About brighthush
brighthush is a fast‑growing, venture‑backed technology leader that has built a modern data activation platform trusted by hundreds of innovative brands worldwide. Our platform empowers businesses to unlock the full value of their existing data warehouses, turning raw data into real‑time, personalized customer experiences without the need for complex data migrations. From Reverse ETL and AI‑driven marketing insights to a no‑code Customer Studio that lets non‑technical users craft audiences and activate data instantly, brighthush is redefining how companies engage with their customers at scale.
Backed by over $332 million in funding and a talented team of more than 570 professionals, brighthush is in a rapid expansion phase. Our engineering organization alone has grown to 100 engineers and is projected to reach 160‑170 within the next year. We operate a remote‑first culture, offering flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States or Canada, with optional office hubs in San Francisco, New York City, and North Carolina for those who thrive in a hybrid environment.
Role Overview
We are seeking a highly motivated and technically proficient Senior Backend Software Engineer to join the Customer Studio Backend team. In this role, you will design, build, and scale the core services that power brighthush’s no‑code audience building and data activation experience. You will collaborate closely with product managers, data scientists, front‑end engineers, and DevOps specialists to deliver high‑performance, reliable, and secure backend solutions that enable our customers to personalize marketing, drive engagement, and accelerate growth.
This is a full‑time, remote‑first position open to candidates located in the United States or Canada. Salary ranges from $180,000 – $320,000 (USD) with meaningful equity through ISO options, a generous benefits package, and visa sponsorship for qualified candidates (including OPT and H‑1B transfers).
Key Responsibilities
Product Development & Delivery
- Architect, develop, and maintain high‑throughput, low‑latency backend services that power Customer Studio’s audience creation, segmentation, and activation pipelines.
- Implement robust APIs (RESTful and gRPC) that enable seamless integration with external marketing, analytics, and CRM tools.
- Design data models and storage strategies that efficiently handle petabyte‑scale warehouse data, ensuring fast query performance and cost‑effective scaling.
- Collaborate with product managers to translate business requirements into technical specifications, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
- Participate in agile ceremonies (sprint planning, daily stand‑ups, retrospectives) to deliver incremental value on a predictable cadence.
Technical Excellence & Innovation
- Lead the adoption of modern backend technologies (e.g., Go, Rust, Kotlin, or Java) and cloud‑native patterns (microservices, event‑driven architecture, serverless functions).
- Drive performance optimization initiatives, including profiling, caching strategies, and distributed tracing, to meet sub‑second latency targets.
- Champion best practices for code quality, testing (unit, integration, contract), and continuous delivery pipelines.
- Mentor junior engineers, conduct code reviews, and foster a culture of knowledge sharing and technical growth.
- Stay ahead of industry trends in data activation, real‑time personalization, and AI‑enabled marketing, and propose innovative solutions that keep brighthush at the forefront.
Reliability, Security & Compliance
- Implement observability (metrics, logs, alerts) and incident response processes to ensure 99.9%+ service uptime.
- Work closely with the security team to embed data protection, encryption, and compliance controls (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) into the backend stack.
- Develop automated disaster‑recovery and backup strategies to safeguard critical customer data.
Essential Qualifications
- 5+ years of professional experience building and operating large‑scale backend systems in a SaaS environment.
- Strong proficiency in at least one modern backend language (Go, Rust, Kotlin, Java, or Python) and a solid understanding of its ecosystem.
- Deep experience with relational (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and/or columnar (Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery) databases, including query optimization and schema design.
- Hands‑on expertise with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure), especially services such as Kubernetes, Lambda/Fargate, S3, DynamoDB, Pub/Sub, and IAM.
- Proven track record designing and implementing RESTful and gRPC APIs, with a focus on scalability, versioning, and documentation.
- Solid understanding of distributed systems concepts: consistency models, fault tolerance, message queues (Kafka, RabbitMQ), and event sourcing.
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Jenkins) and infrastructure‑as‑code tools (Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi).
- Strong problem‑solving skills, ability to debug complex production issues, and a data‑driven mindset.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate across time zones and disciplines.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
- Experience building data activation or Reverse ETL platforms, or working on customer data platforms (CDPs).
- Familiarity with AI/ML pipelines, feature stores, and real‑time inference serving.
- Knowledge of privacy‑preserving technologies such as differential privacy, tokenization, or homomorphic encryption.
- Previous experience in a fast‑growing, late‑stage startup environment with rapid scaling of engineering teams.
- Contributions to open‑source projects or a strong presence in the developer community.
Skills & Competencies
- Architectural Vision: Ability to design modular, extensible systems that can evolve with product needs.
- Performance Mindset: Passion for profiling, benchmarking, and optimizing code to meet strict latency SLAs.
- Collaboration: Comfortable working in cross‑functional squads, influencing product direction through technical insight.
- Mentorship: Commitment to growing junior talent and fostering a supportive engineering culture.
- Customer Empathy: Understanding of how backend decisions impact end‑user experience and business outcomes.
- Adaptability: Thrive in a dynamic environment where priorities shift quickly and new challenges emerge daily.
Compensation & Benefits
Base Salary: $180,000 – $320,000 (USD) depending on experience and market factors.
Equity: Meaningful ISO stock options with early exercise rights and a 10‑year post‑termination exercise window, aligning your success with brighthush’s growth.
Visa Support: Open to visa transfers, including OPT and H‑1B. We provide sponsorship where needed.
Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, mental health resources, and a generous wellness stipend.
Retirement: 401(k) plan with company match.
Time Off: Unlimited PTO policy, paid holidays, and parental leave.
Learning & Development: Annual education budget, conference attendance, internal tech talks, and access to premium learning platforms.
Remote‑First Flexibility: Work from anywhere in the US or Canada, with optional office spaces in San Francisco, New York City, and North Carolina for those who prefer a hybrid setup.
Career Growth & Learning Opportunities
At brighthush, your career trajectory is limited only by your ambition. As part of a rapidly expanding engineering organization, you will have the chance to:
- Lead the design of next‑generation data activation services that will serve millions of users worldwide.
- Transition into senior leadership roles such as Engineering Manager, Staff Engineer, or Principal Architect.
- Collaborate directly with product and data science leaders to shape the strategic roadmap of AI‑powered marketing solutions.
- Participate in cross‑functional hackathons, innovation sprints, and internal incubator programs.
- Gain exposure to cutting‑edge technologies in cloud computing, real‑time streaming, and machine learning.
Culture & Work Environment at brighthush
Our culture is built on three core pillars: Innovation, Impact, and Inclusion.
- Innovation: We encourage experimentation, celebrate failure as a learning opportunity, and allocate dedicated time for engineers to explore new ideas.
- Impact: Every line of code you write directly influences the success of our customers’ marketing campaigns, driving measurable revenue growth.
- Inclusion: brighthush is committed to building a diverse team where every voice is heard. We host regular DEI workshops, employee resource groups, and mentorship programs.
Our remote‑first model is supported by a suite of collaboration tools, virtual coffee chats, and quarterly in‑person meetups to strengthen team bonds. We value work‑life balance, and our leadership practices transparent communication, clear goal‑setting, and regular feedback loops.
How to Apply
If you are excited about building the backend foundation of a market‑leading data activation platform and want to grow your career in a high‑impact, fast‑moving environment, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your resume, a brief cover letter highlighting your most relevant experience, and any links to public code repositories or technical blogs.
brighthush is an equal‑opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Ready to shape the future of personalized marketing? and join the brighthush engineering family.
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