At a Glance
- Tasks: Join our team to enhance Grafana's backend services and deliver innovative solutions.
- Company: Grafana Labs, a leader in open-source software with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, bonuses, and flexible remote work.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with opportunities for growth and access to modern AI tools.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on cutting-edge technology while mentoring others.
- Qualifications: Solid backend development experience, preferably with Go, and a passion for quality.
The predicted salary is between 91000 - 114000 £ per year.
This role is available for candidates located in the UK, Germany, Spain, Ireland and Sweden. We are looking for a Staff Backend Engineer to join our Grafana Backend Services squad.
The Opportunity: The Grafana backend Services squad’s mission is to deliver the best Grafana service to both On‑Prem and Cloud customers in a unified, end‑to‑end manner, from ownership of the API codebase all the way to operation of its components. Today, this means taking charge of multiple components such as the Grafana Backend API itself and the CLI tool, but also all the orchestration infrastructure required to deliver Grafana at the scale of our Cloud product.
What You'll Be Doing:
- Work with your team to deliver new functionality, then use the results to iterate and improve.
- Contributing to and reviewing design documents for upcoming features.
- Embrace our open‑source culture and contribute to other projects that may not directly fall within your team’s scope.
- Take an active role in influencing our roadmap and your career objectives.
- Be a part of your team’s on‑call rotations and take ownership of the services you’re running.
- Mentor and support other team members, participate in design discussions, and collaborate with the team.
- Regularly sharing ideas and knowledge across a vast array of technical ideologies and mindsets.
- Working closely with the other squads in the Grafana Division.
We invest heavily in developer productivity. You can use modern AI coding assistants as part of your daily workflow (your choice of tools, within security guidelines), backed by a company‑funded usage budget so you can iterate quickly without unnecessary friction. We encourage pragmatic AI‑assisted development: faster prototyping, test generation, refactors, documentation, and incident follow‑ups—always paired with strong code review and quality standards. You’ll also have access to frontier models (e.g., GPT‑Codex 5/3, Claude Opus 4.6, Gemini 3 Pro).
What Makes You a Great Fit:
- Have solid backend development experience, ideally with Go.
- Good understanding of storage solutions with an emphasis on relational databases like MySQL, SQLite, and Postgres.
- Care deeply about developer and user experience and the quality of the products that you work on.
- Have experience with delivering projects from gathering requirements, and brainstorming ideas to shipping a product to the customer’s hands in a self‑driven way.
- Have experience writing clean, robust, and performant software that is easily maintained by others.
- Have experience with mentoring junior engineers in a collaborative but asynchronous environment.
- Enjoy working on complex solutions – Grafana is a highly technical solution and has avid followers who rely on it every day and care deeply about their workflows.
- Can take on complex challenges and break them down to achieve tight learning loops: to analyze, design, and build modular solutions, deliver MVPs, gather data and feedback, and then progress iteratively.
Bonus Points For:
- Experience with open‑source software and/or commercial open‑source companies.
- Experience working with Docker and Kubernetes.
- Experience with CI/CD, DevOps, or Developer Efficiency work streams.
- Been a user of Grafana and Prometheus in operational roles.
- Familiarity with being on‑call and performing operations/SRE tasks.
- Exposure to microservices architecture and distributed systems, or a desire to learn.
Compensation & Rewards: In the UK, the Base compensation range for this role is £91,000 - £114,000. Actual compensation may vary based on level, experience, and skillset as assessed in the interview process. Benefits include equity, bonus (if applicable) and other benefits listed here.
Equal Opportunity Employer: Grafana Labs is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of race, colour, nationality, origin, caste, sex, gender reassignment identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, disability, veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, maternity, marital, family or carer status, or any other characteristic which is protected by local law. We believe that equality and diversity build a strong organisation, and we work hard to ensure that is the foundation of our organisation as we grow.
Senior Backend Engineer - Grafana Backend Services | UK | Remote employer: Grafanalabs
Grafana Labs is an exceptional employer that prioritises developer productivity and fosters a collaborative, open-source culture. With a strong focus on employee growth, you will have access to cutting-edge tools and resources, including modern AI coding assistants, while working remotely from the UK. The company values diversity and equality, ensuring a supportive environment where your contributions are recognised and your career objectives can flourish.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Backend Engineer - Grafana Backend Services | UK | Remote
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Grafanalabs or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Grafanalabs.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Grafanalabs.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Grafanalabs that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Backend Engineer - Grafana Backend Services | UK | Remote
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Grafanalabs.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Grafanalabs and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Grafanalabs
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Grafanalabs uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
