Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Platform)

Hex is a company that provides a web-based notebook and app authoring platform with a compute platform for executing analytics workflows across diverse data systems. The Staff or Principal-level Backend Software Engineer will lead computation, performance, data systems design, and systems architecture initiatives while remaining hands-on in the codebase. The role involves evolving execution architecture, improving parallel execution and caching, diagnosing performance issues, collaborating on platform capabilities, authoring technical proposals, and mentoring engineers.

Responsibilities:

• Evolve Hex's execution architecture — the graph-based system that compiles, plans, and runs user notebooks — including proposing and building entirely new compute components that support faster, smarter execution
• Drive parallel execution strategies and caching approaches that reduce latency and minimize unnecessary round trips to external data warehouses
• Instrument complex systems to surface and diagnose performance problems to give the team and our customers a much clearer picture of where time is being spent
• Collaborate across engineering and product to support new platform capabilities, such as building an internal query language that compiles to the appropriate dialect for any connected warehouse
• Author and review technical proposals, and mentor engineers to implement ambitious designs effectively
• Propose and roadmap long-term designs with clear milestones across quarters

Requirements:

• 10+ years of backend engineering experience, with a strong focus on computation, performance, database/storage optimization, and systems architecture
• Experience with parallel execution strategies, caching strategies, and the trade-offs involved in remote data warehouse computation. Strong systems thinker with solid intuitions around storage, database performance, algorithms, and data structures
• A track record of solving difficult, large-scale systems design problems involving significant data and operational complexity — writing code and reviewing code of your teammates
• The ability to move from abstract, vague problems to well-articulated, well-reasoned technical solutions — and to roadmap ambitious designs with clear milestones across quarters
• A strong communicator; comfortable leading technical work and collaborating across a remote-first team
• Python and/or TypeScript required
• Working knowledge of Kubernetes, Docker and cloud infrastructure
• Some frontend experience — this is a backend-focused role, but a willingness to occasionally wire a feature all the way through is a plus
• experience with both