What if social media worked more like the web - open, flexible, and full of possibility? That's the future we're building at Bluesky. Our app is already used daily by millions, but it's just the beginning: underneath it is a protocol designed for an entire ecosystem of apps, all connected by the same social graph.
We're looking for a staff engineer to come do the best work of their career here.
This is a staff IC role. You won't manage people. You'll do something harder: help set the technical direction for a team and the standard everyone builds to. We're looking for someone operating at a staff level today, who has owned hard problems across a large system and been the person their team trusted to make the right calls.
About the role:Most senior engineering jobs are some version of maintaining a large system or optimizing a mature product. This is different. Our app is still taking shape, the protocol underneath it is still being invented, and the team is small enough that one exceptional engineer can change the trajectory of the whole thing. You'll ship features used by millions within weeks, not quarters. You'll make architectural calls that many other engineers build on.
We think this is the most interesting moment to be a builder in years. Agentic coding is changing what a small team can do, and we're leaning into it. We're looking for someone who is already living in that future and is excited to define what an AI-native engineering team looks like.
This is a rare opportunity to work on something that matters. Social media shapes how billions of people connect and stay informed, and right now it's almost entirely controlled by companies optimizing for attention. Bluesky is the bet that it can be open instead, and built on a protocol that no one owns but everyone shares.
Key responsibilities:- Cross-Stack Engineering: Work across the entire stack, including a React Native app (iOS, Android, web) and Node.js/TypeScript and Go backend services.
- System Design: Build foundational systems and make critical technical design decisions that accelerate overall development speed; Own large, ambiguous problems from conception to completion.
- Setting the Standard: Establish the bar for excellence in system architecture, code reviews, and shipping velocity.
- Team Multiplier: Raise the technical standard for the entire team and mentor others on how to gain maximum leverage from modern engineering tooling.
- Team Mentorship: Mentor a small squad (2-4 engineers), setting technical direction and upholding a high bar for code quality through mentorship and rigorous code reviews.
- High-Fidelity Feature Delivery: Deliver major features to users that actively define the future direction of the product.
- Ecosystem Contribution: Actively contribute to the open-source AT Protocol and Bluesky ecosystem.
You are a good fit if you have the following:- Engineering Leadership: 10+ years of experience (5+ in management) building consumer-scale products and integrating AI coding tools to act as a force multiplier for the team; People who work with you get better. Your reviews, your designs, and your instincts raise the level of whole teams
- Full-Stack React Expertise: Deeply experienced in TypeScript, React, and React Native (iOS/Android/Web), with a focus on motion-rich, high-polish interfaces.
- Technical Decisions: You've made major technical decisions that mattered, and you've lived long enough with the consequences to know which ones were right
- Agentic AI: You already use agentic coding tools every day, and you have specific, opinionated views about where they create leverage and where they break down
- Technical Ownership: Proven ability to own complex areas end-to-end-from scoping and sequencing to delivering in fast-paced, autonomous environments.
- Product Intuition: A UI/UX-focused engineer who understands social app mechanics and sweats the details of the user experience.
We're especially excited if you have:- Startup or social media product experience
- Been a founder or part of an early team
- Worked with distributed or federated systems, real-time feeds, or content delivery at scale
- Familiarity with the AT Protocol, or a real itch to work on open protocols and open source
- Production Go, and experience with SQL or NoSQL databases (PostgreSQL, Scylla/Cassandra)
Additional Information:We're a fully remote team. This role requires significant overlap with Pacific Time (PT) working hours.
To learn more about us, check out bsky.social and atproto.com.
The anticipated base salary range for this position is $200,000 to $270,000, excluding equity. Equity will be considered in the total compensation package. The final base salary will be based on geographic location, experience level, skill set, training, licenses, and certifications.
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