Principal Software Engineer - Backend

Key Skills

Apache Kafka, API, AWS, Cloud computing, Django, GoLang, GraphQL, Kotlin, Machine learning techniques, Postgres, Product Management, Python Programming, REDIS, Software Development, SQL

Job Description

Nextdoor is where you connect to the neighborhoods that matter to you so you can belong. Our purpose is to cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on.

Neighbors around the world turn to Nextdoor daily to receive trusted information, give and get help, get things done, and build real-world connections with those nearby — neighbors, businesses, and public services. Today, neighbors rely on Nextdoor in more than 305,000 neighborhoods across 11 countries.

Meet Your Future Neighbors

As a Principal Software Engineer at Nextdoor on the Feed Infra team, you’ll join the team of engineers, product managers, and data scientists that are responsible for building the feed technology, which is the foundation for cultivating a kinder world where everyone has a neighbor they can rely on. We are a small, high performing team of engineers that wear multiple hats and prioritize impact for our customers. We care about moving fast and delivering impact, without compromising on quality and reliability as guided by our Engineering Principles. You will have the opportunity to learn from your co-workers and teach them. As a team, we will make each other better and build great software.

At Nextdoor, we offer a warm and inclusive work environment that embraces a hybrid employment experience, providing a flexible experience for our valued employees.

The Impact You’ll Make

On the Feed Infrastructure team you’ll build high performing, scalable systems that power delivering each neighbor a customized feed in a timely and efficient manner. We utilize Python, Kotlin, and Go to build out various functionality we provide such as our Feed Ranking/ML pipeline, GraphQL API, and ancillary services. You’ll be in a highly visible role that will deliver a measurable impact on a core part of our application and Nextdoor as a business.

You’ll help lead the team in re-architecting our feed infrastructure with eyes towards the future while collaborating internally with product managers, data scientists, and other engineering leaders. We believe engineers should have a stake over all aspects of the product - from coming up with the next big ideas to build, through helping set expectations and plan roadmaps, all the way through understanding the impact of new features through rigorous data analysis. As your career at Nextdoor develops, you’ll also get the chance to grow your role towards what you’re most passionate about.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Backend development in a variety of languages/frameworks including:
• Python/Django
• Kotlin / JVM
• Go
• SQL
• GraphQL
• Redis
• Postgres
• Kafka
• AWS
• Mentoring a team of talented engineers designing and building the next generation of Nextdoor
• Collaborating with product management, data science, and design to ensure we build the right things to maximize impact on neighbors
• Working with engineers in New York, San Francisco and beyond
• Participate in in-person Nextdoor events, trainings, off-sites, volunteer days, and other team building exercises
• Build in-person relationships with team members and contribute to the KIND culture that Nextdoor values

What You’ll Bring To The Team

• 8+ years of experience as a Software Engineer and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent work experience
• High-initiative leader who can drive technical vision to enable the rapid iteration of Nextdoor’s product
• Strong coding and debugging abilities across multiple systems and domains
• Experience designing, building and deploying flexible backend systems at scale
• Strong desire to learn about new technologies and systems

At Nextdoor, we empower our employees to build stronger local communities. To create a platform where all feel welcome, we want our workforce to reflect the diversity of the neighbors we seek to serve. We encourage everyone interested in our purpose to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or any other trait that unfairly targets a group of people.