Senior Software Engineer, Focal

$200-230k

+ Stock options

SQL

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

GCP

Python

Django

Kafka

Node.js

Redshift

Flask

BigQuery

REST API

dbt

Senior and Expert level

San Francisco Bay Area

More information about location

1-2 days a week in office

Retail automation & optimization

Be an early applicant

Retail automation & optimization

21-100 employees

B2BArtificial IntelligenceComputer VisionSaaSAutomation

Be an early applicant

$200-230k

+ Stock options

SQL

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

GCP

Python

Django

Kafka

Node.js

Redshift

Flask

BigQuery

REST API

dbt

Senior and Expert level

San Francisco Bay Area

More information about location

1-2 days a week in office

21-100 employees

B2BArtificial IntelligenceComputer VisionSaaSAutomation

Company mission

To lower the cost of living for all mankind by automating and optimizing brick and mortar retail with the latest advancements in AI.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

Education: BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
Experience: 7+ years in backend system design and data architecture, with at least 3 years in a lead/architect role
Expertise in cloud platforms like Google Cloud (BigQuery, Dataflow) or AWS (Redshift, Lambda)
Strong knowledge of SQL, Python, and backend frameworks (e.g., Node.js, Django, Flask)
Proven experience designing and optimizing data warehouses and ETL/ELT pipelines
Extensive experience with Apache Kafka, including designing, deploying, and managing Kafka-based streaming pipelines
Proficiency in containerization and orchestration tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)
Familiarity with DBT or similar transformation layer tools
Strong understanding of API design, security best practices, and RESTful principles
Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to manage complex data-driven projects
Recent startup experience preferred

What the job involves

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design and scale our backend systems and data infrastructure
This role is pivotal in ensuring our systems can handle the massive volumes of data generated by our AI solutions
You will work closely with cross-functional teams to create robust, scalable systems that power our data products and services
As an Engineer, you will have ownership of backend architecture, data pipelines, and storage optimization
This is an opportunity to shape the technical foundation of a rapidly growing AI company and create systems that can scale globally
Mission of the role: To enable us to scale from 200k to 1 million cameras
Design, implement, and optimize backend systems to support large-scale data ingestion, transformation, and storage
Own the overall data architecture, including ETL pipelines, data lakes, and warehouses
Develop scalable and maintainable APIs to support both internal and external systems
Architect and manage real-time data streaming pipelines using Apache Kafka to ensure high availability and low-latency processing
Drive optimization efforts for data storage (e.g., partitioning, clustering) to improve query performance
Collaborate with AI and analytics teams to ensure backend infrastructure meets business and product needs
Establish best practices for backend development, data governance, and pipeline monitoring
Lead efforts to enhance reliability, fault tolerance, and security of backend systems
Identify and drive new initiatives to improve efficiency and productivity through automation and process improvements

Our take

Even in the largest retailers, inventory systems are usually manual, with staff checking inventory to get an idea of stock numbers, spoilage and other metrics. These are slow and introduce a high degree of human error, as well as being difficult to carry out around shoppers.

Focal Systems leverages a network low cost, ruggedized cameras and computer vision to scan a store's shelves automatically, alerting the backroom of the need to restock an area of the store in real time. In a time when retailers are facing staff shortages and supply chain issues, this kind of automation is in high demand, as is evidenced by Focal System's customer base which includes the likes of Walmart, ShopRite and Piggly Wiggly.

Having raised an impressive amount of funding, Focal Systems is doubling down on R&D and expanding its global sales and engineering teams. As more brick and mortar retailers begin to adopt automated solutions, Focal Systems is a strong position to continue its growth.

Freddie

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Insights

Top investors

Few candidates hear
back within 2 weeks

Glassdoor (3.7)

Company

Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)

Dec 2021

$25.8m

SERIES B

Dec 2019

$4.8m

EARLY VC

Total funding: $41.9m

Company benefits

Health Insurance
Catered lunches
Paid Time Off
Quarterly Team Retreats
Education grants
Meaningful equity-grants in a very fast growing startup that is aiming for an IPO

Company values

Be the best technology partner you work with
We are a deep learning first company
Only when you test your limits do you realize you have none
The hardest working, most dedicated team will win
Own your work
Row as one
Focus and solve one problem at a time
Hypothesize, experiment, measure, repeat
Crave change, embrace discomfort
Burn the boats
Love life, love the world

Company HQ

Ingold - Milldale, Burlingame, CA

Articles

Focal Systems Raises $25.8M in Series B Funding to Automate Retail Globally

Focal Systems Announces Chain-Wide Rollout with Cooportunity Market

The Current Business Climate Demands Grocers And Retailers Become Fast Adopters

Leadership

Francois Chaubard

(CEO)

Was a part of Lockheed Martin's Engineering Leadership Development Program. Then worked as a Deep Learning Researcher at Bay Sensors and Apple.

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