Staff Software Engineer, Java (Domains Email)

Squarespace•New York, NY

5h•Hybrid

About The Position

Squarespace is looking for a Backend Staff Software Engineer to lead the technical direction of our Business Email team. This team is the engine behind one of our high-growth product categories, serving as a critical pillar in our mission to help entrepreneurs succeed. We are selling more than just a service; we are building the indispensable communication hub that allows millions of users to manage their professional identity. In this role, You’ll work closely with product, engineering, and cross-functional partners to evolve a complex backend that powers customer-facing email experiences, integrations, and infrastructure. This is a hands-on role with real technical depth, paired with broad influence across the org. This is a hybrid role based in our NYC office (3 days per week), reporting to the Engineering Manager of Email.

Requirements

10+ years of backend engineering experience, with significant time building and operating large-scale, customer-facing systems
Deep expertise in Java and backend service development (APIs, async processing, data stores, messaging systems)
Strong experience with distributed systems, including reliability, scaling, and failure modes in production
A proven track record of technical leadership at Staff or Senior-plus level, influencing architecture across multiple teams
Experience evolving existing systems — modernizing, simplifying, and strengthening them without unnecessary rewrites
The ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical partners
A mindset oriented toward mentorship, collaboration, and inclusive technical leadership

Responsibilities

Serve as a key technical leader, driving the architecture, design, and implementation of new and existing business email products
Provide hands-on guidance to the large engineering team, mentoring senior and mid-level engineers, helping them grow in system design, decision-making, and ownership
Write high-quality Java code and stay close to execution, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, scalable, and maintainable solutions
Partner deeply with Product, Design, Growth, Marketing, and BizDev to translate business goals into robust technical solutions
Identify and proactively address systemic issues (performance, operability, resiliency, security) before they become problems
Balance short-term delivery with long-term health, making thoughtful tradeoffs and communicating them clearly to stakeholders