Senior Software Engineer - Backend

Nextdoor (NYSE: NXDR) is the essential neighborhood network. Neighbors, public agencies, and businesses use Nextdoor to connect around local information that matters in more than 350,000 neighborhoods across 11 countries. Nextdoor builds innovative technology to foster local community, share important news, and create neighborhood connections at scale. Download the app and join the neighborhood at nextdoor.com.

As a Software Engineer at Nextdoor, you’ll join a focused team of developers, product managers, and designers who are passionate about using technology to cultivate 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 operate in an AI-first environment and expect every team member to actively use AI tools as part of their workflow. We aren't looking for prompt engineers; we’re looking for people who use tools like Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, and Glean to challenge their own thinking and take full ownership of AI-assisted outputs.

We also offer a warm and inclusive work environment that embraces a hybrid employment model, blending an in office presence and work from home experience for our valued employees. The hiring team will go over these expectations with you if you are being considered for a role near one of our offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and London. 

We believe in empowering our teams to own all aspects of bringing Nextdoor to life. As such, you’ll get the opportunity to make key contributions across our engineering stack - this includes developing and improving frameworks across our frontend and backend services, in addition to making direct contributions to your team’s product area.

In addition to writing code, you’ll have the opportunity to help define the features that we build, through collaboration internally, and in some cases, talking to our customers and members to understand how we can better serve them. You’ll also get the chance to collaborate with product managers and designers to drive Nextdoor forward. 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
  • SQL
  • GraphQL
  • Redis
  • Postgres
  • Kafka
  • AWS
• Collaborating with product management, data science, and design to ensure we build the right things to maximize impact on neighbors.
• Working with other engineering teams in Toronto, San Francisco and beyond
• Participate in in-person Nextdoor events such as trainings, off-sites, volunteer days, and team building exercises
• Build in-person relationships with team members and contribute to Nextdoor’s company culture

• 5+ years of experience as a Software Engineer and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent work experience
• Self-starter who thrives in an ambiguous environment and focuses on delivering impact for our neighbors
• Strong coding abilities in at least one language. Python or Kotlin experience preferred.
• Experience building and deploying flexible backend systems at scale
• Strong collaboration and communication skills
• Strong desire to learn about new technologies and systems
• Eagerness to explore and apply AI and emerging technologies to reimagine how work gets done

Compensation, benefits, perks, and recognition programs at Nextdoor come together to create one overall rewards package.

The starting salary for this role is expected to range from $165,000 to $250,000 on an annualized basis, or potentially greater in the event that your 'level' of proficiency exceeds the level expected for the role. Compensation may also vary by geography.

We also expect to award a meaningful equity grant for this role. With quarterly vesting, your first vest date would be within the first 3 months of your start date.

Overall, total compensation will vary depending on your relevant skills, experience, and qualifications.

We have you covered! Nextdoor employees can choose between a variety of great health plans. We cover 100% of your personal monthly premium for health, dental, and vision – and provide a OneMedical membership for concierge care.

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 serve. We encourage everyone interested in our mission 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. In accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we always consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

For information about our collection and use of applicants’ personal information, please see Nextdoor's Personnel Privacy Notice, found here.