the United States—with flagship hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle—we are actively extending our reach to the East Coast and Midwest regions. As a technology-driven company, we deploy cutting-edge solutions to manage and operate school district transportation systems while also launching our own charter platform and developing proprietary SaaS offerings. Additionally, we are spearheading a nationwide initiative to electrify school transportation fleets, simultaneously supporting local utilities by feeding much-needed energy back into the grid. We have been recognized as a CNBC 50 disruptor, Financial Times 500 fastest growing companies, and Fast Company’s World Changing ideas. This is a hybrid position based out of our headquarters in Redwood City, CA. You will be required to be on-site a minimum of 3 days per week (Monday - Thursday). We will only consider candidates already located in the Bay Area.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science (or equivalent)
• 8+ years of industry experience as a Software Engineer or Staff Engineer
• Proven experience building backend systems for enterprise-level applications across multiple platforms
• Strong hands-on skills in architectural design and backend development
• Experience with relational and non-relational databases
• Proficiency in one or more backend programming languages: Node.js, Java, or Python
• Hands-on experience deploying and managing applications in cloud environments (AWS or Google Cloud)
• Experience building scalable systems—both vertically and horizontally
• Proficient in developing APIs for internal and external use with a strong focus on performance, scalability, and security
• Experience with microservice-based architectures

Nice To Haves

• Passionate about working for a mission-driven company
• Experience working in the transportation industry
• Strong experience with NodeJS and Typescript

Responsibilities

• Design the architecture of our Backend platform
• Work with 2-4 backend developers to deliver high-quality product features
• Introduce tools and processes to scale (and accelerate) our development processes
• Work with the Product and Design team to plan and deliver new product features
• Improve our existing Backend platform while adding new features and content to our product
• Hands-on coding while owning the full development lifecycle—from ideation to deployment

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401(k)
• Holidays
• Wellness
• Vacation
• Stock options

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees