Prior to applying please note:- This role is hybrid requiring 2 days in office at our San Francisco hub every Tuesday & Wednesday (located at 130 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA).
About the Role:The Architecture Team drives Taskrabbit's Platform Modernization efforts, guiding engineering teams toward our Target State Architecture (TSA). As a Staff Software Architect, you'll serve as an embedded representative of the Architecture team, partnering with engineering teams across the platform to accelerate their modernization work.
You'll operate as a subject matter expert on platform modernization within a small team of architects, applying AI-assisted and Spec-Driven Development (SDD) practices to help teams build new components using our Target State Architecture stack of technologies. This role is hands-on and results-oriented: pairing directly with engineers and technical leads, not just advising from the sidelines.
You will be:- Acting as the Architecture team's representative to assigned engineering teams, driving platform modernization projects in accordance with the TSA.
- Applying AI tooling and Spec-Driven Development practices to help teams modernize the parts of the platform they own.
- Pairing with engineers and technical leadership to unblock modernization work and transfer architectural patterns directly into team practice.
- Serving as a subject matter expert on platform modernization, advising on migration approach, sequencing, and risk.
- Advocating for TSA-aligned solutions in technical discussions, including working through design discussions with engineering leads and other stakeholders.
- Collaborating with a small team of architects to maintain consistency across modernization efforts platform-wide.
- Writing and reviewing Technical Design Documents (TDDs) and RFCs, and coaching authors to strengthen their proposals.
- Defining standards for tooling, coding, processes, AI usage, and documentation strategies that make modernization repeatable across teams.
This is not a purely consultative role. You're expected to engage directly with projects and drive results forward - TDDs, code, and outcomes.
You should have:- 8+ years of professional experience in software development, with a primary focus on building and scaling backend systems.
- Demonstrated experience with distributed systems and event-driven architecture.
- TypeScript/Node.js experience preferred; candidates with a background in another strongly typed language (e.g., Java, .NET) will also be considered.
- Experience with containerization and containerized application deployment.
- An enthusiast for AI tooling and AI-assisted development practices, with a proven track record of applying them professionally.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to build consensus and keep technical design discussions professional and productive, even when opinions differ strongly.
- Willingness to lead, speak up, and be visible and vocal in Architecture and team design meetings.
- Comfort pairing directly with engineers and technical leadership, not just producing documentation or recommendations.
Bonus Criteria:- Experience with Kubernetes (K8s).
- Experience with the NestJS framework.
- Experience designing or using Helm charts.
- Experience with Spec-Driven Development tools such as SpecKit, OpenSpec, Intent, Kiro, or similar.
- Experience with ArgoCD.
- Experience with Datadog.
- Experience with contract-first design using OpenAPI and AsyncAPI.
Compensation & Benefits: At Taskrabbit, our approach to compensation is designed to be competitive, transparent, and equitable. Total compensation consists of base pay + bonus + benefits + perks. The base pay range for this position is $150,000 - $200,000. This range is representative of base pay only, and does not include any other total cash compensation amounts, such as company bonus or benefits. Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed above and will be determined by factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, qualifications, geography, and level.
You'll love working here because:- Taskrabbit is a Hybrid Company. We value flexibility and choice but also stay committed to regular in-person connection.
- The People. You will be surrounded by some of the most talented, supportive, smart, and kind leaders and teams -- people you can be proud to work with!
- The Diverse Culture. We believe that we make better decisions when our workforce reflects the diversity of the communities in which we operate. Women make up half of our leadership team and our diversity representation is above that of the tech industry average.
- The Perks. Taskrabbit offers our employees with employer-paid health insurance and a 401k match with immediate vesting for our US based employees. We offer all of our global employees generous and flexible time off with 2 company-wide closure weeks, Taskrabbit product stipends, wellness + productivity + education stipends, IKEA discounts, reproductive health support, and more. Benefits vary by country of employment.
