Staff Software Engineer

About the role and team

Engineering at Uber means building for real-world impact under real-world constraints, where software decisions directly move people, goods, and local economies globally. As a Staff Software Engineer, you will define and drive broad technical strategies across core systems, bridging high-level business vision with robust, scalable engineering architectures. You will lead complex technical initiatives end-to-end, serving as a technical multiplier across multiple organizations, setting high standards for software quality, resilience, and operational excellence.

The work at this level is inherently ambiguous, high-stakes, and fast-paced, requiring you to make critical architectural trade-offs with imperfect information. You will navigate legacy complexity, shifting priorities, and massive distributed scale while empowering engineers, aligning cross-functional partners, and unblocking critical path systems. If you are energized by solving messy, real-world problems, taking end-to-end ownership, and raising the engineering bar across an entire platform-this is where you will make your mark.

What You'll Do

• Technical Strategy: Define the 1-2 year technical vision for core surfaces, preparing backend systems for 10x growth.
• Architect for Scale: Lead the implementation of mission-critical distributed systems for real-time personalization.
• Mentorship & Influence: Coach senior and lead engineers while running high-level design reviews to maintain excellence.

Basic Qualifications

• Experience: 10+ years of experience with a track record of leading large-scale initiatives in a Staff capacity.
• Technical Depth: Exceptional expertise in massive concurrency and low-latency distributed systems.
• Education: BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science or related industry experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced Degree: Master's or PhD in Computer Science or a related field.
• Strategic Influence: Experience defining 1-2 year technical visions that align engineering goals with business outcomes.
• Domain Expertise: Deep experience in integrating AI/ML models into high-throughput backend production surfaces.
• Open Source: Contributions to open-source distributed systems or infrastructure projects (e.g., Go, Kafka, M3).

Ready to Ride?

This isn't the kind of place where you follow a playbook - it's where you help write one. If you're driven by impact, energized by challenge, and ready to shape how the world moves - we'd love to hear from you.

You may be eligible for bonuses, equity, and other compensation, as well as a range of benefits. Explore our benefits.

Offices remain key to collaboration and Uber's culture. Unless approved for full remote work, employees must spend at least 50% of their time in-office. Some roles, like those at greenlight hubs, require full-time in-office presence. Ask your Recruiter for details about this role's requirements.

Uber is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.