Senior Software Engineer, Platform

Role summary

The Platforms team at Volley is looking for an enthusiastic engineer with a strong background in building scalable backend services. As a Senior Software Engineer, you are responsible for architecting and developing foundational systems from the ground up that will drive all of our games on TV platforms like FireTV, Roku, Samsung, and LG. You will work closely with game engineers to understand their requirements and provide them with the necessary tools and capabilities to increase their velocity - allowing them to focus on making games fun! This role requires autonomy, strategic thinking, and technical leadership, ensuring seamless development experiences for internal teams.

This job opportunity offers a hybrid work arrangement, and we are specifically seeking candidates who are comfortable with on-site attendance in our Bay Area office 3 times per week (MWF) and are either currently residing in or near the Bay Area or willing to relocate for on-site work.

What you'll do at Volley

• Develop and maintain backend services for identity, payments, leaderboards, and party systems.
• Lead architecture strategy, ensuring scalable and maintainable infrastructure.
• Build SDKs and developer tools to enhance internal engineering workflows.
• Mentor teammates, fostering technical growth and best practices.
• Collaborate cross-functionally, aligning platform solutions with business goals.
• Drive process improvements, influencing engineering best practices.

Stuff you may have done before

• Built scalable backend services for high-traffic applications.
• Developed SDKs or internal tools to streamline development workflows.
• Led architecture and strategy decisions for system scalability.
• Worked with AWS, Kubernetes, and microservices architectures.
• Mentored engineers, elevating technical standards.
• Applied first-principles thinking, adapting to business needs.

Must-haves

• 6-8 years of professional engineering experience, with expertise in platform and distributed systems.
• Proven autonomy, leading complex technical initiatives.
• Experience with SDKs, developer tooling, and internal frameworks.
• Strong backend architecture and API design experience.
• Hands-on experience with AWS Services (API Gateway, Load Balancers, S3).
• Problem-solving and debugging skills, focusing on scalability.
• Collaboration skills, ensuring cross-team alignment.
• Deep understanding of common database systems (PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, Redis)

Our stack

• Typescript & Node.js
• React
• Kubernetes
• DynamoDB, PostgreSQL

Your first 90 days

• Onboard and understand Volley’s platform services and infrastructure.
• Own critical backend services, ensuring stability and performance.
• Deploy impactful improvements, optimizing backend efficiency.
• Lead technical discussions, shaping platform strategy.
• Mentor engineers, fostering best practices.
• Ensure cross-functional alignment, refining platform services.

The hiring process

• Stage 1 (Preliminary Screen): with our Senior Recruiting Lead
• Stage 2 (Engineering Panel): with various members of our engineering team
• Stage 3 (Onsite Interview): with various partners and team members
• Stage 4 (Founder Chat): with our Founders
• Stage 5 (Offer)

What's in it for you

• Your medical, dental, and vision insurance is 100% covered by Volley, for yourself and all dependents, and we match 401k!
• We offer a flexible, hybrid work-from-home and in-office work model.
• We offer 4 weeks of paid time off (enforced 2-week minimum), 16 paid holidays, 40 hours of bereavement leave, and unlimited sick days.
• Our generous parental leave policy includes 24 weeks at 100% pay for birthing parents and 12 weeks at 100% pay for non-birthing parents.
• We offer visa support for eligible candidates, making relocating for the job smoother and more streamlined.
• A full breakdown of our benefits is here!

For Pay Transparency: The salary range that we expect to pay for this position is $165,838-$228,028 annually. This is a portion of the pay band for the role and level we are seeking. The final offer amount will depend on experience, education, and skills. Base pay is only one part of the total package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work

About Us

Volley is the leading developer of AI-powered games for Amazon Alexa, Roku TVs, and mobile devices. Our games attract millions of users every month. Popular Volley games include Song Quiz, Jeopardy!, and The Price Is Right.

We believe voice interfaces will become the main way people access entertainment in their living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and cars. We’re building a bundled subscription product similar to Netflix or Spotify for the emerging category of “AI-powered games.”

Volley was founded by Max Child and James Wilsterman in 2016. We're headquartered in downtown San Francisco in the historic Phelan Building! We’re a quickly growing team that truly enjoys working together. If you think you would enjoy creating joyful games on top of a rapidly evolving AI technology stack, please get in touch!

Volley believes in an inclusive workplace and is committed to building a team from a variety of backgrounds. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and receive the other benefits and privileges of employment.

Underrepresented candidates and candidates from nontraditional backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply!