Tech Lead Manager, Senior Staff Software Engineer (Backend)

At Niantic Spatial, we’re building the future of geospatial AI. Powered by a proprietary database of over 30 billion posed images and a groundbreaking third-generation digital map, our mission is to develop spatial intelligence that helps both humans and machines better understand, navigate, and engage with the physical world. Our high-fidelity mapping technology unlocks a new dimension of interaction—laying the foundation for AI to truly comprehend and operate within real-world environments. Join us as we build a living model of the world that people and machines can talk to.

As a Senior Staff Software Engineer, you'll serve as a Tech Lead Manager and the primary architect for our data pipelines and services. In this role, you'll remain hands-on and operate as a cross-domain expert, ensuring our infrastructure scales for long-term success. You'll collaborate directly with executive leadership to establish strategic plans and drive the technical principles and execution that make Niantic a market leader in geospatial AI.

• Strategic Design: Lead the design and execution of mission-critical server systems, ensuring they meet the company’s strategic objectives.

• Operational Excellence: Make final decisions on system implementation and establish organizational policies to ensure long-term operational effectiveness.

• Technical Principles: Lead the development of company-wide engineering principles and objectives to solve complex problems in creative ways.

• Cross-Functional Impact: Build and maintain strong relationships with cross-functional teams to deliver results that impact the company's trajectory.

• Organizational Growth: Provide deep mentorship and training to senior engineers across the function, reducing single points of failure and raising the overall technical bar.

• Standard Setting: Drive the continuous improvement of development processes and code standards company-wide.

• Years of Experience: 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record of leading broad functional areas or company-wide initiatives.

• Education: BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience

• Technical Mastery: Recognized expertise in building reliable, high-throughput, low-latency, and scalable server and networking systems at a global scale.

• Strategic Leadership: Demonstrated ability to turn high-level executive goals into actionable functional strategies.

• Mentorship & Technical Leadership: Experience providing hands-on mentorship and training that raises the performance of an entire function, not just an immediate team.

• People Management: Proven experience in formal people management, with a track record of building and developing high-performing engineering teams.

• In-Office Requirement: Required in-office 4 days per week in our San Francisco and/or Sunnyvale office.

• Domain Expertise: Deep technical knowledge in XR (Extended Reality), Geospatial AI, 3D Reconstruction, or Computer Vision.

• Agile Leadership: Experience leading high-stakes technical projects and navigating the ambiguity of a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment.
  

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