Role Overview
The Staff Software Engineer at Nectar in Palo Alto is a full-time position focused on building and scaling the core product experiences and platform infrastructure. This role suits an experienced engineer who combines deep technical expertise with leadership capabilities to shape architectural decisions and mentor team members.
Key Responsibilities
Design and construct backend systems capable of ingesting and processing large volumes of social data from platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
Develop resilient integrations with third-party APIs while optimizing the infrastructure that powers AI workloads.
Enhance reliability, performance, and cost efficiency across backend systems and data pipelines.
Establish operational best practices including monitoring, incident response, and an on-call culture.
Build AI-powered product experiences like conversation inboxes, AI-suggested replies, and conversation summarization features.
Improve shared components, design systems, and frontend architecture to accelerate product development.
Optimize performance and reliability as the application scales to support thousands of daily users.
Partner with product and design teams to deliver intuitive workflows for brand and marketing teams.
Author architecture documents and guide infrastructure, tooling, and frontend decisions.
Review technical designs and code while mentoring engineers to strengthen development practices.
Requirements
Strong engineering background in designing, building, and operating production systems across backend, frontend, or full-stack.
Deep understanding of system design, distributed systems, and scalable architecture.
Experience building reliable data pipelines on top of external APIs or constructing complex, data-rich web applications using React.
Strong user empathy and product intuition for feature design.
Experience mentoring engineers and shaping engineering culture.
Curiosity regarding how AI transforms software development alongside an interest in AI-assisted engineering workflows.
Comfort operating in a fast-moving startup environment requiring high ownership and end-to-end responsibility.
Nice to Have
Experience working with high-scale data pipelines or real-time data processing systems.
Background in building AI-powered user interfaces or LLM-integrated product features.
Experience creating analytics dashboards or data-heavy interfaces.
Familiarity with integrating AI or machine learning systems into production environments.
Previous experience working at an early-stage or rapidly scaling startup.
Skills and Tools
TypeScript
React
Shadcn
Zustand
AWS
Pulumi
Postgres
ClickHouse
Turbopuffer
Cursor
Claude Code
Graphite
Granola
Salary and Benefits
Annual salary range of $240,000 to $400,000 USD.
Competitive compensation package including early equity.
Health, vision, and dental benefits, plus a 401(k) match.
ClassPass membership for fitness and wellness classes.
Hybrid schedule featuring 4 days in the office and 3 remote flex days per quarter following the initial 3-month period.
Comprehensive stipends including a $1,000 per month housing stipend for living near the office, a $50 per month mobile stipend, and commuter benefits covering train passes or Palo Alto parking reimbursement.
Free lunch provided in the heart of University Avenue in Palo Alto.
Clear career growth opportunities as the organization scales.
About the Company
Nectar Social is building an AI-native social operating system designed to reshape commerce through authentic social interactions and trusted community recommendations. Founded by former Meta product and engineering leaders, the company has raised over $30 million in total capital from investors such as GV and True Ventures. Nectar partners with recognized brands like Oura Health, Caraway, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Kosas, and OLIPOP.
How to Apply
Interested candidates should apply directly on the official company careers page at nectarsocial.com.
