Staff Backend Engineer, Axios
$155-190k
This salary range takes into account all possible locations within the United States, but candidates will only be eligible for the salary range for their location
News media company
Job no longer available
News media company
501-1000 employees
Job no longer available
$155-190k
This salary range takes into account all possible locations within the United States, but candidates will only be eligible for the salary range for their location
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To get you smarter, faster on what matters.
Role
Who you are
- Ideal candidate should have an entrepreneurial spirit, be highly collaborative, exhibit a passion for building technology products, and have the following qualifications:
- Experience building web-scale systems in languages such as (but not limited to) Golang, Python, and TypeScript
- Demonstrated senior-level expertise in proactive problem-solving and driving technical innovation
- Track record of designing and building scalable systems
- Strong understanding of database concepts such as modeling, querying, and performance tuning
- Proficient in diagnosing and resolving performance issues within complex, large-scale systems
- Experience working on cloud-based infrastructure using AWS
- Proficient in Agile Software Development methodologies
What the job involves
- As a Staff Software Engineer you will be responsible for the evolution and maintenance of the backend architecture and services that enable Axios journalists to reach its readers through our editorial tools, website, newsletters, subscription services, and live events
- Go deeper: This Engineer will oversee the evolution and maintenance of the technical architecture of our platform and core services. This involves spearheading technical initiatives and coordinating their implementation with our product, data, and infrastructure teams, while also developing and evangelizing engineering standards and principles across the organization. In this role, you will drive impact at Axios through the following responsibilities:
- Driving strategic platform initiatives, collaborating with application, data, and platform team members to ensure stable and performant application services
- Establishing and aligning technical vision with engineering and product leadership
- Working closely with product development teams to define and adopt engineering principles and standards
- Mentoring less experienced team members through pair programming, code review, and group learning sessions
- Proactively identifying technical debt and prioritizing its remediation with the development teams
- Staying up to date with industry trends, technologies, and best practices
- Evaluating and recommending new tools and technologies to improve the platform and developer experience
- Works closely with cross functional teams and business stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver solutions
- Contributes to a culture of documentation, including platform architecture, processes, and workflows
Our take
Axios is a digital news site covering business, tech, politics, and media trends, with a focus on smart and efficient coverage. Much like rival comparable sites The Economist and Politico, it’s also diversified its media to include podcasts, newsletters, and a mobile app. Whilst it remains a major national and international news outlet, it’s also pursuing a new avenue to help shore up its position: local news.
Local news outlets have been in sharp decline over recent years: it’s too costly, with too little revenue. Axios’ plan is to opt instead for local newsletters. They’re highly advertiser-friendly, and the model itself is exceptionally scalable. So Axios may succeed where traditional efforts by other outlets like The Huffington Post (and countless local outfits) have failed.
Axios was previously held up as an exception to the mergers and acquisitions that other news outlets were enduring to weather the decline of print media. However, in order to fund the expansion into local news, Axios has been acquired by the global conglomerate (and previous investor in the company) Cox Enterprises. This is good news - Cox Enterprises owns and protects local newspapers in Ohio, and looks set to be a hands-off and values-aligned new Axios owner. In 2025, it was announced that OpenAI would be funding Axios's expansion into new US territories, suggesting even more growth on the horizon.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
60% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Dec 2019
$27m
SERIES C
Nov 2017
$20m
SERIES B
Total funding: $57m
Company benefits
- 401(k) with employer match
- Robust PPO and High Deductible health insurance options on the Blue Cross Blue Shield network
- Employer Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution for the high deductible health plan option
- Dental and vision coverage
- Primary caregiver 12-week paid leave
- Generous vacation policy, plus holidays
- One mental health day per quarter
- Annual learning and development stipend
- $100 monthly work-from-home stipend
- Tele-mental health services through Headspace
- OneMedical membership, including tele-health services
- Personal health advocacy resources through HealthAdvocate
- Inclusive fertility, hormonal health and family forming benefits through Carrot Fertility
- Access to the Axios “Family Fund”, which was created to allow employees to request financial support when facing financial hardship or emergencies
- Increased work flexibility for parents and caretakers
- Virtual company-sponsored social events
- A strong and positive work environment
- A commitment to an open, inclusive, and diverse work culture
Company HQ
Radnor - Fort Myer Heights, Arlington, VA
Leadership
Jim VandeHei
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously a Reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, they then went on to found Politico and serve a decade as its CEO.
Mike Allen
(Co-Founder & Executive Editor)Spent nearly a decade as Politico's Chief White House correspondent before co-founding Axios in 2016.
Roy Schwartz
(Co-Founder & President)CEO of Axios HQ. Spent time as a partner at The Gallup Organization, then as VP and ultimately CRO of Politico.
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