Software Engineer, APIs & Context Platform

Glean

$210K — $260K *
Information Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • BA/BS in computer science or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • 5+ years of experience in software engineering focusing on public-facing APIs or developer platforms.
  • Expertise in REST API design principles including versioning, backward compatibility, and OpenAPI.
  • Strong command of at least one backend language (preferably Golang), with familiarity in TypeScript, Python, or Java being advantageous.
  • Ability to thrive in a cooperative, customer-oriented, cross-functional environment.
  • Proactive mindset willing to take ownership of tasks and contributions.

Responsibilities

  • Own and enhance Glean's REST API standards including versioning and deprecation policies.
  • Design and release new API endpoints for Glean's core features like search and chat.
  • Develop the API gateway layer, including authentication, rate limiting, and usage metering.
  • Create reusable platform primitives for internal teams and external partners.
  • Work across backend services and documentation in a fast-paced startup setting.
  • Design and iterate on SDKs and client libraries for external integration with Glean.
  • Analyze API usage metrics to identify adoption trends and performance issues.
  • Advocate for the developer experience by integrating feedback into the roadmap.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage.
  • Generous time-off policy to support work-life balance.
  • Home office improvement stipend for remote work setup.
  • Annual education and wellness stipends for personal growth.
  • Regular company events and healthy daily lunches to enhance company culture.
Full Job Description
About the Role:

Glean is building the horizontal AI platform that powers how employees use AI at work - not just in Glean, but across tools like Copilot, Gemini, ChatGPT, IDEs, and more. We are seeking creative engineers to build this context platform and deliver rich, trustworthy experiences across all of those apps. This team owns the platform experience end-to-end: standards and tooling for REST APIs, SDKs and client libraries, agent SDKs and integrations, MCP servers, custom context such as code and memory, and the infrastructure and docs that make it easy to build on Glean. In a rapidly growing startup, this means working across multiple layers of the stack - backend services, developer tools, SDKs, and docs.

You will:
  • Own and evolve Glean's REST API standards: versioning strategy, backward-compatibility guarantees, deprecation policy, and OpenAPI specification tooling.
  • Design and ship new API endpoints that expose Glean's platform primitives - search, knowledge graph, chat, agent and others - as stable, well-documented developer surfaces.
  • Build the API gateway layer: routing, authentication (OAuth2, API keys, OIDC), rate limiting, quota management, and per-tenant usage metering.
  • Define reusable platform primitives on top of Glean's horizontal layers (connectors, security/governance, knowledge graph, memory, model orchestration) so they can be composed by internal teams and external partners.
  • Work across backend services, developer tools, SDKs, and documentation in a fast-moving startup environment.
  • Design, build, and evolve SDKs and client libraries that developers use to integrate with Glean from their own applications and agent frameworks.
  • Instrument API usage to surface adoption metrics, error patterns, and latency SLOs
  • Champion the external developer perspective internally - bring customer feedback, friction points, and feature requests into the roadmap process.

About you:
  • BA/BS in computer science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • 5+ years of industry software engineering experience, with meaningful time spent building and shipping public-facing APIs or developer platforms in production.
  • Deep fluency in REST API design principles: versioning, backward compatibility, pagination, error semantics, hypermedia, and OpenAPI/JSON Schema.
  • Proficiency in at least one modern backend language (ideally Golang, or strong interest in learning it); experience with TypeScript, Python, and/or Java is a plus.
  • Thrive in a customer-focused, tight-knit, cross-functional environment - being a team player and willing to take on whatever is most impactful for the company is a must.
  • A proactive and positive attitude to lead, learn, troubleshoot, and take ownership of both small tasks and large features.

Location:
  • This role is hybrid (4 days a week in our Mountain View office)

Compensation & Benefits:

The standard base salary range for this position is $210,000 - $260,000 annually. Compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for variable compensation, equity, and benefits.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including competitive compensation, Medical, Vision, and Dental coverage, generous time-off policy, and the opportunity to contribute to your 401k plan to support your long-term goals. When you join, you'll receive a home office improvement stipend, as well as an annual education and wellness stipends to support your growth and wellbeing. We foster a vibrant company culture through regular events, and provide healthy lunches daily to keep you fueled and focused.

#LI-HYBRID

AI-First Mindset at Glean:

At Glean, AI fluency is core to how we work and we're committed to ensuring every new hire feels confident integrating AI into their everyday work. As part of the interview process, you'll complete a brief AI-focused exercise or discussion so we can understand how you think about, design, and use AI to drive impact in your role. Feel free to reference any tools, platforms, or workflows you use today - prior Glean experience isn't required.

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