Staff Software Engineer, Quizlet

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with a track record of delivering reliable and scalable systems
• Deep expertise in distributed systems and data-intensive architectures, with strong fundamentals in system design, performance optimization, and debugging at scale
• Proficiency in modern backend languages (e.g., Go, PHP, Python) and experience building robust APIs and server-side logic
• Strong knowledge of relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL) and experience with schema design, indexing, and query performance tuningInterest and experience in search infrastructure, you’re excited to design, scale, and operate the systems that power search and discovery for millions of users
• You have (or are eager to build) expertise in technologies such as Elasticsearch or Solr/ OpenSearch, and understand concepts like indexing strategies, query optimization, sharding, replication, and caching
• You approach search infrastructure with a performance mindset—comfortable with load testing, benchmarking, and failure simulations to ensure scalability and reliability
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts clearly

Desirable

• You will be joining a fast-moving and rapidly growing team dedicated to reimagining how students interact with Quizlet and its products. Our primary goal is to encourage users to return more frequently for longer study sessions, ultimately helping them achieve academic success
• To meet these objectives, you'll collaborate closely with a cutting-edge engineering team that leverages the latest AI methodologies for Quizlet’s search and recommendations system
• Our team is dynamic and agile, designed to quickly adapt to user feedback as we push forward with major product innovations. Together, we are committed to delivering a transformative learning experience for students everywhere
• This position is for a Staff Software Engineer who brings expertise in reliability, performance, scalability, and software engineering best practices
• You will leverage your experience to help solve some of our hardest problems, model best practices, and drive learning and improvement across engineering teams while contributing to broader software development initiatives
• You will collaborate with product and platform teams to build robust, scalable, and high-performing systems that support our products and services
• Our colocation work model supports employees both remotely and onsite each week
• Employees are required to be in the office on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and as needed by their manager or the company
• This working environment facilitates collaboration, increases work efficiency, and enhances employee growth
• Drive the evolution of our systems by identifying areas for improvement, setting technical direction, and leading architectural decisions to align with business objectives
• Work closely with engineering, product, and infrastructure teams to build robust, scalable applications
• Act as a technical mentor by guiding engineers in system design, best practices, and career growth, while fostering a culture of collaboration and learning
• Lead by example in writing clean, efficient, and well-documented code
• Shape the strategy for our search infrastructure, driving innovations in indexing, query performance, and scalability to support business needs
• Facilitate knowledge-sharing sessions, tech talks, and code reviews to elevate engineering excellence