Staff Software Engineer, Enterprise Fulfillment Platform

Instacart is transforming the grocery industry by providing essential services for grocery delivery. As a Staff Software Engineer, you will drive the technical vision and execution of high-impact platform capabilities across Instacart’s Enterprise Fulfillment Platform APIs and services, while mentoring engineers and influencing engineering direction across teams.

Responsibilities:

• Architect and lead development of core platform components powering Connect API Fulfillment and the 3rd‑Party Fulfillment Platform
• Define and drive long‑term architectural direction for scalable, reliable APIs and fulfillment orchestration systems supporting complex, high‑volume use cases
• Lead execution of major, ambiguous platform initiatives from concept through launch, frequently spanning multiple teams and stakeholders
• Partner closely with product, design, infrastructure, and external‑facing teams to define requirements, integration contracts, and platform strategy
• Improve system reliability, throughput, and developer experience through architectural improvements, technical standards, and scalable patterns
• Establish best practices and frameworks for next‑generation orchestration, partner‑facing APIs, and platform capabilities
• Mentor and guide engineers across the organization, shaping technical culture and raising engineering quality
• Serve as a subject‑matter expert in distributed systems, platform architecture, and integration‑oriented design

Requirements:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science (or related field), or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of backend or platform engineering experience, with a strong record of delivering complex, high‑impact systems
• Demonstrated ability to define architectural strategy and drive consensus across teams
• Deep experience owning production services, with strong emphasis on reliability, observability, and performance
• Ability to deliver high‑quality code in high‑traffic, mission‑critical systems
• Strong communication skills, with experience collaborating directly with product teams, internal customers, or external partners
• Proven leadership as a senior IC, including mentoring senior engineers and influencing technical direction at the org level
• Experience designing or scaling external‑facing APIs used by partners or third parties
• Expertise in distributed systems, orchestration architectures, or large‑scale platform development
• Experience integrating with external partners, enterprise customers, or third‑party fulfillment systems
• Track record of cross‑team architectural leadership and evolving platform‑level capabilities
• Ability to generate forward‑looking technical strategies and influence multi‑year roadmaps