Staff Engineer - Network and Backend

Location

San Francisco HQ

Full time

Hybrid

Engineering

Point One Navigation is building the future of precise location. Our mission is to deliver a unified location platform that enables autonomy, safety, and efficiency across industries from robotics to transportation. We are a high-performance, high-collaboration team that thrives on solving complex problems, moving fast, and delivering impact.

We are seeking a Staff Engineer to join our Backend Services team. In this role, you will contribute to the architecture of our systems and develop services that support our global corrections network, real-time location services, and additional initiatives.

• Design, develop, and maintain robust backend services and network systems utilizing Go and Java.
• Prepare comprehensive systems design documentation, architectural decision records, and technical specifications.
• Participate actively in technical strategy development, architectural discussions, and roadmap planning for infrastructure advancements.
• Drive the optimization of performance and reliability for mission-critical, globally distributed systems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver complete solutions for real-time data processing and corrections delivery.
• Take ownership of key backend infrastructure components, overseeing their design, deployment, and ongoing monitoring.

• Minimum of 8 years of software engineering experience, with a focus on backend and network systems.
• Advanced proficiency in Java and Go for developing production systems.
• Production experience with distributed messaging systems such as Apache Kafka or Rabbit
  
  MQ.
• Demonstrated ability to design complex distributed systems and produce detailed architectural documentation.
• Strong technical writing skills, with experience in creating systems design documentation.
• In-depth understanding of network protocols, distributed systems patterns, and high-availability architectures.
• Experience with microservices, real-time data processing, and scalable system design.

• Background in GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems).
• Experience with gRPC clients and servers.
• Familiarity with PostGIS and geospatial data processing systems.
• Working knowledge of AWS services, Kubernetes, and cloud-native architectures.
• Experience with containerization, monitoring systems, and Dev Ops practices.

At Point One, our cultural and operating design is built around one guiding principle: we must move with extreme speed and efficiency of effort to stay in a leadership position.

This environment gives people a high level of autonomy and the ability to make a real impact
. It also challenges every team member to grow — both professionally and personally. Because we focus on promoting from within rather than relying on external hiring, the opportunities for advancement are tremendous for those who seek them.

That said, growth only comes from delivering in the present. What matters most is the job to be done today
, not the job you want tomorrow. When we all focus on today’s outcomes with excellence, the path to greater responsibility and growth naturally follows.

We think about our culture in two dimensions:

These are the behaviors we expect every team member to bring to work — the foundation of being a consummate, high-output teammate:

• Trust / Assume Best Intent — Trust allows us to move fast. When we start from trust, we spend no time second-guessing or looking for ulterior motives and thus focus all our energy on acting.
• High Output, Action Oriented — Our default posture is “yes.” We bias toward action and deliver results quickly, knowing that speed and efficiency compound into impact as we unblock others around us.
• Divine Discontent — We’re never satisfied with the status quo and are self-motivated to improve ourselves, our work, and our company. We actively seek feedback in real-time to shorten improvement cycles.
• No Ego, One Team — Collaboration without ego creates leverage. When we win as one team, we eliminate friction and move faster together.
• Self…