Senior Software Engineer, Instacart
Logistic Foundation
$192-242k
+ Equity. Salary varies depending on location
More information about location
Online grocery marketplace and grocery tech platform
Be an early applicant
Online grocery marketplace and grocery tech platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$192-242k
+ Equity. Salary varies depending on location
More information about location
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
- You thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, communicate clearly with technical and non-technical partners, and take ownership to deliver durable solutions under tight deadlines
- 7+ years of backend software development experience delivering scalable, production systems end-to-end
- Proficiency in at least one backend language such as Ruby, Python, or Go
- Hands-on experience building and operating large-scale distributed backend services with defined SLOs, on-call ownership, observability, and incident response
- Proven track record independently leading complex, cross-functional projects with high ambiguity and hard external deadlines
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including authoring technical artifacts (e.g., ERDs, design docs) and coordinating launches with non-engineering stakeholders
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
Desirable
- Experience with compliance-sensitive systems (e.g., pay systems, SOX, GDPR, government policy/labor regulations)
- Technical experience with Ruby on Rails, Python, Golang, Postgres, Redis, and AWS
- Experience with geospatial systems, mapping, or multi-jurisdiction rule engines
- Familiarity with marketplace or logistics domain problems
- Proficiency in system performance optimization, including CPU utilization, load balancing, and latency reduction
- Experience collaborating across teams to advocate for and land platform-wide solutions
- Skilled at leveraging AI to enhance engineering velocity and efficiency
What the job involves
- The Logistics Foundation team is a cornerstone of Instacart’s fulfillment platform, advancing foundational systems that power earnings, pricing, routing, batching, matching, dispatch, and geospatial capabilities. Our mission is to unlock new capabilities and business impact through scalable, reliable architecture that elevates both engineers and AI agents, enabling efficient, compliant logistics at scale
- We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to lead complex, high-visibility platform initiatives end-to-end. In this role, you will collaborate closely with cross-functional partners across Legal, Finance, Policy, Shopper, Enterprise Fulfillment, Operations, and Expansions to deliver resilient systems against hard external deadlines
- You’ll join a high-impact group of approximately 15 engineers within a broader Logistics Serving and Foundation organization of about 30 engineers
- Own and drive complex platform workstreams end-to-end — from engineering design docs through implementation, launch coordination, war room monitoring, and ongoing support
- Design, build, and operate high-quality, high-throughput distributed backend services with clear SLOs, robust observability, and well-run on-call/incident response practices
- Analyze and refine service and data architectures; propose and lead new systems that improve reliability, scalability, and operational excellence
- Establish and champion engineering standards through rigorous design reviews, production readiness, on-call ownership, and continuous improvement of instrumentation and alerting
- Partner with Legal, Finance, and Policy to deliver compliance-ready solutions across multiple jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks, balancing urgency with long-term maintainability
- Drive the adoption of modern technologies and AI toolsets to accelerate development, improve quality, and increase delivery velocity; mentor peers and influence platform roadmaps
- Contribute across critical fulfillment domains — earnings, pricing, routing, batching, matching, dispatch, and geospatial — delivering solutions that directly impact customers, shoppers, and partners
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 1,500 retail banners across more than 85,000 locations.
With an expanding partnership with Kroger, Instacart continues to demonstrate why it's a leader in the gorcery delivery space. By powering fast, reliable delivery from neary 2,700 stores and introducing tools like the AI-powered Cart Assistant, Instacart isn't just enhanceing the way millions of families shop but also shaping the future of personalized, convenient grodery expericnes. This deepening collaboration underscores Instacart's ability to drive growth and deliver value to both customers and partners.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
7% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 15 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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