Staff Engineer, Backend - Ads

As a Staff Engineer, Backend at MyFitnessPal, your main responsibilities include collaborating with cross-functional peers to solve complex problems, developing and maintaining APIs that enhance user experience, and evaluating existing systems to improve their effectiveness. You will also play a key role in supporting the resolution of production issues and ensuring our backend processes are robust and efficient. Your input on system architecture as well as your ability to break down abstract problems will significantly impact our ads ecosystem.

To become a Staff Engineer, Backend at MyFitnessPal, candidates should have over 7 years of relevant experience in backend engineering. Proficiency in building high-request volume APIs for various clients is required, alongside expertise in API design patterns like REST and GraphQL. Familiarity with data stores and high-volume messaging queues is also essential. While knowledge of specific languages such as Kotlin is preferred, strong general engineering skills are equally valued.

In the Staff Engineer, Backend role at MyFitnessPal, you will primarily work with Kotlin, but the tech stack also includes Scala, Ruby, Java, Go, Node, and Python. Your expertise will be crucial in developing and enhancing the backend systems that power our advertising solutions. You'll also interact with various data systems such as MySQL, MongoDB, and AWS services, allowing for a rich variety of technological experiences.

Collaboration is a cornerstone of the Staff Engineer, Backend role at MyFitnessPal. You will work closely with diverse teams to understand challenges and prioritize solutions that align with our business goals. Regular interaction with other engineering teams to share insights and best practices fosters an inclusive environment where everyone’s ideas are valued, making your contributions impactful.

As a Staff Engineer, Backend at MyFitnessPal, you can expect a competitive salary range of $160,000 - $190,000, along with a comprehensive benefits package. This includes healthcare, parental planning, a 401(k) plan with employer match, responsible time off, and wellness allowances. Additionally, enjoy a flexible work culture that supports both your professional growth and personal well-being through programs like mentorship and recognition initiatives.

In answering this question, discuss specific projects where you designed or maintained high-volume APIs. Highlight the challenges you faced, such as managing load balancing, optimizing performance, and ensuring reliability. Use quantifiable metrics to demonstrate the impact of your work, such as response times or user satisfaction improvements.

Prepare to share a systematic troubleshooting methodology you follow when encountering problems in production. Discuss your process for identifying issues, recreating bugs, and analyzing logs or performance metrics. Provide an example of a significant production issue you resolved and what you learned from that experience.

In your response, you should detail your approach to API design, including defining resource endpoints, using appropriate HTTP methods, and ensuring stateless interactions. Mention any tools or best practices you employ, such as OpenAPI specifications or versioning strategies.

Discuss your proficiency with AWS, particularly the services you have utilized, such as EC2, S3, RDS, or Lambda. Provide examples of projects where you deployed applications or managed infrastructure on cloud platforms, emphasizing how these tools benefited your projects in terms of scalability and cost-effectiveness.

Explain your focus on writing clean, maintainable code and your experience with practices such as code reviews, pair programming, and automated testing. Discuss any tools you use for code quality assurance, like linters or static analysis tools, and mention your support for continuous integration and deployment processes.

Describe your hands-on experience with messaging systems, highlighting projects where you used Kafka or similar technologies to handle high-volume data streams or asynchronous processing. Discuss the positive impact these systems had on the scalability and performance of your applications.

Share the resources you rely on for staying current with industry trends, such as blogs, tech meetups, or online courses. Also, emphasize your enthusiasm for learning and adapting to new technologies, perhaps by mentioning any recent skills you’ve acquired or certifications earned.

Discuss your prioritization techniques, such as using frameworks like Eisenhower’s Matrix or MoSCoW prioritization. Provide examples of how you’ve successfully managed competing deadlines in previous roles, focusing on communication and flexibility to adapt as project requirements change.

Describe your mentoring approach, emphasizing how you helped guide the junior developer through technical challenges. Outline your methods for knowledge sharing and fostering a supportive learning environment, while also mentioning the outcome of their growth and contributions.

In your answer, share your personal alignment with MyFitnessPal’s mission of promoting health and wellness. Discuss the aspects of the role that inspire you, such as working on innovative projects with a collaborative team, contributing to user experiences, or the opportunity for personal and professional growth within the company.