Senior Software Engineer, Backend

Join Notability and shape the future of learning. We’re building the next generation of tools designed not just to capture notes, but to fundamentally improve how people learn, think, and collaborate. Our app brings the natural expressiveness of paper into the digital age, empowering millions of students, educators, and professionals worldwide to organize their ideas, deepen their understanding, and achieve their goals. Our mission is simple: we help you learn.

As part of our team, you’ll help create experiences driven by empathy, exceptional design, and the belief that great ideas can come from anywhere—including you. Come help us make learning better for everyone.

We are looking for a developer with experience building and supporting complex consumer-facing web services and applications who will help us build and scale the future of Notability.  Right now we are preparing to release a feature that allows users to collaborate together on their notes in real time.  Another big feature we are working on is Learn, which is our AI-generated study experience that allows users to summarize and interactively quiz themselves on their notes.

What You'll Do

• Iterate with the team on product definition and implementation with a focus on the end user's experience, scalability, and security
• Specify, build, and maintain services, APIs, and features for the product
• Create and support robust integration, testing, deployment, alerting, and monitoring systems
• Perform code reviews and participate in design discussions
• Mentor junior developers
• You will also be on-call for the backend services we are building.

What You Need

• 5+ years of experience
• Strong computer science fundamentals and problem solving skills
• A user-centric mindset
• Expert proficiency with SQL, Typescript, and Node
• Experience with GraphQL and/or REST
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and at least one major cloud service, such as AWS or GCP
• Experience with pub/sub systems and streaming platforms
• Experience with large-scale, reliable, and low-latency distributed systems
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong desire to grow and learn new things

Bonus Points

• Experience developing features that utilize LLMs such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude
• Experience with CRDTs

For this position we are targeting a base pay between $160,000-$240,000. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

This role follows a hybrid model, with a minimum of two days onsite at our downtown San Francisco office and flexibility to work remotely from home the rest of the week.

How We Work

Each member of our team contributes to all parts of our products.  We trust each other to make decisions independently while also considering our common goals and values.  We share ideas openly, and we collaborate across disciplines to ensure that our decisions make sense from all perspectives.

When We Work

We actively promote work-life balance.  Our schedules are flexible, our hybrid policy supports remote work when it makes sense, and we have a “as long as you get your work done” approach to time off.

Why You'd Love Working Here

We work in downtown SF near Market Street, just a short walk from two BART/Muni stations.  Our office has height-adjustable desks to help us stay limber, spacious conference rooms for both small and large team meetings, a well-stocked kitchen full of goodies, and a shuffleboard table to enjoy :). Our team is growing, collaborative and down to earth.  We want everyone to do their best work and find passion in what they do.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation that includes base salary, bonuses and profit sharing
• Equity Awards in the form of Stock Options
• Comprehensive healthcare fully covered for you and your family including medical, dental, and vision
• Flexible work and vacation schedules
• 401k with matching contributions
• Matching gifts to nonprofits
• Public transit reimbursement
• Home workstation reimbursement
• ISP reimbursement
• Monthly phone bill reimbursement

Notability is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.