Staff Software Engineer - Product

As a Staff Software Engineer at .txt, your main responsibilities include developing and maintaining our tech infrastructure with a strong focus on distributed systems engineering. You will write reliable Python code for our LLM backend systems, collaborate with research engineers to integrate backend services, and perform performance optimization to enhance data throughput. Additionally, maintaining high code quality through rigorous code reviews and testing will be part of your day-to-day activities.

To be a successful candidate for the Staff Software Engineer position at .txt, you should have significant experience contributing to open source projects, as well as professional proficiency in Python or Rust backend development. Familiarity with web frameworks is essential, along with expertise in large-scale distributed systems and asynchronous network programming. Strong Git skills are also needed, particularly knowledge of rebase and commitment to maintain code base clarity.

Absolutely! .txt is a fully remote company, allowing you to work from anywhere in the world. We cultivate a culture of written communication, reducing the need for frequent meetings in favor of organic discussions. You can enjoy a flexible work-life balance while contributing to our cutting-edge technology initiatives.

As a Staff Software Engineer at .txt, you will work primarily with Python for backend development, focused on distributed systems. Familiarity with frameworks like FastAPI, Twisted, and ASGI is beneficial. Additionally, you will collaborate with compiler and research engineers to integrate backend services, enhancing our structured generation technology based on context-free grammars.

.txt offers competitive compensation that aligns with market rates for seed-stage startups, along with equity options. Additionally, we provide health and dental insurance, a 401k plan for U.S. applicants, and support for your work equipment, including GPUs, to ensure you have the tools necessary for success.

In your response, focus on specific projects you’ve worked on that involved distributed systems. Mention the technologies used and how your work improved system reliability and performance. Highlight your understanding of scaling challenges and strategies you applied.

Discuss your approach to code quality, including methods like code reviews, automated testing, and peer feedback. Share specific examples of how you have implemented best practices in previous roles, and the positive outcomes that resulted from those practices.

Provide examples of relevant open-source projects you have contributed to, particularly in aspects related to backend development. Explain your role in those projects, the impact of your contributions, and how they demonstrate your expertise in the technologies relevant to .txt.

Illustrate this with specific scenarios where you optimized systems, detailing the techniques used, such as caching, data modeling, or code refactoring. Discuss the metrics that improved as a result and any lessons learned from the optimization process.

Emphasize the importance of communication and alignment in collaborative projects. Talk about tools or methods you use to facilitate conversations among team members and how you ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page throughout the project lifecycle.

Choose a specific challenge that required innovative thinking and problem-solving. Describe the problem, your approach to finding a solution, and the outcome. Highlight what you learned from the experience and how it can apply to the Staff Software Engineer role at .txt.

Articulate your belief in the value of code reviews in ensuring high-quality code and fostering team learning. Discuss how you provide constructive feedback in reviews and how you handle receiving feedback on your own code.

Share your proficiency with Python and any specific frameworks (e.g., FastAPI, Django) that you have worked with. Highlight projects where you used these technologies and any unique challenges you faced while developing with them.

Discuss common challenges such as data consistency, system scalability, and network issues in distributed systems. Provide insights into strategies you believe can address these challenges, drawing from your past experiences.

Communicate your enthusiasm for .txt's mission and technology. Mention specific aspects of the role that excite you, such as the innovative work being done in structured generation, the emphasis on work-life balance, or the opportunity to work with a talented remote team.