Software Engineer, Logistics Platform

Whatnot · Consumer · Los Angeles, CA · Engineering

Software Engineer, Logistics Platform at Whatnot. This role focuses on building and improving core logistics systems, data, and APIs for the company's livestream shopping platform. Responsibilities include backend development, data quality, shipment state normalization, observability, and operational debugging. The role requires partnering with various teams to solve complex logistics problems and improve user experience, trust, and operational efficiency. A thoughtful approach to using AI in engineering work is encouraged, with a strong emphasis on correctness and independent judgment.

What you'd actually do

  1. Build and improve source-of-truth systems, APIs, and internal platform interfaces that other teams depend on for logistics workflows and decisions.
  2. Own backend and platform work across logistics data quality, shipment state normalization, observability, and operational debugging surfaces.
  3. Partner closely with Product, Data Science, CX, Ops, Trust, and Finance to turn messy real-world logistics problems into durable systems and better user outcomes.
  4. Improve the correctness, timeliness, and usability of the logistics data that powers support, trust, product, and operational workflows.
  5. Build tooling, monitoring, and debugging primitives that help teams detect problems earlier and get to truth faster.

Skills

Required

  • Experience building and owning meaningful backend or platform systems in production at the senior scope
  • Strong product judgment
  • Experience in complex marketplace, coordination, delivery, fulfillment, trust, or post-purchase systems
  • Strong instincts around data quality, source-of-truth systems, observability, and operational debugging
  • A thoughtful approach to AI
  • Comfort operating in fast-moving, high-ownership environments with ambiguity and shifting priorities

Nice to have

  • Experience in adjacent domains like rideshare coordination, food delivery, marketplace fulfillment, trust/risk operations, or order tracking and exception-handling systems.
  • Experience working on a marketplace or other two-sided platform.
  • Direct experience in logistics, shipping, or fulfillment systems.

What the JD emphasized

  • meaningful backend or platform systems in production at the senior scope
  • developing and owning moderate-to-complex software
  • disambiguating meaningful problems
  • collaborating effectively with stakeholders and cross-functional partners
  • strong product judgment
  • connect technical work to user impact, business outcomes, and explicit trade-offs
  • complex marketplace, coordination, delivery, fulfillment, trust, or post-purchase systems where software decisions interact with messy real-world state
  • strong instincts around data quality, source-of-truth systems, observability, and operational debugging
  • thoughtful approach to AI
  • Comfort operating in fast-moving, high-ownership environments with ambiguity and shifting priorities