Job Details

Senior Software Engineer, Web API Platform

Join to apply for the Senior Software Engineer, Web API Platform role at Scribd, Inc.

About The Company

At Scribd Inc. (pronounced scribbed), our mission is to spark human curiosity. We create a world of stories and knowledge, democratize the exchange of ideas and information, and empower collective expertise through our four products: Everand, Scribd, Slideshare, and Fable.

We reflect an approved, open position within the organization. We support a culture where employees can be real and bold; where we debate and commit as we embrace plot twists; and where every employee is empowered to take action as we prioritize the customer. We balance individual flexibility and community connections. Our flexible work benefit, Scribd Flex, allows employees to choose a work?style that best suits their needs, while encouraging intentional in?person moments for collaboration and culture. Occasional in?person attendance is required for all Scribd Inc. employees, regardless of location.

We look for team members who demonstrate GRIT Goals, Results, Innovation, and Team. We value candidates who showcase the ability to set and achieve goals, deliver results, contribute innovative ideas, and positively influence the broader team.

About The Team

The Web Platform team is part of our Developer Platform organization and supports our broader Web Modernization efforts across the company. Our mission is to help product teams move faster by providing a scalable, well?designed API foundation that supports modern web architectures. We work across the organization to reduce coupling, improve developer experience, and establish durable integration patterns between frontend experiences and backend systems.

About The Role

We are hiring a Senior Software Engineer, Web API Platform to help establish a company?wide API platform that accelerates web modernization at Scribd.

In this role, you will design, build, and own new product?facing web APIs that span our full web product surface across Scribd and Everand. These APIs serve as the primary interface between modern web applications and existing backend systems, enabling teams to evolve toward more scalable, maintainable frontend architectures with confidence.

Today, our web product relies on fragmented data access patterns and lacks standardized APIs and tooling. This role offers the opportunity to design APIs intentionally with a focus on clear contracts, predictable performance, and strong observability, improving developer experience and enabling teams to ship faster and more safely.

This team will be the primary owner of product?facing web APIs. As the platform matures, the Web Platform team will design, implement, and maintain the majority of new web APIs, while providing a stable foundation that other teams can integrate with and extend when appropriate.

You will work closely with frontend and backend teams to define integration patterns, guide API usage, and ensure the platform scales with real?world data volumes and access patterns.

What Youll Bring

• Strong ownership mindset, owning API design and implementation from initial design through production, iteration, and long?term maintenance.
• Pragmatic approach to system design, balancing ideal architecture with real?world constraints.
• Ability to design performance?aware APIs with intentional constraints that scale safely.
• Strong collaborator who works with frontend & backend teams toward better performance and integration outcomes.
• Long?term perspective on maintainability, extensibility, and developer experience.

Experience We Value

• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong backend or platform focus.
• Proven experience designing APIs for high?volume or data?intensive product workflows.
• Experience implementing and integrating APIs with a Ruby on Rails application.
• Familiarity with modern API paradigms (e.g., REST, GraphQL, gRPC), including their performance and operational tradeoffs.
• Experience with query patterns, caching, pagination, and common performance pitfalls.
• Experience designing APIs with explicit contracts, versioning, and testing strategies.
• Experience working with modern web frontends (e.g., React, Next.js, or similar).
• Strong communication skills and experience championing API design across teams.
• Hands?on experience incorporating AI?assisted tools into development workflows (e.g., debugging, testing, documentation, or design exploration).

What Sets You Apart

• Youve designed APIs where performance characteristics were explicit and intentional, not accidental.
• You consider observability, failure modes, and system health as part of API design, not afterthoughts.
• Youre comfortable placing thoughtful constraints on API consumers to protect scalability and developer experience.
• You treat APIs and developer tooling as products, not just infrastructure.
• You care deeply about how backend and API decisions impact end users.
• You enjoy greenfield work, while navigating integration with existing systems.
• You bring informed opinions and enjoy refining them through discussion and iteration.

Compensation

Base pay falls within a range based on local cost of labor benchmarks. In San Francisco, pay ranges from $146,000 to $227,500. In the U.S. outside California, ranges from $120,000 to $216,500. In Canada, ranges from $152,500?CAD to $202,000?CAD. The position is also eligible for competitive equity ownership and a comprehensive benefits package.

Location

• United States: Atlanta | Austin | Boston | Dallas | Denver | Chicago | Houston | Jacksonville | Los Angeles | Miami | New York City | Phoenix | Portland | Sacramento | Salt Lake City | San Diego | San Francisco | Seattle | Washington D.C.
• Canada: Ottawa | Toronto | Vancouver
• Mexico: Mexico City

Benefits, Perks, and Wellbeing

• Healthcare Insurance Coverage (Medical/Dental/Vision): 100% paid for employees
• 12 weeks paid parental leave
• Short-term/long-term disability plans
• 401k/RSP matching
• Onboarding stipend for home office peripherals + accessories
• Learning & Development allowance
• Learning & Development programs
• Quarterly stipend for Wellness, WiFi, etc.
• Mental Health support & resources
• Free subscription to the Scribd Inc. suite of products
• Referral Bonuses
• Book Benefit
• Sabbaticals
• Company-wide events
• Team engagement budgets
• Vacation & Personal Days
• Paid Holidays (+ winter break)
• Flexible Sick Time
• Volunteer Day
• Company-wide Employee Resource Groups and programs that foster an inclusive and diverse workplace.
• Access to AI Tools: free access to best?in?class AI tools, empowering you to boost productivity, streamline workflows, and accelerate bold innovation.

About Working at Scribd Inc.

We want our interview process to be accessible to everyone. You can inform us of any reasonable adjustments we can make to better accommodate your needs by emailing ...@scribd.com at any point in the interview process.

Scribd Inc. is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply, and believe that a diversity of perspectives and experiences create a foundation for the best ideas.

Want to learn more about life at Scribd? Visit www.linkedin.com/company/scribd/life.