Senior Software Engineer, Web API Platform

Scribd, Inc. is on a mission to advance human understanding. Our four products — Scribd®, Slideshare®, Everand™, and Fable — help billions of people across the globe move beyond access and into insight, application, and expertise.

Culture at Scribd, Inc.

We support a culture where our employees can be real and be 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 believe the best work happens when individual flexibility is balanced with meaningful community connection. Scribd Flex empowers employees to choose the workstyle and location that support their best performance, while committing to intentional in-person moments that strengthen collaboration and culture. Occasional in-person attendance is required for all Scribd, Inc. employees, regardless of location.

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. We operate with high autonomy and a long-term mandate. The platform we build will shape how teams develop, ship, and evolve our web products over time.

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 will 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 You’ll Bring

Key Attributes

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

You’ve 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

You’re 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

At Scribd, Inc., your base pay is one part of your total compensation package and is determined within a range. In the state of California, the reasonably expected salary range is between $146,000 and $227,500. In the United States, outside of California, the range is between $120,000 and $216,500. In Canada, the range is between $152,500 CAD and $202,000 CAD. The salary range listed is for the level at which this job has been scoped.

This position is also eligible for a competitive equity ownership, and a comprehensive and generous benefits package.

Working at Scribd, Inc.

Are you currently based in a location where Scribd, Inc. can employ you?

Employees must have their primary residence in or near one of the following cities. This includes surrounding metro areas or locations within a typical commuting distance :

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 at Scribd, Inc.

Scribd Flex (flexible work model)

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage

Mental health support and disability coverage

Generous paid time off, including vacation, sick time, holidays, winter break, volunteer time, and sabbaticals

Paid parental leave and family support benefits

Retirement matching and employee equity

Learning and development programs and professional growth opportunities

Wellness and home office stipends

Complimentary access to the Scribd, Inc. suite of products

Enterprise access to leading AI tools

Get to Know Scribd, Inc.

About Scribd, Inc.

Life 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 accommodations@scribd.com about the need for adjustments 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. Come join us in building something meaningful.

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