Lead Software Engineer, Backend

Cortex · Remote · Remote

Posted 7/30/2026 · last confirmed live 8/26/2026

🧠 About Cortex Cortex is the Engineering Operations Platform that enables organizations to continuously improve their operational maturity and reduce developer friction. With centralized visibility, clear ownership, automated Scorecards, and golden paths, we help engineering organizations operate as one.  Our customers – from startups to Fortune 100 enterprises  – create a culture of engineering excellence, reducing incidents by 30% and improving MTTR by 50%, all while making it easier for developers to focus on building. 📍Location We’re fully remote and welcome candidates from across the US. We get together a few times a year for company offsites where we build stronger relationships, kick off important work, and genuinely enjoy spending time together. 🤝 The Team Our team is ~80 people building something developers actually want to use. We recently raised a $60M Series C led by Scale Ventures (alongside Sequoia and IVP). We're focused on making engineering teams more effective. You can read more about our latest funding round here . 🖥️ Job Summary We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer, Backend to join our team and help us build a new category of developer tooling. You will solve deeply technical problems and dive into scalability issues. You will play a critical role in designing, implementing, and maintaining the core backend systems that power Cortex while working closely with the product and support engineering teams. ⚙️ Responsibilities Design, develop, and maintain scalable, and efficient backend systems and services that meet enterprise requirements Work alongside other engineers to build new features and enhance existing ones Optimize and improve the performance, reliability, and scalability of existing backend systems Participate in operating our systems in production, including Incident Response on a rotational basi Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to team members Write clean, maintainable, and testable code that adheres to best practices Partner closely with engineering, product, leadership, sales, and our customers to better understand design requests and user experiences Continually improve existing planning, development, deployment processes ✔️Qualifications  Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent work experience 7+ years of experience building backend applications using any modern programming language Experience with distributed systems, microservices, and cloud computing platforms Experience with modern data storage solutions, such as MySQL, Postgres, MongoDB etc. Knowledge of current standard methodologies and to try, learn and adapt to new technologies and programming languages Solid fundamental skills in data structures, algorithms, and web development best practices Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills Strong communication and collaboration skills Ability to mentor and coach junior engineers 💰 Compensation Starting Salary Range: $215,000 and $245,000 Competitive Equity Package * Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role is eligible for equity and benefits. 🌴 Perks & Benefits National medical, dental & vision insurance (we cover 100% for employees!) Unlimited PTO & flexible working hours 401k plan Gender-neutral parental leave $1000 yearly Learning & Development stipend $400 monthly perks stipend (use it on anything) Pet Insurance Cortex is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Cortex is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please email people@cortex.io

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