Cli Engineer

Supabase Supabase · Data AI · Remote · Engineering

Senior CLI Engineer at Supabase, a Postgres development platform company. This role focuses on building and operating backend APIs and services (80% backend/API work with TypeScript/NestJS) and CLI tooling (20% CLI work) to create a world-class local development experience. The role involves cross-platform CLI development (Windows, Linux, macOS) and designing APIs that power these capabilities, with a focus on security, performance, and developer experience.

What you'd actually do

  1. Design, build, and operate backend APIs and services in TypeScript, using NestJS patterns (modules, providers, pipelines) where that is how we ship - prioritizing security, performance, and clear contracts for internal and external consumers.
  2. Design and develop CLI tooling that is consistent, secure, and performant across Windows, Linux, and macOS, aligned with the same platform capabilities the backend exposes.
  3. Collaborate with product and platform teams to define end-to-end behavior: from HTTP/API design through to how the CLI and local development stack surface those capabilities.
  4. Implement unit, integration, and end-to-end tests across backend and CLI so reliability and maintainability stay high as the surface area grows.
  5. Create documentation and help content for API consumers, CLI users, and contributing developers.

Skills

Required

  • 5+ years of software development experience
  • Strong TypeScript
  • Professional experience shipping production API and server-side code
  • Hands-on experience with command-line tools (building, maintaining, or owning CLIs)
  • Proficiency in one or more languages commonly used for CLI and backend work (TypeScript/Node, Rust, Python, Go, C++)
  • Depth in TypeScript is essential
  • Experience building CLIs with strong user experience
  • Familiarity with package distribution and installation
  • Solid Git workflow
  • CI/CD experience

Nice to have

  • NestJS experience
  • Contributions to open-source CLI tools, libraries, or backend frameworks
  • Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
  • Familiarity with database migration management, Postgres, and related drivers or protocols

What the JD emphasized

  • depth in backend delivery
  • CLI and DX as a core part of the job
  • strong track record in backend systems and/or developer-facing tooling
  • shipping production API and server-side code
  • building CLIs with strong user experience