About Torus
Role Overview
We are seeking an exceptional Staff Software Engineer with deep backend expertise and an aptitude for technical leadership to help evolve the Torus platform. This is a high-impact role for someone in the top 10% of engineering talent who blends hands-on development with strategic influence—designing and implementing robust, scalable systems that power our hardware-software integration, customer-facing applications, and internal tools.
You'll shape the technical direction of systems that integrate hardware, firmware, cloud infrastructure, and intelligent automation. Working across the full software lifecycle—from R&D to production operations—you'll partner closely with our Lead Architect and cross-functional teams (Product, Design, Firmware, Data Science, Business, Manufacturing) to deliver solutions that power our renewable energy platform. You'll also interface directly with stakeholders and customers to drive real-world impact and innovation.
This role requires someone who can identify technical gaps, champion best practices in cloud-native serverless development, influence technical direction across teams, and take complete ownership of complex initiatives from conception through long-term maintenance. You'll work at the intersection of distributed systems, cloud-native development, IoT orchestration, and emerging AI capabilities.
Who You Are
- Passionate about climate solutions, sustainability, and building technology that matters
- Motivated by high-impact work that makes a real difference for people and the planet
- Autonomous yet collaborative—you drive initiatives independently while building consensus and alignment
- Intellectually curious—always asking "why" and seeking to understand systems deeply
- Adaptable—comfortable working at the intersection of hardware, software, firmware, and emerging technologies
- Quality-driven—you balance moving fast with building things right the first time
- Growth-oriented—excited about personal and professional development as we scale
What You'll Do
Technical Leadership & Ownership
- Evolve platform architecture for distributed, cloud-native systems in serverless AWS environments
- Partner with the Lead Architect and engineering leads to drive technical strategy and decisions across multiple teams
- Design scalable backend systems, APIs, microservices, and data models that support customer-facing applications and internal tools
- Lead design reviews, architecture sessions, and cross-domain planning initiatives
- Identify and address systemic technical debt and architectural gaps proactively
- Champion engineering standards, best practices, and patterns for the organization
- Collaborate on defining AI strategy and embedding intelligence into the Torus platform: recommendation engines, dynamic controls, decisioning, and support automation
Hands-On Development
- Build performant, secure, and maintainable backend systems using TypeScript
- Implement cloud-native solutions leveraging AWS Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, IoT Core, Step Functions, and CDK
- Create RESTful APIs, event-driven workflows, and orchestration layers for hardware-software integration
- Collaborate with front-end engineers on modern web applications (React.js, TypeScript)
- Design and implement intelligent automation and decisioning systems where appropriate
- Build developer-facing SDKs, service contracts, and internal APIs
System Reliability & Operations
- Ensure observability, error handling, and reliability across distributed microservices architecture
- Implement comprehensive testing strategies and CI/CD pipelines for continuous delivery
- Design for security, authentication, authorization, and compliance from the ground up
- Establish monitoring, telemetry, and operational excellence practices
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Product and Design to translate user needs into technical solutions
- Work with Firmware and IoT teams on distributed coordination across hardware, cloud, and edge
- Interface directly with stakeholders and customers to drive real-world impact
- Mentor engineers and elevate technical capabilities across the organization
- Lead technical initiatives spanning multiple teams and disciplines
Required Skills & Experience
Technical Excellence (Top 10%)
- Expert-level proficiency in modern backend development with TypeScript
- Deep experience designing and building serverless, event-driven architectures on AWS (Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, IoT Core, Step Functions, CDK)
- Proven track record building scalable APIs, data pipelines, and distributed systems at scale
- Strong hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker), infrastructure as code, and observability tooling (Datadog, etc.)
- Production experience with modern AI/ML systems examples include AWS Bedrock, agentic workflows (LangChain/LangGraph), and tool integrations (Model Context Protocol)
- Deep understanding of security, authentication, authorization, and compliance considerations
- Demonstrated ability building developer-facing SDKs, service contracts, and platform APIs
Engineering Leadership & Impact
- 8+ years in software development, including 3–4+ years in staff, principal, or architecture leadership roles
- Proven experience driving large-scale technical projects and influencing technical direction across multiple teams
- Strong mentorship abilities with a track record of elevating engineering talent
- Complete lifecycle ownership: From prototyping and architecture through deployment, operations, and long-term support
- History of identifying and addressing architectural gaps before they become critical issues
Strategic Thinking & Ownership
- Exceptional communication skills—able to translate complex technical concepts for both technical and business audiences
- High ownership mentality: Takes responsibility for outcomes, not just deliverables
- Comfortable with ambiguity and fast-paced startup environments requiring independent decision-making
- Systems thinking: Ability to navigate complex systems and think at both architectural and implementation levels
- Technical curiosity: Constantly exploring new technologies, patterns, and approaches to improve systems and processes
Our Perks & Benefits
- Employee Rewards Package including equity
- 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
- Health Benefits Package: Choice between traditional PPO or HSA eligible medical plans; Dental insurance; and Vision insurance
- Human-centered Paid Time Off (based on employment status) including unlimited discretionary PTO; 10-days paid company holidays; Waiting period-free 100% paid parental leave.
- Torus paid Life with option to purchase additional coverage
- Voluntary Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
- Peer Recognition Program
Additional Details
- Constantly operates a computer and other peripheral office equipment such as a printer or mouse.
- Ability to communicate information so others can understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
- Must report to work reliably and with the ability to use full and unimpaired skills and judgment to safely execute your job.
- Proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking English required.