Senior Software Engineer, Backend

About the job

About the Company

Chicory is the leading contextual advertising platform for CPG & grocery, transforming food content into dynamic commerce experiences that take consumers from inspiration to checkout. Our platform reaches 150 million grocery shoppers each month across a network of 7,000+ websites, food blogs, and apps, including The Kitchn, Food Network, MyFitnessPal, and powers 70+ leading retailers through direct integrations and retail media partnerships. By combining engaging media with contextually relevant, brand-safe content, we help CPG brands and retailers connect with consumers in an active mindset during high-intent moments—whether they’re discovering new recipes, planning meals, or building grocery lists. From curiosity to conversion, Chicory enables brands to show up in the moments that matter most, delivering full-funnel outcomes with ease.

Recognized as a 2025 Best Workplace by Inc. Magazine and as a 2023 Fastest-Growing Private Company in America by Inc. 5000, we believe that what sets Chicory apart is our diverse experiences and skillsets coupled with our shared values. Learn more at www.chicory.co .

About The Role

As our Senior Software Engineer, Backend, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the technology behind a rapidly evolving adtech company. You’ll tackle complex, high-impact engineering challenges where strong technical judgment can meaningfully influence the scalability of our platform, the performance of our products, and the growth of the business. This is a highly visible role for an engineer who enjoys solving ambiguous problems, owning meaningful technical decisions, and raising the bar for the people around them. You’ll have the autonomy to make an impact while partnering closely with a talented, collaborative team that values thoughtful engineering, continuous learning, and building things the right way.

Responsibilities

• Lead backend architecture and strategic engineering initiatives across Chicory’s programmatic advertising platform, including ad serving, OpenRTB, SSP/DSP integrations, auction systems, identity and signal flows, and related backend services

• Independently drive complex backend projects from concept through delivery, , balancing scalability, reliability, performance, and maintainability while meeting high technical standards

• Serve as a technical subject-matter expert on programmatic advertising and translate industry standards and emerging technologies into engineering decisions

• Design, implement, and troubleshoot integrations with SSPs, DSPs, exchanges, and other external advertising platforms

• Optimize high-throughput, latency-sensitive systems, including auction and ad-serving workflows, while maintaining reliability and scalability

• Mentor backend engineers, fostering technical growth and a culture of engineering excellence within the team

• Proactively identify architectural improvements, performance optimizations, and system enhancements

• Trace and optimize the end-to-end lifecycle of an ad opportunity across Chicory's backend systems and external programmatic partners

• Engage closely with Engineering, Product, Campaign Management, and other stakeholders to align technical solutions with business objectives

• Conduct rigorous code reviews, establishing and enforcing standards of high-quality software development

• Innovate on backend tooling, infrastructure automation, and process improvements to optimize engineering productivity

• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure backend solutions integrate seamlessly across the broader technology ecosystem

• Champion best practices in software design, performance engineering, and reliability engineering

• Monitor developments in programmatic advertising standards, protocols, identity solutions, and industry practices and translate relevant changes into technical strategy

• Build upon team and company culture and act as a champion of the Chicory Principles

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional backend software engineering experience, including 2+ years working directly on programmatic advertising systems such as SSPs, DSPs, ad exchanges, ad servers, or header bidding solutions

• Hands-on experience with OpenRTB and the mechanics of programmatic auctions, including bid request/response flows, timeouts, floor pricing, and deal types

• Applied knowledge of Ad Tech ecosystem concepts including identity and cookie synchronization, audience targeting, measurement, and the end-to-end lifecycle of an ad request

• Proven ability to design, build, and operate high-throughput, latency-sensitive distributed systems at scale, with strong instincts for service boundaries, API design, asynchronous processing, and failure modes

• Track record of improving system performance and reliability through effective instrumentation, monitoring, load testing, and performance analysis (e.g., reducing latency, error rates, or improving availability)

• Experience integrating complex external platforms and partners, with attention to versioning, data inconsistencies, operational dependencies, and graceful degradation

• Demonstrated ability to independently investigate ambiguous problems across multiple services, identify root causes, and evaluate solution tradeoffs

• Experience leading major technical initiatives from architecture through production delivery, including influencing technical roadmaps and driving cross-team alignment

• Strong mentorship and knowledge-sharing skills, with a history of raising the technical bar of a team through code review, documentation, and architectural guidance

• Ability to connect engineering decisions to business outcomes such as revenue, ad delivery, reach, and customer needs, and communicate effectively with Product and non-technical stakeholders

The base salary range for this position is $160,000 - $180,000 annually.
Location: New York/Hybrid or Remote
Benefits & Perks

Focusing on your health and wellbeing:

• Comprehensive healthcare benefits, including dental + vision plans

• Flexible paid time off policy for vacation, sick days, mental health days, and more!

• 14 paid holidays + flexibility to take paid time off for any other holidays you observe

• Employer-paid membership to One Medical

• Free ClassPass membership

Creating a culture in which you can thrive:

• Annual learning & development stipend

• Flexible remote and hybrid work style arrangements

• Fun and friendly office in NYC stocked with free snacks

• Virtual and in-person outings and fun activities with our amazing team

• Dog-friendly workplace

Supporting you financially:

• Competitive compensation package, including base salary + stock options

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) + Health Spending Account (HSA)

• 401k retirement plan

• Commuter benefits

• Discounted pet insurance

Our Philosophy

At Chicory, we know that we are strongest when every person is valued, respected and treated with dignity. We actively put aside assumptions and judgment and work to make space for all points of view. We do serious work but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We consider our playful spirit a competitive advantage to building better relationships and finding the smartest solutions. We produce the best results by hiring smart people and giving them the space, safety and the resources to do their work. We are building a company people love working with and working at.

Our Commitment Statement to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

At Chicory, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are key ingredients in our recipe for success. Our diverse experiences, backgrounds, identities, and ways of thinking elevate the level at which we operate; this allows us to innovate in old-school industries by looking not at how things have been done, but how they should be done. We are building a workplace built on merit and equity where every one of us has a voice at the table.

Our Principles

• Be Good People: The success of our company is totally dependent on having good, smart people.

• Own It: We take pride in our work. When we see a problem, we step up. We hold ourselves, and each other, to the highest standard. We learn from mistakes, admit when we are wrong, and take full responsibility for delivering results, not just for our role, but for the mission.

• Separate Your Ego From Your Position: We speak up with conviction, but we stay open to being wrong. Leadership isn’t about winning arguments or defending turf; it’s about serving the mission. We challenge ideas without taking it personally, and we invite feedback without getting defensive. Our goal is the best outcome, not to “be right.”

• Find Reality: We pursue truth over comfort. We seek to understand before insisting on being understood. We dig beneath symptoms to uncover root causes, and we challenge assumptions, even our own. Clarity comes from curiosity, not certainty. We don’t settle for surface-level answers. We seek reality, even when it’s inconvenient.

• Have a Beginner’s Mind: Just because something has been done a certain way doesn’t mean it’s the best way. We stay curious, challenge assumptions, and question the status quo. We stay innovative by tackling problems from a fresh perspective.

• Bias for Action: Speed matters in business. We don’t wait for permission, perfect clarity, or endless alignment. We cut through noise, complexity, and politics to drive progress. When in doubt, we act, learn, and adapt because action beats indecision every time.

• Customer Obsessed: Our customers are our North Star. We listen closely, dig deep to understand their needs, and deliver 5-star service at every touchpoint. We build products that actually work: simple, intuitive, and designed to solve real problems.

• Above and Beyond: We don’t settle for “good enough,” we aim for exceptional. We go above and beyond what’s expected for our team, our customers, and ourselves. We stay curious and hungry. Every day is an opportunity to get better.