Staff Software Engineer, Event Logging

Summary

Join Airbnb's Event Logging team as a Staff Software Engineer and lead critical initiatives shaping how Airbnb captures, processes, and leverages event data at scale. Design and implement next-generation logging systems, drive architectural decisions ensuring data integrity and compliance, and build robust infrastructure powering data-driven decision-making. Define and execute the technical roadmap for Airbnb's logging infrastructure, unlocking new capabilities for cross-functional teams and driving adoption of best practices. A typical day involves contributing to long-term strategies, architecting scalable solutions, driving technical discussions, designing data governance systems, optimizing ingestion pipelines, collaborating with cross-functional teams, identifying automation opportunities, and mentoring team members. This role requires deep expertise in backend programming languages and real-time event processing systems, along with experience with modern ETL frameworks and a strong understanding of data security and compliance. The position is US-Remote Eligible.

Requirements

• 9+ years of experience with a BS/Masters or 6+ years with a PhD
• Deep expertise in backend programming languages (Java, Kotlin, Scala, or Python)
• Proven experience with real-time event processing systems, particularly with large-scale distributed data processing frameworks like Spark or Flink and messaging frameworks like Kafka
• Hands-on experience with modern ETL frameworks like Airflow
• Understanding of data security, privacy principles, and regulatory compliance (GDPR, CCPA)
• Knowledge of observability and monitoring best practices
• Track record of translating complex business requirements into scalable technical solutions
• Excellent communication skills with ability to influence both technical and business stakeholders
• Experience building trusted partnerships across diverse teams
• Strong mentorship and technical leadership capabilities

Responsibilities

• Designing and implementing next-generation logging systems that process billions of events daily
• Driving architectural decisions that ensure data integrity, efficiency, and compliance across Airbnb's data platform
• Building robust infrastructure that powers data-driven decision-making across the organization
• Defining and executing the technical roadmap for Airbnb's logging infrastructure
• Unlocking new capabilities through improved event logging for cross-functional teams
• Driving adoption of logging best practices across engineering teams
• Contributing to the development of long-term strategies and roadmaps, and influencing the technical direction of our logging infrastructure
• Architecting scalable solutions for real-time and batch event processing
• Driving technical discussions and decision-making across teams
• Designing and implementing robust data governance systems ensuring proper event ownership and lineage
• Optimizing event ingestion pipelines handling billions of events per day
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams to gather requirements, assess logging needs, and design efficient solutions that align with business objectives
• Identifying and implementing automation opportunities to improve logging efficiency
• Mentoring and coaching team members, providing guidance and support to enhance their skills and performance

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in data governance and schema management
• Experience with high-throughput data pipelines

Benefits

• Bonus
• Equity
• Benefits
• Employee Travel Credits