Staff Backend Engineer - Session Replay

📍 Canada
📍 United States
USD 175,000-218,700 per year
SENIOR
✅ Remote

Used Tools & Technologies

Not specified

Required Skills & Competences

Security @ 3 Software Development @ 4 Grafana @ 4 MySQL @ 4 TypeScript @ 4 Datadog @ 4 Leadership @ 4 Azure @ 4 Communication @ 7 React @ 4 Debugging @ 4 API @ 4 Technical Leadership @ 4 Sentry @ 4 Observability @ 4 AI @ 4

Details

Grafana Labs is a remote-first, open-source company used by millions worldwide. The Session Replay squad is building a new Grafana Cloud product that connects frontend signals (errors, performance, synthetic checks) to session-level evidence to speed investigation of production issues. The role is remote; candidates should be located in the United States or Canada and work in the EST or CT timezones.

Responsibilities

  • Own end-to-end technical direction for Session Replay spanning frontend, backend, and data systems.
  • Drive the evolution of backend architecture, including designing systems around columnar/analytical data storage for large-scale session data.
  • Define data models, ingestion pipelines, and query patterns for session replay data.
  • Lead design of investigation workflows connecting replay with logs, metrics, traces and other telemetry across Grafana Cloud.
  • Make high-leverage architectural decisions that impact multiple teams and products.
  • Partner with other Grafana teams (Frontend Observability, Synthetic Monitoring, Core Grafana) to build cohesive cross-product experiences.
  • Improve engineering standards, patterns, and operational practices within the team.
  • Mentor engineers and help grow technical leadership within the team.

Technologies you'll work with

  • Go (backend services and APIs)
  • Columnar/analytical data storage (core data storage and querying)
  • Object storage (S3, GCS, Azure Blob Storage) and MySQL
  • TypeScript and React (user-facing workflows)
  • Grafana ecosystem: Mimir, Loki, Tempo, etc.

Requirements / What Makes You a Great Fit

  • Comfortable working in a remote-first company with strong written and spoken English communication.
  • Ability to reason about data-intensive systems (ingestion, storage, querying, cost trade-offs).
  • Comfortable owning features in ambiguous problem spaces and working independently on a small remote team.
  • Understanding of user-centered software development processes and building solutions that deliver user value.
  • Value code maintainability, readability, and automation; enjoy working on complex solutions used at scale.

Bonus / Nice-to-have

  • Experience with columnar/analytical databases.
  • Experience with observability tools (Grafana, Datadog, New Relic, Sentry, etc.).
  • Experience building debugging or developer-focused tools.
  • Familiarity with privacy, security, and access control in data-heavy systems.
  • Experience with performance-sensitive systems (large datasets, real-time queries, session data).

Compensation & Rewards

  • United States base compensation range: USD 174,986 - USD 218,733 (country-specific; actual compensation may vary by level, experience, and skills). Benefits include equity, possible bonus, and other benefits listed by Grafana Labs.

Additional information

  • In-person onboarding is provided. Grafana Labs is an equal opportunity employer and may utilize AI tools in its recruitment process.