Staff Software Engineer

ServiceNow•Santa Clara, CA

11d•$166,500 - $291,400•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the Global Cloud Services organization's FinOps Tools team, which is building ServiceNow's next-generation analytics and financial governance platform. Our team owns the full modern data stack: Trino for distributed queries, dbt for transformations, Iceberg for lakehouse architecture, Lightdash for business intelligence, and Argo Workflows for orchestration. You will be the founding engineer dedicated to Forecasting & Planning Applications, creating the full-stack platform that empowers our finance and engineering teams to forecast, plan, and optimize cloud spend at enterprise scale. We are building a cloud-native forecasting and planning platform that enables data-driven financial governance across ServiceNow's multi-cloud infrastructure. As our founding Staff Software Developer focused on Forecasting & Planning, you will design, architect, and rapidly implement full-stack applications that seamlessly integrate with our existing data stack (Trino, dbt, Iceberg, Lightdash, Argo Workflows). You will build production-grade forecasting applications from the ground up, translating functional requirements from FinOps stakeholders into robust engineering solutions. This role demands aggressive execution: working MVP in 3 months, full production-scale platform in 6 months. This is a unique opportunity to build from the ground up and define how financial planning and forecasting happens at ServiceNow's scale.

Requirements

Experience in leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision-making, or problem-solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI's potential impact on the function or industry.
8+ years of experience in software engineering with deep expertise in full-stack development and cloud-native architecture with a Bachelor's degree; or 6 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD with 3 years experience in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field; or equivalent experience.
Expert-level proficiency in React and TypeScript, particularly building complex, data-intensive web applications
Strong Node.js and Express skills for backend API development and business logic implementation
Proven track record of rapid execution in greenfield environments with evolving requirements
Hands-on experience building and scaling full-stack applications at enterprise scale
Strong SQL and database design skills for relational and analytical databases
Experience with Kubernetes and containerization for cloud-native application deployment
Ability to translate functional requirements into engineering specifications and deliver production-ready solutions
Full professional proficiency in English
Frontend Development: React 19, TypeScript, Vite, modern state management (Context API, Zustand, Redux)
UI Libraries: Experience with data-intensive UI components (AG Grid, Handsontable, or similar), charting libraries (Recharts, D3.js)
Backend Development: Node.js, Express, RESTful API design, authentication/authorization patterns
Databases: SQL proficiency, experience with DuckDB, PostgreSQL, or similar; understanding of analytical databases (Trino, Presto, BigQuery)
Data Technologies: Familiarity with dbt, Apache Iceberg, data lakehouse architectures, or modern data stack
Kubernetes & Containers: Docker, Kubernetes deployments, Helm charts, container orchestration
CI/CD: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or similar; automated testing and deployment pipelines
Testing: Jest, Vitest, Playwright, or similar testing frameworks
Version Control: Git workflows, branching strategies, code review practices
Full-Stack Application Development
Proven track record building full-stack applications from scratch (greenfield projects)
Experience designing intuitive UIs for complex business workflows (financial planning, data entry, approval processes)
Strong understanding of application architecture: separation of concerns, API design, data modeling
Ability to balance rapid prototyping with production-ready code quality
Experience with performance optimization for data-intensive applications
Comfort operating at startup velocity within enterprise constraints
Requirements Translation & Communication
Proven ability to work with non-technical stakeholders to gather and refine requirements
Strong technical writing skills for documentation, API specs, and design documents
Ability to translate business needs into technical solutions with clear tradeoffs
Experience presenting technical concepts to diverse audiences (engineers, finance, leadership)
Excellent collaboration skills across engineering, finance, and operations teams
Leadership & Autonomy
Proven ability to work autonomously and drive technical decisions in ambiguous, greenfield environments
Strong bias toward action: prototype quickly, gather feedback, iterate aggressively
Ability to establish technical foundations for new products with long-term vision while delivering short-term results
Experience mentoring junior engineers and establishing coding standards

Nice To Haves

Experience building financial planning, forecasting, or budgeting applications
Familiarity with FinOps principles and cloud cost management
Experience with Argo Workflows, Airflow, or similar workflow orchestration tools
Experience with Lightdash, Redash, Metabase, or similar BI tools
Experience with JupyterHub or notebook-based analytics platforms
Open-source contributions to React, data visualization, or FinOps tools
Conference speaking or technical blogging on full-stack development or FinOps

Responsibilities

Design and architect full-stack forecasting and planning applications from functional requirements
Lead technical decision-making on application architecture, data modeling, and integration patterns
Establish best practices for building scalable, maintainable financial applications on Kubernetes
Drive innovation in FinOps tooling, leveraging modern web technologies and data platforms
Move fast: deliver working MVP in 3 months, production system at scale in 6 months
Build modern web applications using React 19, TypeScript, and Vite
Develop backend services with Node.js and Express for API development and business logic
Implement data access layers integrating with Trino, DuckDB, and Iceberg tables
Create intuitive, high-performance user interfaces for complex financial workflows (spreadsheet-like data entry, interactive visualizations, approval workflows)
Build RESTful APIs with proper validation, error handling, and documentation
Deploy applications on Kubernetes with proper containerization and CI/CD pipelines
Integrate forecasting applications with the modern data stack: Trino queries, dbt transformations, Iceberg tables
Build data pipelines and ETL workflows using Argo Workflows for automated data processing
Implement real-time data synchronization between forecasting applications and data warehouse
Create interactive dashboards and visualizations using Recharts, D3.js, or similar libraries
Optimize query performance for large-scale financial datasets (millions of rows)
Design database schemas and data models for forecasting, planning, and variance analysis
Implement authentication, authorization, and audit logging for financial applications
Build observability and monitoring for application health, performance, and user activity
Establish infrastructure foundation that scales from pilot users to enterprise-wide adoption
Deploy and manage applications on Kubernetes with proper resource management and scaling
Translate functional requirements from FinOps stakeholders into detailed engineering specifications
Build reusable UI components and libraries for financial applications (data grids, charts, forms)
Establish development workflows: local development, testing, CI/CD, deployment
Create comprehensive documentation for APIs, data models, and user workflows
Collaborate closely with FinOps team to rapidly iterate on features and validate usability
Leverage cutting-edge AI development tools (Cursor, Windsurf, ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot) to accelerate development velocity
Establish AI-augmented development practices and mentor future team members on effective AI tool utilization
Drive innovation in AI-assisted code generation, testing, and application optimization
Work autonomously with guidance from Engineering and FinOps leadership
Collaborate with DevOps team on Kubernetes infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, and security policies
Partner with FinOps Tools team members working on Trino, dbt, Lightdash, and Iceberg to ensure seamless integrations
Translate business requirements into technical solutions with clear communication to stakeholders