Motive Logo

Motive

Staff Software Engineer - Backend

Posted One Month Ago
Easy Apply
In-Office
San Francisco, CA, USA
140K-193K Annually
Senior level
Easy Apply
In-Office
San Francisco, CA, USA
140K-193K Annually
Senior level
Build and operate scalable, highly observable backend services and stream-processing pipelines (Kafka, Flink) to process telemetry from hundreds of thousands of IoT devices, powering geofencing, alerts, trip construction, and APIs. Collaborate with Embedded/IoT teams, own infrastructure on cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure), reduce technical debt, and mentor teammates.
The summary above was generated by AI

Who we are:

Motive empowers the people who run physical operations with tools to make their work safer, more productive, and more profitable. For the first time ever, safety, operations and finance teams can manage their drivers, vehicles, equipment, and fleet related spend in a single system. Combined with industry leading AI, the Motive platform gives you complete visibility and control, and significantly reduces manual workloads by automating and simplifying tasks.

Motive serves nearly 100,000 customers – from Fortune 500 enterprises to small businesses – across a wide range of industries, including transportation and logistics, construction, energy, field service, manufacturing, agriculture, food and beverage, retail, and the public sector.

Visit gomotive.com to learn more.

About the Role:

As a Staff Software Engineer on the Equipment Monitoring team, you will build the backend systems that give fleets unmatched visibility into the location, utilization, and health of their equipment - trailers, reefers, construction machinery, and small assets. Our data comes from IoT devices in the field: Asset Gateways, BLE environmental and door sensors, and Beacons. You will design and operate the ingestion and stream-processing pipelines (Kafka, Flink) that turn this raw sensor telemetry into accurate real-time locations, geofence events, trips, and alerts. You will collaborate closely with our Embedded/firmware and IoT teams on device payloads and end-to-end data flows, making this a great role for engineers who enjoy working near the hardware while building cloud services at scale.

What You'll Do:
  • Develop highly observable, reliable, and scalable backend services that process telemetry from hundreds of thousands of IoT devices (sensors, beacons, asset gateways).
  • Build and operate stream-processing pipelines (Kafka, Flink) powering geo-fencing, alerting, trip construction, and asset location.
  • Design, build, and maintain scalable APIs for both internal and external applications.
  • Collaborate with Embedded, IoT, and cross-functional teams on device data contracts and end-to-end feature delivery.
  • Champion engineering excellence by proactively reducing technical debt and improving code quality.
  • Leverage AI tools such as Cursor, CoPilot to increase productivity and code quality.
  • Actively work on our AWS Cloud infrastructure, and mentor and learn from other engineers to foster a culture of continuous growth.
What We're Looking For:
  • B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or related field
  • 5+ years software development experience
  • Experience building distributed systems and event-driven/stream-processing pipelines (Kafka, Flink, Kinesis or similar)
  • Experience in modern programming languages. Proficiency in Ruby, Golang, Kotlin/Java is a plus.
  • Experience with Relational and NoSQL databases such as PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, Redis, and Cassandra
  • Experience building for Cloud Infrastructure such as AWS, GCP, Azure or private clouds
  • Experience with IoT/sensor data or geospatial systems (geofencing, location) is a plus
  • Ownership and Problem Solving mindset
  • Hybrid in the office two days a week
Pay Transparency
Your compensation may be based on several factors, including education, work experience, and certifications. For certain roles, total compensation may include restricted stock units. Motive offers benefits including health, pharmacy, optical and dental care benefits, paid time off, sick time off, short term and long term disability coverage, life insurance as well as 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). Learn more about our benefits by visiting
Motive Perks & Benefits
The base compensation range for this role is:
$140,000$193,000 USD

Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is one of Motive's core values. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. 

Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice here.

UK Candidate Privacy Notice here.

The applicant must be authorized to receive and access those commodities and technologies controlled under U.S. Export Administration Regulations. It is Motive's policy to require that employees be authorized to receive access to Motive products and technology. 

All job postings are for existing vacancies. Please note; some interviews or new-hire training sessions may be held in person at one of our global offices.

HQ

Motive San Francisco, California, USA Office

Our headquarters are located in the heart of the city’s bustling South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood, a short walk from major public transit lines.

Similar Jobs at Motive

16 Days Ago
Easy Apply
In-Office
San Francisco, CA, USA
Easy Apply
164K-236K Annually
Senior level
164K-236K Annually
Senior level
Artificial Intelligence • Fintech • Hardware • Information Technology • Sales • Software • Transportation
Lead development productivity initiatives by building secure, scalable CI/CD infrastructure, automated delivery pipelines, self-service developer tooling, reproducible builds, and self-healing test environments. Improve local development, release processes, system reliability, and engineering standards across SaaS, mobile, and embedded products. Mentor engineers, guide platform direction, and collaborate with stakeholders across the organization.
Top Skills: Android OsAnsibleAospArgocdAWSBashCCircleCIGerritGitGithub ActionsGoHelmJenkinsKotlinKubernetesProwPythonRuby On RailsSpinnakerTektonTerraformTpac
16 Days Ago
Easy Apply
In-Office
Easy Apply
181K-226K Annually
Senior level
181K-226K Annually
Senior level
Artificial Intelligence • Fintech • Hardware • Information Technology • Sales • Software • Transportation
Build and lead the development productivity platform supporting SaaS, mobile, and embedded products. Responsibilities include creating automated CI/CD and release pipelines, improving developer environments and self-service tooling, building reliable infrastructure and testing systems, optimizing platform performance, and establishing engineering standards. The role also includes defining team direction, mentoring engineers, and driving adoption through collaboration, demos, and technical sessions.
Top Skills: Android OsAnsibleAospArgocdAWSBashCCircleCIGerritGitGithub ActionsGoHelmJenkinsKotlinKubernetesProwPythonRuby On RailsSpinnakerTektonTerraformTpac
One Month Ago
Easy Apply
In-Office
San Francisco, CA, USA
Easy Apply
229K-285K Annually
Expert/Leader
229K-285K Annually
Expert/Leader
Artificial Intelligence • Fintech • Hardware • Information Technology • Sales • Software • Transportation
Lead and build Motive's developer platform to enable AI-driven, agentic development: cloud sandbox infrastructure, CI/CD and build systems, testing frameworks, developer experience, LLM/agent evaluation, governance, multi-region operation, and manager-of-managers leadership to increase engineering velocity and quality.
Top Skills: Agentic Development PlatformsAi Developer ToolingAWSBuild SystemsCi/CdContainersDockerEmbeddedGoInfrastructure As CodeKubernetesLlmsMobileObservabilityRuby On RailsTerraformTest Frameworks

What you need to know about the San Francisco Tech Scene

San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area attracts more startup funding than any other region in the world. Home to Stanford University and UC Berkeley, leading VC firms and several of the world’s most valuable companies, the Bay Area is the place to go for anyone looking to make it big in the tech industry. That said, San Francisco has a lot to offer beyond technology thanks to a thriving art and music scene, excellent food and a short drive to several of the country’s most beautiful recreational areas.

Key Facts About San Francisco Tech

  • Number of Tech Workers: 365,500; 13.9% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
  • Major Tech Employers: Google, Apple, Salesforce, Meta
  • Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, fintech, consumer technology, software
  • Funding Landscape: $50.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
  • Notable Investors: Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins
  • Research Centers and Universities: Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of San Francisco; Santa Clara University; Ames Research Center; Center for AI Safety; California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account