Fast Facts

Join Quizlet as a Staff Software Engineer focusing on Search & Discovery to help improve user engagement through AI-powered learning tools.

Responsibilities: Drive system evolution, collaborate with product and engineering teams, mentor junior engineers, and lead architectural decisions for search infrastructure.

Skills: Expertise in distributed systems, proficiency in modern backend languages (Go, PHP, Python), strong knowledge of relational databases and search infrastructure.

Qualifications: 8+ years of software engineering experience, experience with Elasticsearch or Solr/OpenSearch is a plus, familiarity with cloud infrastructure is desirable.

Location: San Francisco, CA, Hybrid work model with office attendance required on certain days.

Compensation: $220700 - $268100 / Annually

About Quizlet:

At Quizlet, our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. Our $1B+ learning platform serves tens of millions of students every month, including two-thirds of U.S. high schoolers and half of U.S. college students, powering over 2 billion learning interactions monthly.

We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike. We’re energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.

Let’s Build the Future of Learning

Join us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential.

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:

This position is 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
Deep expertise in distributed systems and data-intensive architectures, with strong fundamentals in system design, performance optimization, and debugging at scale
Proficiency in modern backend languages (e.g., Go, PHP, Python) and experience building robust APIs and server-side logic
Strong knowledge of relational databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL) and experience with schema design, indexing, and query performance tuningInterest and experience in search infrastructure, you’re excited to design, scale, and operate the systems that power search and discovery for millions of users.
You have (or are eager to build) expertise in technologies such as Elasticsearch or Solr/ OpenSearch, and understand concepts like indexing strategies, query optimization, sharding, replication, and caching.
You approach search infrastructure with a performance mindset—comfortable with load testing, benchmarking, and failure simulations to ensure scalability and reliability.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts clearly

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
Experience building or integrating Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) applications
Understanding of mobile app architecture or experience optimizing APIs for mobile clients

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 $220,700 – $268,100, 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 that we expect you to take!
Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, Dental, VSP Choice)
Employer-sponsored 401(k) 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

Why Join Quizlet?

🌎 Massive reach: 60M+ users, 1B+ interactions per week

🧠 Cutting-edge tech: Generative AI, adaptive learning, cognitive science

📈 Strong momentum: Top-tier investors, sustainable business, real traction

🎯 Mission-first: Work that makes a difference in people’s lives

🤝 Inclusive culture: Committed to equity, diversity, and belonging

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:

At Quizlet, we’re excited about passionate people joining our team—even if you don’t check every box on the requirements list. We value unique perspectives and believe everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our culture is all about taking initiative, learning through challenges, and striving for high-quality work while staying curious and open to new ideas. We believe in honest, respectful communication, thoughtful collaboration, and creating a supportive space where everyone can grow and succeed together.”

Quizlet’s success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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.

#LI-FT

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Staff Software Engineer - Search & Discovery