Instacart

Staff Software Engineer, FoodStorm

Instacart$216K — $289K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Consumer Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years in designing, building, and maintaining scalable systems and distributed architectures.
  • Proficiency in modern programming languages (Python, Java, C#, etc.).
  • Hands-on experience in backend development and system integration.
  • Proven problem-solving abilities in collaborative settings.
  • Excellent communication skills for working across time zones.
  • Strong ownership and accountability for high-quality deliverables.

Responsibilities

  • Contribute to rearchitecting FoodStorm's platform for scalability and maintainability.
  • Implement software solutions for seamless integrations between FoodStorm and Instacart systems.
  • Engage in hands-on coding and technical troubleshooting.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment in technical strategy.
  • Coordinate with Australia-based engineers for effective transcontinental collaboration.
  • Mentor peers, promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
  • Identify and implement best practices for team efficiency and system performance.

Benefits

  • Flexibility to choose working location (home, office, etc.).
  • Opportunities for professional development and mentorship.
  • Collaborative work culture with cross-functional teams.
  • Support for building an entrepreneurial spirit within the team.
  • Participation in regular in-person community-building events.
Full Job Description
We're transforming the grocery industry

At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.

Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we're building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you're ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.

Instacart is a Flex First team

There's no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work-whether it's from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop-while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.

Overview
About the Role

As a Staff Software Engineer on the FoodStorm team, you will play a pivotal role in modernizing FoodStorm's on demand ordering, catering, and prepared food platform. You'll contribute to rearchitecting the system using a service-oriented architecture (SOA) approach, with a focus on building efficient, scalable, and maintainable solutions. With hands-on coding, deep problem-solving, and close collaboration with cross-functional teams-including an international engineering team in Australia-you'll help improve the platform's performance, reliability, and integration with Instacart systems. This role requires strong ownership of deliverables, as well as a proactive approach to technical challenges.

About the Team

The FoodStorm team is leading the evolution of on demand ordering, catering, and prepared food management systems, empowering Instacart's retail and grocery partners to streamline operations and expand their reach. We work on high-impact projects, providing solutions for seamless order management, partner integrations, and end-customer experiences. We value high levels of ownership, independence, technical excellence, and an entrepreneurial spirit.

About the Job
  • Actively contribute to the rearchitecture of FoodStorm's platform, focusing on scalability and maintainability through a service-oriented approach.
  • Implement high-quality software solutions to enable seamless integration between FoodStorm and Instacart's systems.
  • Conduct hands-on coding, technical problem-solving, and system optimization.
  • Collaborate closely with engineers, product managers, and designers across teams to ensure alignment on technical strategy and implementation.
  • Partner with the Australia-based engineering team, ensuring effective collaboration during overlapping work hours (~2 hours daily).
  • Provide technical mentorship to peers, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
  • Help identify and implement best practices to improve the team's efficiency and system performance.


About You
Minimum Qualifications
  • 10+ years experience designing, building, and maintaining scalable systems and distributed architectures.
  • Proficiency in a modern programming language such as Python, Java, C#, or similar.
  • Strong hands-on experience with backend development and system integration.
  • Proven ability to solve complex technical problems in a collaborative environment.
  • Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with experience working across time zones (including ~2-hour overlap with Australia).
  • Strong sense of ownership and accountability for delivering high-quality results.


Preferred Qualifications
  • Familiarity with .NET Core, SOA patterns, and API integrations is a plus.
  • Experience working on system modernization or large-scale technical migrations (e.g., monolithic to SOA).
  • Experience with front-end web development.
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
  • Knowledge of grocery retail, catering, or enterprise platform technologies.
  • A commitment to developing and deploying reliable, performant tools that deliver excellent partner and customer experiences.


#LI-Remote

Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here.

Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.

For US based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.

CA, NY, CT, NJ

$260,000-$289,000 USD

WA

$249,000-$277,000 USD

OR, DE, ME, MA, MD, NH, RI, VT, DC, PA, VA, CO, TX, IL, HI

$239,000-$266,000 USD

All other states

$216,000-$240,000 USD

About Instacart

Instacart is an American company that operates a grocery delivery and pick-up service in the United States and Canada. The company offers its services via a website and mobile app. The service allows customers to order groceries from participating retailers with the shopping being done by a personal shopper. Instacart was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Apoorva Mehta, a former Amazon.com employee. Apoorva was born in India and moved with his family to Canada in 2000. He studied engineering at the University of Waterloo and graduated in 2008. He was a participant in Y Combinator's Summer 2012 batch, which eventually led to the creation of Instacart. In 2013, Mehta was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Apoorva previously worked at BlackBerry, Qualcomm, and then Amazon as a supply chain engineer, where he developed fulfillment systems to move packages from Amazon's warehouses to customers' homes. Before founding Instacart, Apoorva had tried to start at least 20 other services. He tried building an ad network for social gaming companies, and developing a social network specifically for lawyers, among other start-ups. Instacart originally launched in San Francisco. By April 2015, the firm had about 200 employees. It introduced a new policy around June allowing some shoppers to choose to be part-time employees, starting with Chicago and Boston and extending its offer to shoppers in Atlanta, Miami, and Washington D.C. the following month.
Learn more about Instacart
Industry
Founded
2012

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