Backend Engineer, Identity

Tailscale Tailscale · Enterprise · Remote · Engineering

Backend Engineer focused on identity and access management features for Tailscale, a secure networking product. Responsibilities include developing core software components, identity services, sign-on functionality (SSO, OAuth2, SAML, WebAuthn), SCIM capabilities, and ensuring service observability, security, scalability, and resilience. Requires participation in on-call rotation and a security-first mindset.

What you'd actually do

  1. Develop the Tailscale product, contributing to both open source client code and related backend services
  2. Take ownership of the entire product lifecycle, from writing code to product ideation and strategic decision-making
  3. Work closely with UX/UI designers and product managers to shape features
  4. Bring a special focus to building features related to identity and access management
  5. Work as part of a team of engineers to design, build, test, and document core software components

Skills

Required

  • Familiarity with authentication/authorization protocols, standards and frameworks such as OAuth2, OIDC, SSO, and SAML
  • Experience with distributed systems and building observable, secure, scalable, and resilient services
  • Experience with one or more SQL databases
  • Ability to give and process constructive feedback, as well as work independently
  • Flexibility to adjust to the dynamic nature of a startup
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice to have

  • Familiarity with SCIM
  • Experience with Go
  • Familiarity with networks (IP addressing, routing, etc.)

What the JD emphasized

  • identity and access management
  • SSO, OAuth2, SAML, and WebAuthn
  • SCIM style capabilities
  • security-first mindset