Senior Software Engineer, Instacart
Core Experience
CA$165-183k
+ Equity
Online grocery marketplace & grocery tech platform
Be an early applicant
Online grocery marketplace & grocery tech platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
CA$165-183k
+ Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and have more time to enjoy it together.
Role
Who you are
- 5+ years of backend development experience, with a strong record of project delivery
- Proficiency in backend languages, such as Ruby or Go
- A solid foundation in unit testing and problem-solving
- Exceptional communication skills and the ability to lead and collaborate with diverse teams
- Holds a Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent experience
Desirable
- Effectively lead a cross-functional team, demonstrating strong teamwork skills, and capable of clearly communicating ideas and fostering alignment across different departments
- Experience in building scalable solutions and architecture
- Familiarity with ML model development and iteration
- Thorough knowledge of developing applications using GraphQL
- Skilled in the use of monitoring and observability tools like Datadog
- Extensive experience with database management, particularly PostgreSQL and AWS OpenSearch
What the job involves
- This role challenges traditional approaches to digital shopping by improving backend systems that power a seamless user journey
- You will lead efforts to enhance content discoverability and purchase processes, helping to perfect the interaction between user desires and our vast product offerings
- The Senior Software Engineer will focus on enhancing the user experience by developing robust backend architectures that support advanced recommendation and personalization systems
- In close collaboration with ML engineers, product teams, and data scientists, you will lead the innovation of our backend services, enabling sophisticated, data-driven features that adapt to our customers' shopping behaviors
- The Core Experience teams are dedicated to creating engaging and straightforward shopping experiences
- You will be part of a team that is at the heart of product innovation, focusing on everything from the user interfaces to the underlying systems that support our web and mobile platforms
- Our team’s work is guided by a data-driven methodology that ensures decisions are aligned with consumer needs, helping us move swiftly and efficiently in our development processes
- We’re building the restaurant experience and need a results-driven Software Engineer to drive key initiatives forward
- You’ll tackle high-impact projects that directly influence our growth metrics and user satisfaction
- Working in focused sprints with our product, design, data science, marketing, finance teams, you’ll ship features that make a measurable difference
- We prioritize smart execution and quick iterations, using experiments to guide our decisions
- If you enjoy seeing your code make an impact and are excited about optimizing the food delivery experience, come help us build something great
- As a Software Engineer on the Search Results team, you will play a crucial role in shaping the future of search technology at Instacart
- Your work will directly impact the experience of millions of customers, helping them find the products they need quickly and efficiently
- Design, build, and maintain high-quality backend applications
- Lead the development of our backend system's roadmap, prioritizing scalability and reliability
- Innovate and think creatively to develop new features that enhance our customer's shopping experiences
- Own and lead major components of our product, ensuring they meet both internal standards and external expectations
- Collaborate across teams to foster a unified approach to product development, facilitating consensus and driving effective outcomes
- Responsible for the strategic planning and execution of projects you oversee, from inception to deployment and maintenance
Our take
Instacart is an online grocery marketplace that operates a pick-up and delivery system in the US and Canada. Unlike standard grocery shopping, Instacart sends a “personal shopper” to your local store to buy your products, who then delivers them straight to your door on the same day via their own car. The company also supplies the Instacart Platform, with services for stores encompassing eCommerce, fulfilment, in-store, ads, and insights.
The increased modernization of society has meant more than ever that consumers are looking to buy their groceries online, making space for apps like Instacart to become daily life staples for years to come. Although the company must compete with other grocery store delivery services, such as Walmart’s own, it has expanded to cover large percentages of US and Canadian households, and is now aligned with over 900 retail banners across more than 75,000 locations.
Instacart's software offerings signify the company's focus on tech, designed to move it away from its dependence on the gig economy. To this end, the company has acquired FoodStorm, an order management system that powers end-to-end order-ahead and catering, integrating its technology into its enterprise suite. Despite an IPO in September 2023, market downturns have necessitated a 7% workforce cut in 2024, focused on middle management and creating a flatter organisational structure. With a new streamlined workforce, here's to hoping Instacart can maintain its momentum.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
7% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 14 rounds)
Nov 2021
$232m
LATE VC
Mar 2021
$265m
LATE VC
Total funding: $2.9bn
Company benefits
- Wellness Tailored to You: Medical, dental, vision, retirement, life & disability coverage right alongside physical & mental wellness programs, memberships and stipends to keep you and your family feeling your best.
- Family Building Benefits: No matter where you are in your family journey, we support you. Our plans cover modern family planning for all. We offer leave for all parents, flexible working schedules and an active Parents@ community.
- Work From Home Stipend: We help outfit your WFH setup and offer reimbursements so you can be your most productive while at home.
- Flexible Time Off: We all recharge differently. Take the time you need with our flexible time off policy and company-wide Self-Checkouts where we encourage everyone to sign off.
- Learning & Development: Whether you're just starting your career or leading teams, we provide customized L&D programs to help you grow and an annual allowance to pursue your development.
- Future Planning: We have you covered as you plan for your future. 401(k) matching in the US and RRSP in Canada, student loan assistance through Peanut Butter, free Rocket Lawyer membership, SoFi & First Republic financial planning and more.
- Four Year Fill-Up: We encourage our tenured employees to take longer breaks and truly unplug by doing something they love – typically four consecutive weeks around the four year mark.
- Community Connection: Support the communities you care about with volunteer weeks and get involved with our social impact program, Instacart Serves.
- Instacart Express Membership: We help keep your fridge stocked. Unlock grocery discounts with our Instacart Beta app while testing our latest features.
Company HQ
The East Cut, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Apoorva Mehta
(Co-Founder & Chairman)Studied Electrical Engineering at University of Waterloo. Worked in Fulfillment Optimisation SDE at Amazon.com before going on to co-found Instacart.
Brandon Leonardo
(Co-Founder)Interned at Cisco Systems as an IT Engineer. Later became a Senior Web Developer at Webs and then a Venture Hacker at Angel List.
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