Software Engineer, Observability

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement robust systems for handling large-scale data ingestion, storage, and processing from distributed systems, ensuring high throughput and low latency.
• Develop advanced visualization tools and intuitive dashboards that provide deep insights into application behavior, performance bottlenecks, and system health.
• Integrate observability features with popular frontend frameworks, build tools, and developer workflows, enhancing the overall developer experience on the Vercel Platform.
• Write clean, efficient, and well-documented code in TypeScript, JavaScript, or Go, and adhere to rigorous testing practices to guarantee platform reliability and maintainability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product managers, designers, and infrastructure engineers, to solve complex technical challenges and deliver high-quality solutions that meet user needs.
• Engage actively with the open-source community, contributing to relevant projects, participating in discussions, and staying up-to-date with industry trends to support Vercel's developer-first mission.
• Collect and analyze feedback from developers and end-users to drive continuous innovation, iterate on features, and improve the overall observability product suite.
• Participate in on-call rotation and incident response as needed, ensuring the observability stack operates reliably under peak loads.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record of delivering production-grade systems.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience (no explicit degree requirement; skills and experience are paramount).
• Deep proficiency in one or more of the following languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, or Go, with a strong understanding of modern frontend development practices.
• Hands-on experience with columnar databases such as ClickHouse or Tinybird, including schema design, query optimization, and data modeling for high-volume telemetry data.
• Demonstrated experience processing large quantities of data using messaging systems or streaming platforms like Kafka, Kinesis, or similar technologies.
• Active participation in open-source projects, evidenced by contributions, maintainership, or community involvement.
• Familiarity with frontend frameworks (e.g., React, Next.js) and performance profiling/optimization techniques for web applications.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Self-motivated, proactive, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, distributed remote environment with minimal supervision.

Skills Inventory

• Advanced proficiency in TypeScript, JavaScript, and Node.js ecosystems.
• Strong backend engineering skills in Go, including building RESTful APIs and microservices.
• Expertise in columnar databases, specifically ClickHouse or Tinybird, including performance tuning.
• Experience with distributed messaging systems like Kafka, RabbitMQ, or AWS Kinesis.
• Knowledge of observability concepts, including metrics, traces, logs, and distributed tracing (e.g., OpenTelemetry).
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to debug complex distributed systems.
• Excellent collaboration skills with experience using version control (Git) and agile methodologies.
• Preferred: Experience with data visualization libraries (e.g., D3.js, Chart.js) and building interactive dashboards.
• Preferred: Knowledge of AI/ML applications in observability or anomaly detection.

Salary & Compensation Estimation

Vercel offers competitive compensation packages that vary based on location, experience, and market benchmarks. For a senior software engineer in this role, the base salary typically ranges from $170,000 to $220,000 USD annually, plus equity, which is a significant component of the total rewards. In remote settings outside major tech hubs, the salary may be adjusted to local cost of living, but remains highly competitive. The package includes comprehensive healthcare, flexible time off, a work-from-home budget, and professional development allowances. Vercel is committed to paying at the top of the market to attract and retain elite engineering talent, so candidates can expect a strong offer aligned with their experience level and impact.