Software Engineer, Customer Studio Backend

Software Engineer, Customer Studio Backend

Company: Hightouch
Location: Remote (United States or Canada) or San Francisco, CA
Compensation: $180,000 - $320,000 + meaningful ISO equity (early exercise, 10-year exercise window)
Employment Type: Full-time
Visa Sponsorship: Visa transfers (OPT, H-1B transfer)

About Hightouch

Hightouch pioneered the Composable Customer Data Platform (CDP), which lets companies use their own data warehouse to collect, prepare and activate customer data for marketing personalization and business operations. Its AI Decisioning platform lets marketers set goals and guardrails that AI agents use to personalize 1:1 customer interactions. Hundreds of companies, including Autotrader, Calendly, Cars.com, Monday.com and PetSmart, rely on it.

Founded in 2018, Hightouch has about 350 people and has raised $320M+ through Series D.

The Role

Hightouch is adding product-minded backend engineers to Customer Studio, its second major product: a no-code suite that lets anyone activate data directly from their warehouse, regardless of SQL experience. Customer Studio now accounts for half of Hightouch revenue and the company keeps investing heavily. You will dive deep into backend and distributed systems, think holistically about architecture and reliability, and engage directly with product specs and users. There is room to mentor and eventually move into management.

What You Will Do

• Push data warehouse performance and interactivity through query optimization, pre-computed state and warehouse-specific improvements.
• Build analytics and experimentation features that help customers build segments and measure audience performance in downstream tools.
• Move toward real-time audience computation and syncing as warehouses adopt CDC and real-time technologies.
• Apply generative AI to make acting on data more seamless.
• Work from product specs and user feedback, and talk with users directly.

What You Bring

• 6-15 years as a backend engineer, with substantial work designing backend systems at high-growth startups (Series B-E)
• Staff-level scope with a history of fast promotions
• Very strong systems design fundamentals
• Product mindset: builds backend systems with the user in mind and engages with feedback
• A backend focus (not a full-stack, data engineering or DevOps role)
• Great communication and fast learning
• CS, math or EE degree from a top program

Nice to Have

• Understanding of how large-scale data processing systems behave

Interview Process

Recruiter screen (30 min), hiring manager interview (30 min), system design screen (45 min), system design interview (90 min).

Tech Stack

Backend and distributed systems, data warehouses, SQL, CDC/real-time data

REVENUE: 14% of first-year salary. Est. fee per hire $25K-$45K; 5 seat(s) = up to $175K if all filled.

TARGET COMPANIES (client (Stripe/Kong/Semgrep named) + suggested): Stripe, Kong, Semgrep, Amplitude, Braze, Segment (Twilio), Census.

BEST-FIT CANDIDATE: 6-15 yrs; product-minded backend at high-growth startup (B-E); staff level + fast promotions; strong system design; visa: transfers only; location: Remote US/Canada. Top-30 CS degree bar; avoid long single-company tenures without progression, older-tech-only, multiple <1.5yr tenures, data/devops engineers.