Staff Software Engineer, Study Hub

Quizlet • Full-time • Hybrid in San Francisco, California, United States • $184,000 - $225,000 / year • 2w ago

Fast Facts

Join Quizlet as a Staff Software Engineer to help innovate and improve our global learning platform. You'll collaborate on a dynamic engineering team focused on enhancing user experience and performance of our search and recommendations systems using AI methodologies.

Responsibilities: Drive system evolution, lead architectural decisions, mentor engineers, and work with teams to build scalable applications that align with business objectives.

Skills: 8+ years in software engineering, expertise in modern backend frameworks, distributed systems, strong problem-solving for high-availability systems, and excellent communication abilities.

Qualifications: Experience with Elasticsearch and search technologies, cloud infrastructure, and modern DevOps practices preferred.

Location: This position is based in San Francisco, CA, with a hybrid work model requiring office attendance three days a week.

Compensation: $184000 - $225000 / Annually

About Quizlet:

Inspired by our belief that anyone can learn anything and powered by our own curiosity, we build the smartest tools we can imagine to help students learn.

Quizlet is the popular, global learning platform and app that millions of students, teachers and everyday people use to study any subject imaginable for school, work or as part of their personal interests -- including two-thirds of high school students and half of all college students in the US. Combining cognitive science and machine learning, Quizlet guides students through adaptive study activities to confidently reach their learning goals.

Valued at $1 billion, Quizlet has raised over $60 million in venture capital from investors including Icon Ventures, Union Square Ventures, General Atlantic, Costanoa Ventures, Owl Ventures, and Altos Ventures.

To serve our global community of learners, our teams tackle lofty technical challenges and design for use cases across cultures and languages. We work hard, act like owners, and collaborate every chance we get. We’re energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.

About the Team:

You will be joining a fast-moving and rapidly growing team dedicated to reimagining how students interact with Quizlet and its products. Our primary goal is to encourage users to return more frequently for longer study sessions, ultimately helping them achieve academic success. To meet these objectives, you'll collaborate closely with a cutting-edge engineering team that leverages the latest AI methodologies for Quizlet’s search and recommendations system. Our team is dynamic and agile, designed to quickly adapt to user feedback as we push forward with major product innovations. Together, we are committed to delivering a transformative learning experience for students everywhere.

About the Role:

We're looking for a Staff Software Engineer who brings expertise in reliability, performance, scalability, and software engineering best practices. You will leverage your experience to help solve some of our hardest problems, model best practices, and drive learning and improvement across engineering teams while contributing to broader software development initiatives. You will collaborate with product and platform teams to build robust, scalable, and high-performing systems that support our products and services.

Our colocation work model supports employees both remotely and onsite each week. Employees are required to be in the office on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and as needed by their manager or the company. This hybrid working environment facilitates collaboration, increases work efficiency, and enhances employee growth.

In this role, you will:

Drive the evolution of our systems by identifying areas for improvement, setting technical direction, and leading architectural decisions to align with business objectives
Work closely with engineering, product, and infrastructure teams to build robust, scalable applications
Act as a technical mentor by guiding engineers in system design, best practices, and career growth, while fostering a culture of collaboration and learning
Lead by example in writing clean, efficient, and well-documented code
Shape the strategy for our search infrastructure, driving innovations in indexing, query performance, and scalability to support business needs
Facilitate knowledge-sharing sessions, tech talks, and code reviews to elevate engineering excellence

What you bring to the table:

8+ years of experience in software engineering, with a track record of delivering reliable and scalable systems
Experience with modern backend frameworks (e.g., Go, PHP, Python, etc.), expertise in distributed systems, and relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL)
Experience designing and operating high-availability, high-scale systems
Strong experience with Elasticsearch and other search technologies (e.g., Solr, OpenSearch, Vespa), with deep knowledge of indexing strategies, query optimization, sharding strategies, replication, and caching. Skilled in testing and debugging search infrastructure, including load testing, query benchmarking, and failure scenario simulations to ensure scalability, performance, and reliability
Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to design and implement end-to-end solutions.
Expertise in backend development using Hack, PHP, and Go (or similar modern backend frameworks) to build and optimize scalable server-side logic and APIs
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to diverse audiences

Bonus points if you have:

Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, Terraform, ArgoCD, GitHub Actions, or similar tooling
Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (Google Cloud, AWS, etc.) and modern DevOps practices
Experience working with vector-based search applications

Compensation, Benefits & Perks:

Quizlet is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Salary transparency helps to mitigate unfair hiring practices when it comes to discrimination and pay gaps. Total compensation for this role is market competitive, including a starting base salary of $184,000 - $225,000, depending on location and experience, as well as company stock options
Collaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance
20 vacation days (and we expect you to take them!)
Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, HMO, VSP Choice)
Employer-sponsored 401k plan with company match
Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth
Paid Family Leave, FSA, HSA, Commuter benefits, and Wellness benefits
40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choice

We strive to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome!

We work to create a holistic interview process, where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together, in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership.

We provide a transparent setting, that gives a comprehensive view of who we are!

In Closing:

We hope you are excited about everything you read so far. We highly encourage you to apply for this position, even if you feel you do not meet all the requirements. Quizlet is always looking for amazing folks that believe in our mission and can contribute to our team in various ways - not merely candidates that fit a certain mold.

We have a bias for action, take initiative, and take pride in delivering results. We make informed decisions whenever possible but are unafraid to take calculated risks on great ideas to promote learning. We embrace challenges and see effort as the path to mastery. We’re constantly seeking opportunities to learn and we embrace curiosity. Quality matters at Quizlet, and we hold the bar high on everything we do.

We treat each other with honesty and respect, encourage vigorous debate, and seek critical feedback. We value diversity, humility, transparency, and collaboration as the best paths to our success — as individuals, as a team, and as a company.

Quizlet’s success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are actively working to build a team that is representative of the diverse communities we serve, and an open, inclusive work environment where all employees can thrive. As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us!

To All Recruiters and Placement Agencies:

At this time Quizlet does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and/or profiles.

Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our website or to any Quizlet employee. Quizlet will not pay fees to any third-party agency or firm nor will it be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of Quizlet.

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