Staff Backend Engineer

As a Staff Backend Engineer at Calendly, your primary responsibilities include designing and implementing foundational services that support our engineering teams. You'll also take the lead on architectural design, provide technical mentorship, and collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality solutions. Being involved in the planning and execution of significant initiatives is also key, along with developing a vision for the services you'll oversee.

Calendly is looking for candidates with a deep understanding of distributed systems and cloud computing. Experience in performing major architectural refactors—particularly transforming monolithic applications into microservices—is a big plus. Additionally, excellent problem-solving skills, proven leadership capabilities, and the ability to collaborate effectively are essential to succeed in this role.

At Calendly, we are committed to supporting the growth of our Staff Backend Engineers by ensuring access to various learning opportunities and resources. You will be in an environment that encourages innovation, where your technical expertise and leadership will be valued. Participating in mentoring initiatives also fosters professional development, ensuring you can continually evolve your skills.

As a Staff Backend Engineer with Calendly, you'll have the chance to work with an array of modern technologies, including Google Cloud Platform, Kubernetes, Go, Node, TypeScript, Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, and Redis, among others. This diverse technology stack allows for a dynamic work environment where you can utilize your deep technical skills and discover new interests.

Calendly offers a comprehensive benefits package for its Staff Backend Engineers, including a competitive salary based on metropolitan pay ranges, eligibility for quarterly bonuses, equity awards, and a robust selection of benefits. With a commitment to work-life balance, these perks ensure that you are well taken care of as you make a significant impact within the company.

When answering this question, share a specific example where your leadership influenced a project's success. Focus on your role, the challenges faced, and how your actions guided the team toward achieving the goals.

Explain your process for architectural design, emphasizing how you evaluate requirements, determine best practices, and consider scalability and performance. Use an example from your experience if possible.

Discuss the techniques you employ to mentor others, such as hands-on coding reviews, pair programming, and regular feedback sessions. Illustrate your approach with a success story where your mentorship led to significant improvement.

Mention the resources you use to stay updated, such as tech podcasts, blogs, webinars, or participating in online communities. Showcase how you apply new learnings in practical scenarios.

Provide an example of a complex bug you faced, outlining your investigation process and how you arrived at a solution. Highlight your problem-solving skills and any collaborative efforts.

Detail your hands-on experience with microservices, mentioning any platforms you've built or worked with. Discuss the benefits and challenges you've encountered while implementing this architecture.

Explain your method for prioritization, such as using frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix or relying on team collaboration. Use a prior project to contextualize your approach.

Expound on the importance of communication in your role as a technical leader. Provide insights on how effective communication aids collaboration and ensures that all stakeholders are aligned.

Share a detailed account of an improvement you suggested, describing the issue, your proposal, and the measurable impact it had after implementation.

Illustrate your approach for managing conflicts, emphasizing your focus on constructive discussions, data-driven conclusions, and finding common ground to ensure team cohesion.