[Hiring] Senior Staff Software Engineer, Compose & Localize @Webflow

Role Description

We’re looking for a Senior Staff Software Engineer to help us push the boundaries of what Webflow’s platform can do. As a Senior Staff Software Engineer of our Compose pillar, you will define and drive the technical future of Webflow’s CMS, Localization, and Commerce systems. Compose powers millions of production websites and supports over 1% of global Internet traffic. You will join a world-class team responsible not just for maintaining that scale, but for pushing the platform forward in ambitious and competitive directions.

This is a cross-team level role with real strategic ownership. You are not bound to a single team, but accountable for driving the highest-leverage, multi-team initiatives that shape Compose’s long-term trajectory. You will partner closely with the Pillar Lead and senior leaders across Engineering, Product, and Design to translate product vision into bold, executable technical strategy.

We are not simply maintaining what exists today—competing meaningfully in the headless CMS space requires solving hard problems in data modeling, API design, performance, scalability, and interoperability. This role is expected to internalize where we want to go, and actively drive the technical work required to get there.

About the role:

• Location: Remote-first (United States; BC & ON, Canada)
• Full-time
• Permanent
• Exempt

The cash compensation for this role is tailored to align with the cost of labor in different geographic markets. We've structured the base pay ranges for this role into zones for our geographic markets, and the specific base pay within the range will be determined by the candidate’s geographic location, job-related experience, knowledge, qualifications, and skills.

• United States (all figures cited below are in USD and pertain to workers in the United States)
  • Zone A: $220,000 - $285,000
  • Zone B: $207,000 - $268,000
  • Zone C: $194,000 - $251,000
• Canada (figures cited below are in CAD and pertain to workers in ON & BC, Canada)
  • CAD 251,000 - 324,000

This role is also eligible to participate in Webflow's company-wide bonus program. Target amounts are a percentage of base salary and vary by career level. Payouts are based on company performance against established financial and operational goals.

Application Information:

• Application deadline: applications accepted on an ongoing basis until position is closed and filled
• This posting is for a new position
• Reporting to the Senior Manager, Engineering

As a Senior Staff Software Engineer, you will:

• Own and drive the technical strategy for the Compose pillar, aligning architecture with ambitious product goals and measurable business outcomes.
• Identify and lead multi-team initiatives that unlock new competitive capabilities; not just incremental improvements.
• Translate product vision into concrete technical problems and execution plans.
• Lead high-impact efforts from architecture through delivery, especially where scale, ambiguity, or systemic risk is highest.
• Establish and evolve architectural guardrails and governance processes to prevent drift as we scale.
• Strengthen cross-pillar alignment with Design, Develop, and Infrastructure to enable clean integrations and platform interoperability.
• Eliminate structural sources of technical debt and recurring risk, improving reliability, determinism, and operational clarity.
• Increase engineering leverage through thoughtful automation and responsible use of AI-assisted tooling.
• Raise the talent bar by mentoring senior engineers, contributing to hiring, and developing future Staff-level leaders.

Qualifications

• BS / BA college degree or relevant experience

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience building and evolving complex, distributed SaaS systems.
• Demonstrated ownership of large-scale architectural initiatives that unlocked new product capabilities or competitive advantages.
• Deep backend systems experience in one or more modern server environments (e.g., Java, Go, Python, Node.js), with the ability to ramp quickly in new stacks.
• Experience designing and operating API-driven systems backed by relational databases such as Postgres or Aurora.
• A track record of solving difficult scalability, data modeling, or interoperability challenges.
• Experience influencing cross-team architecture in platform environments.
• A principled but pragmatic approach to decoupled architectures and sound design principles.
• A thoughtful perspective on AI-assisted development — understanding both its leverage and its risks.
• Take full ownership of ambitious technical challenges, staying calm under pressure and disciplined when making high-risk decisions to drive projects to resolution.
• Enjoy mentoring emerging technical talent, along with persuasively challenging assumptions at all levels—including senior leadership—without being dogmatic.
• Experience with Node.js and TypeScript in large production systems is a plus, but not required.

Benefits

• Ownership in what you help build. Every permanent Webflower receives equity (RSUs) in our growing, privately held company.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans for full-time employees and their dependents, with Webflow covering most premiums.
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all parents and 6+ weeks of additional paid leave for birthing parents. Plus inclusive care for family planning, menopause, and midlife transitions.
• Flexible vacation, paid holidays, and a sabbatical program to help you recharge and come back inspired.
• Access to mental health resources, therapy and coaching.
• A 401(k) with 100% employer match (up to $6,000/year) in the U.S., and support for retirement savings globally.
• Localized support for work and wellness expenses — from Wi-Fi to workouts.
• All full-time, permanent, non-commission employees are eligible for our annual WIN bonus program.