Staff Software Engineer, Etsy
Public API
$178-267k
Plus equity package and an annual performance bonus. Salary dependent on location
More information about location
Office located in Brooklyn, NY
eCommerce platform for handcrafted goods
Be an early applicant
eCommerce platform for handcrafted goods
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$178-267k
Plus equity package and an annual performance bonus. Salary dependent on location
More information about location
Office located in Brooklyn, NY
1001+ employees
Company mission
To keep human connection at the heart of commerce.
Role
Who you are
- Experience with object-oriented software languages. The majority of work developed will be in PHP
- Experience building and maintaining REST APIs (especially managing breaking changes) and related technical capabilities
- Experience using observability tools to monitor API usage and related metrics, such as Grafana, HoneyComb, or Google Cloud Logging
- A strong sense of ownership for our platform
- The ability to think critically and independently to ensure we are building the right things in the right way
- Close attention to detail, with the ability to translate business requirements to production-ready code
- Strong communication that adapts to technical and non-technical audiences
- Curiosity and ability to learn autonomously
- Experience working with AI Agents and related tools, like MCP servers and skills
What the job involves
- The OpenAPI team works on Etsy’s public API provided for sellers and 3rd party developers. We build and maintain technical capabilities to enable our users to integrate with our API and build apps to extend Etsy tooling. We also work closely with various product teams at Etsy when they build new features on our team’s platform
- We are looking for a backend engineer to join our team where you will collaborate closely with a dedicated team of backend engineers, a product manager, and an engineering manager
- You will work on a variety of back-end projects to improve the developer experience and stability of OpenAPI, such as system performance optimization, agentic tooling, security enhancements, testing functionality, and webhooks. You will also provide guidance to internal teams at Etsy to assist them in rolling out new features on OpenAPI and managing breaking changes
- As a staff engineer, you will partner with team leads to set the technical direction of the team. This will involve keeping tabs on recurring pain points on our platform, potential opportunities that arise across the company, and industry trends. Based on this expertise, you will help decide which tracks of work our team pursues. You will be responsible for the design of larger projects and will mentor junior teammates on designing smaller projects
- This is a full time role reporting to the Senior Engineering Manager
- Build and maintain software written in PHP
- Evolve the OpenAPI platform by identifying areas of friction and implementing features that can measurably improve Developer Experience
- Partner with product engineering teams to build and roll out new features
- Debug hairy issues spanning multiple systems to determine the root cause and either route it to the appropriate owner or fix yourself
- Collaborate with cross functional partners - product, analytics, research, etc - to determine the highest impact projects that align with our team’s strategy
- Work with teammates and other subject matter experts as necessary to scope out new platform projects and break them down into multiple stages for delivery, identifying and resolving architectural trade-offs
- Write high quality code and mentor your teammates to do the same through PR reviews, pairing, and general mentoring
- Steer the technical direction of the team, from which projects we work on to which team processes we follow
- Of course, this is just a sample of the kinds of work this role will require! You should assume that your role will encompass other tasks, too, and that your job duties and responsibilities may change from time to time at Etsy's discretion, or otherwise applicable with local law
Our take
Created as an alternative to more corporate eCommerce sites, Etsy is a peer-to-peer (P2P) website where users buy and sell handmade crafts, vintage items, art and photography. The online marketplace works similarly to Amazon and eBay, only with an emphasis on unique items rather than mass-produced merchandise.
Since its IPO in 2015, it has managed to hold its own in an increasingly competitive eCommerce industry, including from Amazon's handmade section that launched in 2015. Further, by providing sellers with ownership over pricing and branding, the site is attractive for those wanting to set up a business on an established platform.
However, the seller-side of Etsy is not without problems. A hike in transaction fees and the introduction of mandatory marketing fees for artists with high turnovers created significant discontent amongst sellers. Despite this, Etsy continues to connect artists and consumers, attracting shoppers with its message of extraordinary, handmade and affordable products.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
8% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
May 2012
$40m
LATE VC
Aug 2010
$20m
SERIES E
Total funding: $91.7m
Company benefits
- Equity (offers vary by country)
- Performance bonuses
- Paid gender neutral parental leave
- Adoption and family planning
- Back-up care
- Volunteer time off
- Donation matching
- Employee resource groups
- Global virtual events
- Employer paid health benefits
- Fitness benefits
- Wellness programming
- Mental health benefits
- 401K matching/Pension contributions
Company HQ
Downtown Brooklyn, NY
Leadership
Josh Silverman
(CEO)Previously senior executive at eBay, CEO of Shopping.com, CEO of Skype and President of Consumer Products & Services at American Express.
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