Chicory · Remote · United States
Join Chicory, a rapidly evolving adtech company, as a Senior Backend Software Engineer. In this role, you will lead backend architecture and strategic engineering initiatives, drive complex backend projects, and serve as a technical subject-matter expert on programmatic advertising. You will also mentor backend engineers, optimize high-throughput systems, and collaborate cross-functionally to ensure seamless integration of backend solutions. Enjoy comprehensive healthcare benefits, flexible paid time off, and a competitive compensation package.
- This is a highly visible role for an engineer who enjoys solving ambiguous problems, owning meaningful technical decisions, and raising the bar for the people around them
- Ability to connect engineering decisions to business outcomes such as revenue, ad delivery, reach, and customer needs, and communicate effectively with Product and non-technical stakeholders
- Proven ability to design, build, and operate high-throughput, latency-sensitive distributed systems at scale, with strong instincts for service boundaries, API design, asynchronous processing, and failure modes
- 7+ years of professional backend software engineering experience, including 2+ years working directly on programmatic advertising systems such as SSPs, DSPs, ad exchanges, ad servers, or header bidding solutions
- Hands-on experience with OpenRTB and the mechanics of programmatic auctions, including bid request/response flows, timeouts, floor pricing, and deal types
- Demonstrated ability to independently investigate ambiguous problems across multiple services, identify root causes, and evaluate solution tradeoffs
- Track record of improving system performance and reliability through effective instrumentation, monitoring, load testing, and performance analysis (e.g., reducing latency, error rates, or improving availability)
- Experience leading major technical initiatives from architecture through production delivery, including influencing technical roadmaps and driving cross-team alignment
- Strong mentorship and knowledge-sharing skills, with a history of raising the technical bar of a team through code review, documentation, and architectural guidance
- Experience integrating complex external platforms and partners, with attention to versioning, data inconsistencies, operational dependencies, and graceful degradation
- Applied knowledge of Ad Tech ecosystem concepts including identity and cookie synchronization, audience targeting, measurement, and the end-to-end lifecycle of an ad request