THE POSITIONSaildrone is seeking a Staff Engineer, Developer Experience - Bazel who will serve as a technical leader on our Developer Experience team. Reporting to the Director of Software, you will be responsible for driving the adoption, scalability, and health of our Bazel-based build system within our large-scale polyglot monorepo. You will work across engineering teams to improve build correctness, hermeticity, speed, and developer productivity at scale - shaping the build and test infrastructure that engineers across Saildrone depend on every day. You will split your time between hands-on technical work and managing one direct report, supporting their growth and ensuring effective execution of team goals.
This role is required to be onsite in Alameda, CA in the Bay Area 3 days per week - this is our hybrid model. This is not a remote position.
THE TEAMThe Software Infrastructure & Platform Engineering team is responsible for the systems and tooling that enable Saildrone's software teams to build, test, and deploy reliable software at scale. We focus on delivering robust, efficient build and release pipelines that support autonomous systems operating in remote and high-stakes maritime environments. This team's work directly impacts Saildrone's ability to deliver real-time intelligence, maritime domain awareness, and mission-critical capabilities for government and commercial customers.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES- Bazel Architecture: Design, evolve, and maintain Bazel-based build systems across our polyglot monorepo to achieve industry-leading build speeds and reliability across the entire Saildrone software stack.
- Build Performance: Identify and resolve bottlenecks in remote caching, remote execution (RBE), query performance, and incremental builds, ensuring high developer productivity through rigorous monitoring and optimization.
- Adoption & Migration: Lead efforts to onboard new languages, toolchains, and teams onto Bazel, including writing custom rules, macros, and toolchain configurations using Starlark.
- Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner with Software Leadership and TPMs to align on requirements and timelines, ensuring seamless integration of build systems with deployment workflows.
- CI Ownership: Share responsibility for CI systems as a whole alongside the broader Software Infrastructure team, contributing to the reliability, performance, and evolution of pipelines that support the entire Saildrone software stack.
- Standards & Documentation: Define and document standards for BUILD file authorship, dependency management, and Bazel hygiene to ensure knowledge sharing and maintainable, high-quality build configurations across the engineering organization.
- Technical Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve complex technical blockers, including dependency management issues and build graph correctness problems, implementing durable fixes to prevent recurrence.
- People Management & Mentorship: Manage one direct report, providing regular 1:1s, career development guidance, and performance feedback, while also serving as the internal subject matter expert on Bazel and build system architecture across the broader engineering organization.
- Ecosystem Engagement: Stay current with the Bazel roadmap and community; contribute upstream to open-source Bazel rules or tooling where appropriate.
THE QUALIFICATIONS- 8+ years of software engineering experience, with significant hands-on experience designing or operating large-scale build systems.
- 1+ years of people management experience, including setting goals, delivering performance feedback, and supporting the career development of direct reports.
- Deep expertise with Bazel, including writing custom rules, macros, and toolchain integrations using Starlark.
- Proven experience supporting Bazel in a large-scale monorepo, managing build graph complexity, dependency boundaries, and cross-team coordination.
- Strong understanding of build correctness concepts: hermeticity, reproducibility, sandboxing, and caching semantics.
- Experience with remote caching and remote execution (e.g., BuildBuddy, EngFlow, Buildbarn, or similar RBE-compatible backends).
- Proficiency in one or more languages commonly used with Bazel (e.g., C++, Python, Go, TypeScript).
- Experience with CI/CD systems and DevOps workflows.
- Comfort working alongside and upleveling team members, including through code review, design feedback, and day-to-day technical guidance.
- Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex technical systems in environments with ambiguity and time constraints.
- Ability to clearly communicate technical concepts and tradeoffs to cross-functional partners and leadership.
- Ability to work effectively in a hybrid environment, with on-site collaboration in Alameda, CA three days per week.
NICE TO HAVE- Experience with Gazelle, rules_go, rules_js, rules_python, or other popular Bazel rule sets.
- Contributions to open-source Bazel rules or the Bazel project itself.
- Familiarity with Buck2, Pants, or other modern build systems.
- Experience running large-scale build system migrations or deprecation projects.
The base salary range for this position is shown below. Actual compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and qualifications. This range reflects the base salary for candidates in states requiring pay transparency disclosure.
Salary Range
$176,400-$226,800 USD
BENEFITSAt Saildrone, we're building operational capability that matters-and that requires people who can do their best work over the long term. We invest in our team's well-being, financial security, and professional growth so you can focus on delivering real-world impact with confidence and stability. Our comprehensive benefits package is designed to support you and your family while you contribute to a mission with lasting significance.
- Generous Time Off: Competitive Paid Time Off (PTO) accrual plus a robust annual holiday schedule and paid sick leave ensure you can rest, reset, and sustain performance over time.
- Comprehensive Health Coverage: Premium, multi-tier Medical, Dental, and Vision plans with significant company contributions for employees and dependents-providing security and peace of mind.
- Shared Ownership in the Mission: Equity grants are a core part of our compensation, allowing you to participate in the long-term value you help create through meaningful, operational work.
- Retirement Savings: Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with flexible pre-tax and Roth payroll contribution options supports long-term financial planning.
- Investment in Your Growth: We support your continuous learning through an annual professional development reimbursement program, empowering you to sharpen your skills and stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving field.
- Relocation Support: For eligible roles, we offer relocation assistance to help bring the world's best talent to our mission-critical locations.
