At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build scalable systems in Go for automated communication.
- Company: Join Customer.io, a leading platform powering billions of messages daily.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, comprehensive health coverage, unlimited PTO, and professional development budget.
- Other info: Inclusive culture focused on empathy, transparency, and growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on communication technology while working with cutting-edge tools.
- Qualifications: 7+ years in backend engineering with experience in Go and cloud environments.
The predicted salary is between 120000 - 160000 £ per year.
Hi, I'm Paul, VP of Engineering at Customer.io. We're looking for experienced backend engineers who care deeply about reliability, performance, and scalability. You'll design, build, and evolve the systems that power communication at massive scale - while helping us push the boundaries of what great engineering can look like.
About Customer.io: Over 8,000 companies - from scrappy startups to global brands - use our platform to send billions of emails, push notifications, in-app messages, and SMS every day. Customer.io powers automated communication that people actually want to receive. We help teams send smarter, more relevant messages using real-time behavioral data. Under the hood: Go, React, Ember and AI help us ship fast and scale with confidence.
What We Value
- Ownership: You own problems end to end. You move fast, act like an owner, and thrive in ambiguity. You've led complex projects before, whether officially or not, and you're ready to do it again.
- Engineers with product taste: You think like a user, not just an engineer. You care how your systems power real customer value - and how to make them better.
- A healthy skepticism for 'the way things are done': You bring rigor and creativity. Best practices matter - but never more than forward motion.
What You'll Do
- Design and build distributed systems in Go that help customers send timely, relevant messages at scale.
- Collaborate across teams to debug issues and deliver reliable solutions.
- Own problems end to end - from architecture and schema design to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
- Share knowledge and raise the bar through sharing your progress publicly with short videos, thoughtful writing, and mentorship.
- Use AI agents to make multi-file changes by scoping the work, writing the prompt, and verifying the output.
What we're looking for
- 7+ years of experience building scalable, distributed systems in Go (or similar statically typed languages).
- Comfort working in cloud-native environments (AWS, GCP).
- Familiarity with relational databases (we use MySQL) and an understanding of performance tradeoffs.
- Experience with observability tooling and operating production systems.
- A bias for action over perfection, and pride in owning technical decisions.
Compensation & Benefits
We believe in transparency. Starting salary for this role is $150,000 - $200,000 USD (or equivalent in local currency) depending on experience and subject to market rate adjustment. We know our people are what make us great, and we're committed to taking great care of them. Our inclusive benefits package supports your well-being and growth, including 100% coverage of medical, dental, vision, mental health, and supplemental insurance premiums for you and your family. We also offer 16 weeks paid parental leave, unlimited PTO, stipends for remote work and wellness, a professional development budget, and more.
Our Process
- No gotchas, no trick questions - just a clear, human process designed to help both of us make an informed decision.
- Application - We review everyone with care. Tell us why you're interested.
- Recruiter Call (30 mins) - Lets chat about what you're looking for and how we work.
- Behavioral Interview (60 mins) - Talk with one of our hiring managers about your experience, values, and working style. We'll explore topics like ownership, product thinking, and collaboration.
- Technical Interview (60 mins) - A collaborative system design conversation focused on scaling challenges.
- Take-Home Assignment - Complete a short, realistic task similar to what you'd work on here.
- Assignment Review Call (60 mins) - Walk us through your work and discuss tradeoffs, priorities, and how you'd iterate.
All final candidates will be asked to complete a background check and employment verifications as part of our pre-employment process. Customer.io recognizes the stifling impact of systemic injustice on diverse communities. We commit to using our influence to increase inclusion and equity within the tech industry. We strive to build an inclusive team culture, implement bias-free hiring practices, and develop community partnerships to expand our global impact.
Zoom is the only video conference platform that we use. Virtual interviews will be conducted using the video capability (i.e., not via the chat), and offers will be extended in writing on official Customer.io letterhead. Please be vigilant in all of your job search activity, and if you have any questions please contact jobs@customer.io.
Join us! We believe in empathy, transparency, responsibility, and, yes, a little awkwardness. If you're excited by what you read and want to build software that makes communication better for everyone - apply now.
Senior Software Engineer, Backend employer: Customer.io
Contact Detail:
Customer.io Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Software Engineer, Backend
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know Customer.io inside out! Familiarise yourself with their products and values. This will help you tailor your conversations during interviews and show that you're genuinely interested in what they do.
✨Tip Number 2
Practice your technical skills! Since you'll be discussing distributed systems and Go, brush up on those areas. Consider doing mock interviews with friends or using platforms that simulate technical interviews.
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your ownership mentality! Be ready to share examples of past projects where you took the lead. Highlight how you tackled challenges and made decisions that drove results.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining the team at Customer.io.
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Software Engineer, Backend
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion: When you're writing your application, let us know why you're excited about the role and our mission. We want to see that you care about building reliable and scalable systems just as much as we do!
Tailor Your Experience: Make sure to highlight your experience with Go and any cloud-native environments you've worked in. We love seeing how your background aligns with what we're looking for, so don’t hold back on those relevant projects!
Be Authentic: Don’t be afraid to show your personality in your application. We value ownership and creativity, so share your unique approach to problem-solving and how you’ve tackled challenges in the past.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It helps us keep track of applications and ensures you get the best chance to shine in our hiring process. Plus, it’s super easy!
How to prepare for a job interview at Customer.io
✨Know Your Tech Stack
Make sure you’re well-versed in Go and any other relevant technologies mentioned in the job description. Brush up on your knowledge of distributed systems, cloud-native environments, and relational databases like MySQL. Being able to discuss your experience with these tools will show that you’re ready to hit the ground running.
✨Demonstrate Ownership
Prepare examples from your past work where you took ownership of a project or problem. Highlight how you moved fast, made decisions, and thrived in ambiguity. This aligns perfectly with what Customer.io values, so be ready to share specific stories that showcase your ability to own problems end to end.
✨Think Like a User
When discussing your projects, focus on how your engineering decisions impacted the end user. Show that you understand the importance of delivering real customer value and how your systems can enhance communication. This will resonate well with the team’s emphasis on product taste.
✨Prepare for Collaboration
Since collaboration is key at Customer.io, think about times when you worked across teams to solve issues. Be ready to discuss how you debugged problems and delivered reliable solutions. This will demonstrate your ability to work well with others and contribute to a positive team dynamic.