Staff Software Engineer – Platform

Motive

Staff Software Engineer building scalable services, APIs, and platform capabilities for Motive’s fleet-management technology. Driving architecture, reliability, engineering standards, and mentorship.

Posted 8/18/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $189,000 - $236,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in designing and building scalable services and APIs, with a strong focus on reliability and performance. Proven ability to mentor engineers and drive technical direction while collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality solutions.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Software Engineering ExperienceModern Programming LanguagesScalable Distributed Systems DesignTechnical Judgment and Problem-SolvingMentoring Engineers

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Software EngineeringAPIsDistributed SystemsCloud-Native ServicesData ModelsGoRubyPythonJavaKotlin

Soft Skills

Technical GuidanceCollaborationMentoring

Tools & Technologies

Code ReviewsTestingMonitoringLoggingDebugging

Certifications & Qualifications

U.S. Export Administration Regulations Compliance

Industry Keywords

Engineering ExcellenceOperational Best PracticesCross-Functional StakeholdersTechnical DesignArchitecture Decisions

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudDistributed SystemsGoJavaKotlinPythonRubySwift

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design, build, and ship scalable services, APIs, and product features emphasizing reliability, maintainability, and performance
Drive technical design and make architecture decisions for new capabilities and improvements to existing systems
Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to refine requirements and deliver high-quality solutions for customer problems
Improve engineering excellence through code reviews, testing, monitoring, logging, debugging, and operational best practices
Mentor engineers and contribute to team direction by sharing knowledge and providing technical guidance
Report to an Engineering Manager and help shape technical direction and engineering standards

Requirements

What you’ll need

5+ years of software engineering experience building production systems, platforms, or customer-facing products
Strong experience with one or more modern programming languages such as Go, Ruby, Python, Java, Kotlin, Swift, or similar
Proven experience designing scalable distributed systems, data models, APIs, and cloud-native services
Strong technical judgment and problem-solving skills, including identifying risks, bugs, and bottlenecks early
Experience mentoring engineers and collaborating with cross-functional stakeholders on complex technical initiatives
The applicant must be authorized to receive and access commodities and technologies controlled under U.S. Export Administration Regulations
Preferred: 8+ years of software engineering experience
Preferred: experience leading technical projects and designing distributed systems

Benefits

Comp & perks

Health benefits
Pharmacy benefits
Optical care benefits
Dental care benefits
Paid time off
Sick time off
Short-term disability coverage
Long-term disability coverage
Life insurance
401(k) contribution
Restricted stock units may be included in total compensation for certain roles