Senior Software Engineer, Web API Platform

About The Company:

At Scribd Inc. (pronounced scribbed) our mission is to spark human curiosity. Join our team as 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.

This posting reflects an approved open position within the organization.

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.

When it comes to workplace structure we believe in balancing individual flexibility and community connections. Its through our flexible work benefit Scribd Flex that employees in partnership with their manager can choose the daily work-style that best suits their individual needs. A key tenet of Scribd Flex is our prioritization of intentional in-person moments to build collaboration culture and connection. For this reason occasional in-person attendance is required for all Scribd Inc. employees regardless of their location.

So what are we looking for in new team members Well we hire for GRIT. The textbook definition of GRIT is demonstrating the intersection of passion and perseverance towards long term goals. At Scribd Inc. we are inspired by the potential that this can unlock and ask each of our employees to pursue a GRIT-ty approach to their a tactical sense GRIT is also a handy acronym that outlines the standards we hold ourselves and each other to. Heres what that means for you: were looking for someone who showcases the ability to set and achieve Goals achieve Results within their job responsibilities contribute Innovative ideas and solutions and positively influence the broader Team through collaboration and attitude.

At Scribd Inc. (pronounced scribbed) our mission is to spark human curiosity. Join our team as 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.

This posting reflects an approved open position within the organization.

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.

When it comes to workplace structure we believe in balancing individual flexibility and community connections. Its through our flexible work benefit Scribd Flex that employees in partnership with their manager can choose the daily work-style that best suits their individual needs. A key tenet of Scribd Flex is our prioritization of intentional in-person moments to build collaboration culture and connection. For this reason occasional in-person attendance is required for all Scribd Inc. employees regardless of their location.

So what are we looking for in new team members Well we hire for GRIT. The textbook definition of GRIT is demonstrating the intersection of passion and perseverance towards long term goals. At Scribd Inc. we are inspired by the potential that this can unlock and ask each of our employees to pursue a GRIT-ty approach to their a tactical sense GRIT is also a handy acronym that outlines the standards we hold ourselves and each other to. Heres what that means for you: were looking for someone who showcases the ability to set and achieve Goals achieve Results within their job responsibilities contribute Innovative ideas and solutions and positively influence the broader Team through collaboration and attitude.

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 Youll 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 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

At Scribd your base pay is one part of your total compensation package and is determined within a range. Our pay ranges are based on the local cost of labor benchmarks for each specific role level and geographic location. San Francisco is our highest geographic market in the United the state of California the reasonably expected salary range is between $146000 minimum salary in our lowest geographic market within California to $227500 maximum salary in our highest geographic market within California.

In the United States outside of California the reasonably expected salary range is between $120000 minimum salary in our lowest US geographic market outside of California to $216500 maximum salary in our highest US geographic market outside of California.

In Canada the reasonably expected salary range is between $152500 CADminimum salary in our lowest geographic market to $202000 CADmaximum salary in our highest geographic market.

We carefully consider a wide range of factors when determining compensation including but not limited to experience; job-related skill sets; relevant education or training; and other business and organizational needs. The salary range listed is for the level at which this job has been the event that you are considered for a different level a higher or lower pay range would apply. 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.
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 Perks and Wellbeing at Scribd Inc.

*Benefits/perks listed may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Scribd Inc. and the geographical location where you work.

• 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: We provide free access to best-in-class AI tools empowering you to boost productivity streamline workflows and accelerate bold innovation.

Want to learn more about life at Scribd 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 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.

Required Experience:

Senior IC