Staff Software Engineer, Backend

Full Timestaff

Bellevue, WAPosted Yesterday

Role Overview

Cognitiv is hiring a Staff Software Engineer, Backend. This is a full-time role in Bellevue. Part of Cognitiv's Backend hiring, posted yesterday. Full responsibilities, required qualifications, and the apply link are listed in the description below.

Salary Context

Salary is not disclosed in this posting. Market median for Staff-level Backend roles is $200k-$262k (based on 42 comparable listings). Many employers share specifics during the interview process or after an initial screen.

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Job description

Are you ready to revolutionize the advertising industry?

At Cognitiv, we are not just another AdTech company—we are industry trailblazers redefining media buying with our Deep Learning Advertising Platform. Since 2015, we have harnessed the power of cutting-edge deep learning technology and data science to transform how brands connect with their customers. Our mission? To bring intelligence to advertising and deliver unparalleled precision, relevance, and impact at scale.

With our innovative platform, advertisers enjoy unprecedented flexibility—whether it is activating Dynamic Deals through their preferred DSP, leveraging our managed service DSP, or utilizing our industry-first ContextGPT product. As a part of Cognitiv, you will be at the forefront of AI-driven advertising solutions, driving change and achieving remarkable growth in a rapidly evolving industry.

Now, we’re growing!

The Role

We're hiring a Staff Software Engineer (Backend) to lead the technical direction of the systems powering our next-generation, pixel-less ad targeting platform. You'll architect, design, and evolve the backend services that enable ContextGPT to scale across customers, partners, and the broader ad-tech ecosystem while ensuring long-term reliability, performance, and maintainability.

This role is accountable for driving the technical strategy behind ContextGPT integrations, enabling scalable growth through new partners, supply sources, and platform capabilities. You'll work across multiple engineering teams, influence architectural decisions, and partner closely with Product, Infrastructure, and external stakeholders to deliver durable solutions that accelerate business growth.

This position will be located in Bellevue with a hybrid work schedule of 3 days in office (Mon/Tue/Wed) and 2 days remote optional (Thursday/Friday).

Note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. We are not able to sponsor visas or provide immigration support for this role at this time.

What You’ll Do

Lead the architecture, design, and evolution of backend services and APIs in .NET Core on AWS that power ContextGPT across the ad-tech ecosystem
Drive the technical strategy for integrating new data centers, supply partners, and third-party platforms while ensuring scalable, resilient system design
Lead complex, cross-team engineering initiatives that improve platform scalability, reliability, and operational excellence
Identify architectural bottlenecks and proactively evolve systems to support long-term product and business growth
Partner with Product, Infrastructure, and Engineering leadership to shape technical roadmaps, evaluate tradeoffs, and prioritize investments
Establish engineering best practices around system design, observability, testing, deployment, and operational readiness
Mentor senior engineers through design reviews, technical guidance, and architectural leadership
Improve developer productivity by driving platform improvements, reusable components, and engineering standards
Serve as a technical leader during production incidents, driving root cause analysis and long-term preventative improvements

Who you are:

Ownership, Drive & Agency: You identify systemic problems, create solutions without waiting for direction, and drive cross-functional execution through influence rather than authority.
Technical leader: Deep expertise in system design, leveraging NET Core (or another strongly typed language such as Java or Kotlin) and AWS (preferred) or Azure/GCP.
Architectural thinker: Comfortable making long-term architectural decisions that balance scalability, performance, maintainability, and business objectives across multiple systems.
Cross-functional collaborator: Able to partner effectively with Product, Infrastructure, Engineering leaders, and external partners while aligning multiple stakeholders around technical direction.
Mentor & multiplier: Passionate about growing engineers through coaching, design reviews, and establishing engineering best practices that elevate the entire organization.
Operational excellence: Strong focus on reliability, observability, testing, automation, and long-term system health.
Resilient & adaptable: Comfortable leading through ambiguity, balancing competing priorities, and making thoughtful technical tradeoffs.
In-person collaborator: Excited to work onsite MTW in Bellevue, WA.

Bonus Points If You Have:

Experience designing large-scale distributed systems serving high-throughput production workloads
Deep experience building platform services or developer infrastructure used across multiple engineering teams
AdTech or programmatic advertising experience
Experience leading major partner integrations or platform expansion initiatives
Startup or high-growth company experience
Expertise with CI/CD, infrastructure automation, and engineering productivity tooling
Hands-on experience with .NET Core, AWS, RDS, ClickHouse, Datadog, or similar technologies

What Success Looks Like in Your First 30/60/90 Days:

What success looks like in your first 30 days

Develop a deep understanding of ContextGPT, platform architecture, key integrations, and the broader ad-tech ecosystem
Build strong relationships with engineering leadership, product partners, and external stakeholders
Identify architectural risks, scalability constraints, and opportunities for long-term platform improvements
Contribute technical leadership during design discussions and architecture reviews

What success looks like in your first 60 days

Lead the design of a significant integration or platform initiative supporting ContextGPT growth
Influence architectural decisions across multiple services and engineering teams
Deliver measurable improvements to scalability, reliability, or developer productivity
Establish credibility as a trusted technical leader and advisor

What success looks like in your first 90 days

Lead a complex engineering initiative spanning multiple systems or teams that delivers measurable business impact
Drive architectural improvements that enable future ContextGPT growth, new partnerships, or expanded inventory access
Establish engineering standards, design patterns, or platform capabilities adopted by other teams
Be recognized as a trusted technical leader who influences engineering direction beyond your immediate team

Salary: $200,000 - $270,000 USD Base Salary + Equity

What We Offer

Compensation is based on experience, skills, and other factors. Base salary is just one part of your total rewards at Cognitiv—you’ll also receive equity and a comprehensive benefits package.

Highlights include:

Medical, Dental and Vision plan for US employees & Extended Health Benefits for Canadian employees
12 weeks paid parental leave + 4 weeks WFH
Unlimited PTO + Work-From-Anywhere August
Career development with clear advancement paths
Equity for all employees
Hybrid work model & daily team lunch
Health & wellness stipend + cell phone reimbursement
401(k) & RRSP with employer match
Parking (CA, WA, Vancouver offices) & pre-tax commuter benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Comprehensive onboarding (Cognitiv University)
…and more!

What You’ll Find at Cognitiv

Festiv – We make work fun with cross-team games, events, and creative team bonding.
Responsiv – You’ll be close to clients and leadership, influencing real outcomes.
Inclusiv – Diversity and individuality are celebrated across all levels.
Inventiv – We reward curiosity and embrace bold ideas.
Transformativ – We support your growth with training, mentorship, and flexibility.
Collaborativ – We operate across coasts, connected by purpose and teamwork.

Cognitiv is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all.

Note on AI Use: Cognitiv may use AI technology to assist with certain administrative aspects of the hiring process, such as note-taking, interview documentation, and reporting. However, every resume and application is reviewed directly by our recruiting team. AI tools are used solely for operational support and do not influence candidate evaluation or hiring decisions.

About Cognitiv

Cognitiv

cognitiv.ai

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8 other open roles at Cognitiv on TryApplyNow.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply for the Staff Software Engineer, Backend position at Cognitiv?

Use the Apply button above to submit your application directly to Cognitiv. Most applications take less than 5 minutes if your resume and contact details are ready, and you'll be routed to the employer's official application system to finish.

Where is the Staff Software Engineer, Backend position at Cognitiv located?

This position is based in Bellevue. Cognitiv has not indicated remote or hybrid options for this role, so candidates should plan for on-site work.

What does a Staff Software Engineer, Backend at Cognitiv earn?

Cognitiv has not disclosed a salary range in this posting. Many employers share specifics later in the interview process; you can also ask during a recruiter screen if compensation transparency is important to you.

When was the Staff Software Engineer, Backend role at Cognitiv posted?

This role was posted on July 20, 2026 (yesterday). It's still listed as actively hiring; we re-confirm openings against the source system multiple times per day and remove closed roles.

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