Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Work Mode: Hybrid
Duration: 6 Months
Job Description
We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design, develop, and optimize a federated GraphQL platform that combines multiple backend services into a unified API for large-scale consumer-facing applications.
The ideal candidate will have strong experience with GraphQL federation, router architecture, backend services, API performance optimization, and distributed systems. This role involves technical ownership, architectural decision-making, performance benchmarking, and collaboration with engineering teams.
Primary Skills
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GraphQL Federation and Apollo Router
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GraphQL Schema Design and Subgraph Development
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Backend Engineering and REST/GraphQL APIs
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Router Performance Optimization and Query Planning
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Distributed Systems and Microservices Architecture
Secondary Skills
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Rust, Node.js, TypeScript, Java/Spring, or Scala
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Authentication, Authorization, and Caching
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Observability, Monitoring, and Performance Benchmarking
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Schema Composition, Query Governance, and API Security
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CI/CD, Automated Testing, and Zero-Downtime Deployments
Key Responsibilities
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Evaluate, extend, and optimize GraphQL federation routers, including Apollo Router and alternative solutions.
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Develop custom router plugins and features for authentication, caching, observability, and query governance.
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Design, develop, and maintain core GraphQL subgraphs and backend services.
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Improve API latency, throughput, scalability, reliability, and resilience.
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Establish schema design standards, service contracts, testing practices, and service-level objectives.
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Collaborate with engineering teams to integrate services into the federated graph.
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Create reusable templates, documentation, tooling, and development standards.
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Lead technical evaluations, architecture decisions, benchmarking, and platform roadmap initiatives.
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Support production operations, troubleshooting, and on-call responsibilities.
Required Qualifications
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Strong software engineering experience developing scalable backend systems.
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Hands-on experience with GraphQL, federation, router architecture, and subgraph development.
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Experience with API design, distributed systems, and microservices.
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Understanding of performance optimization, query planning, caching, and observability.
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Ability to lead technical decisions and collaborate across multiple engineering teams.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs, as required by applicable law. Applicants who require a reasonable accommodation during the hiring process may request assistance.
Employment may be contingent upon the successful completion of job-related pre-employment screening, which may include background and reference checks and, where permitted by applicable law and applicable to the position, drug testing. All such screening will be conducted in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
