Sr. Software Engineer, Workflow Backend
Zapier
Job Overview
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Job Description
Sr. Software Engineer, Workflow Backend at Zapier
At Zapier, we leverage AI and automation daily to enhance efficiency, creativity, and human-centric work. We encourage the responsible and transparent use of AI tools during your application process. Please refer to our guidance on 'How to Collaborate with AI During Zapier’s Hiring Process' for details on using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
Zapier’s Workflow Zone is critical as it is responsible for the core engine that powers our automation platform. As more organizations rely on Zapier for essential workflows, we are committed to scaling the capabilities, reliability, and intelligence of our core product experience.
We are seeking a Sr. Software Engineer, Workflow Backend to join the Runner team within our Workflow Zone. If you are passionate about building robust systems, enabling advanced user workflows, and shaping the future of automation, we encourage you to apply.
The Workflow Zone and Runner Team
The Workflow Zone is where Zapier's automation magic truly happens. This zone oversees the product experience and the execution engine behind creating, running, and debugging workflows (Zaps). Our focus is on developing powerful, flexible tools that empower individuals and teams to automate their work with speed and confidence.
As automation use cases become increasingly complex, particularly for enterprise users, we are evolving the platform to support more sophisticated logic, scalable execution, and AI-native experiences. This involves:
- Building intuitive and resilient workflow authoring experiences
- Expanding execution capabilities and logic primitives
- Introducing AI-powered tools for creation and troubleshooting
- Improving reliability, observability, and control across the system
The Runner team specifically ensures the reliable and fast execution of Zaps. We concentrate on the core infrastructure powering Zapier’s workflows, including scaling for high volume and reducing latency across millions of daily executions.
In This Role, You'll
- Develop and maintain Zapier’s execution engine, scaling it to handle millions of daily runs.
- Improve system performance, reduce latency, and strengthen failure handling.
- Design and implement execution primitives that power reliable automation.
- Collaborate across infrastructure, product, and platform teams on core system design.
This is a foundational team at the platform layer, ideal for engineers who thrive on deep technical challenges and shipping resilient, high-scale services.
About You
We are looking for experienced engineers who bring:
- 5+ years of professional experience developing software, including at least 2 years in a senior-level role.
- Strong backend experience, ideally in Python and Django and/or TypeScript and Node.js, building reliable, scalable, and observable services.
- Familiarity with relational databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL, and the ability to model, query, and optimize data effectively.
- Experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs, building event-driven systems, and working with data integrations across services.
- Proven ability to lead complex technical projects—owning design decisions, balancing tradeoffs, and guiding implementation across multiple contributors.
- Proactively coach and support teammates, foster growth through mentorship, and contribute to a culture of feedback and continuous improvement.
- Navigate ambiguity with confidence—able to clarify priorities, align stakeholders, and drive toward meaningful outcomes even when goals shift.
- You’ve used AI tooling for work or personal use—or you are willing to dive in and learn fast. You explore new tools, workflows, and ideas to make things more efficient, and are eager to deepen your understanding of AI and use it regularly.
How We Work
Zapier is a 100% remote team, and has been since day one. We value asynchronous communication, transparent collaboration, and work-life harmony. We believe in building systems that scale—both in code and in culture.
Key skills/competency
- Python
- Django
- TypeScript
- Node.js
- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- RESTful APIs
- Event-driven systems
- System design
- Scalable services
How to Get Hired at Zapier
- Research Zapier's culture: Study their mission, values, recent news, and employee testimonials on LinkedIn and Glassdoor. Understand their remote-first, async work style.
- Tailor your resume for backend scale: Customize your resume to highlight experience in Python/Django or TypeScript/Node.js, building highly scalable, observable, and reliable backend services for Zapier.
- Showcase AI and automation passion: Emphasize your experience or eagerness to work with AI tooling, especially in the context of automation workflows, aligning with Zapier's product vision.
- Prepare for in-depth technical questions: Zapier uses a non-standard application process; be ready to answer detailed questions about system design, performance optimization, and project leadership.
- Highlight collaboration and mentorship: Demonstrate your ability to lead technical projects, make design decisions, mentor teammates, and drive outcomes in ambiguous environments.
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