Senior Staff Software Engineer - Sunnyvale, CA

About The Team · The Delivery Experience (DelEx) team makes every part of the journey after checkout seamless. We power real-time tracking, in-app messaging, and the support systems that step in when things don't go as planned. Our work spans from building smarter chatbots that r ...

Job description

About The Team
The Delivery Experience (DelEx) team makes every part of the journey after checkout seamless. We power real-time tracking, in-app messaging, and the support systems that step in when things don't go as planned. Our work spans from building smarter chatbots that resolve issues instantly, to designing fair and accurate credits and refunds, to giving agents AI-powered tools that help them solve problems faster. By combining reliable platforms with the latest AI, we're making support at DoorDash faster, easier, and more trustworthy than ever.

This is a pivotal moment for DelEx. We're laying down the foundations for the next decade of scale while pushing the boundaries of what AI and LLMs can do for customers, Dashers, and support agents.

About The Role
As a Senior Staff Engineer in DelEx, you'll be a key technical leader driving the strategy and execution of critical systems, charting the direction for the organization. You'll design, influence, and deliver large-scale platforms that combine cutting-edge AI/ML with rock-solid engineering foundations. From building smarter chatbots and context-aware credits & refunds, to architecting real-time order tracking and support agent copilots, your work will directly shape the future of DoorDash's support and delivery ecosystem.

This role is deeply cross-functional. You'll partner closely with Product, Machine Learning, Design, and Operations leaders to chart the technical roadmap, scale foundational systems, and deliver high-impact outcomes that improve customer trust, retention, and satisfaction.

You're Excited About This Opportunity Because You Will…

• Lead at scale: Provide technical vision and architectural direction for organizations (50+ engineers) for large, multi-year platform rebuilds, ensuring our systems can handle 100x growth.
• Advance AI-powered support: Partner with ML teams to build and productionize LLM-powered chatbots, context-aware credits & refunds, and intelligent agent copilots that set a new bar for customer support.
• Shape platform foundations: Rebuild mission-critical systems like real-time order tracking and messaging to be reliable, performant, and extensible across new verticals and global markets.
• Influence across teams: Drive alignment across engineering, product, and operations stakeholders; mentor engineers and staff across multiple teams to raise the bar of technical excellence.
• Operate hands-on: Dig into complex distributed systems challenges, from scaling infrastructure to optimizing end-to-end performance and resiliency.
• Multiply impact: Elevate engineering culture by introducing best practices in design, testing, reliability, and long-term maintainability.

We're Excited About You Because You Have…

• 8+ years of industry experience, with a track record of shipping large-scale, high-impact systems.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems, real-time data pipelines, or large-scale platform rebuilds.
• Experience applying ML/LLM technologies in production environments (bonus if in support, trust & safety, or similar domains).
• Strong technical intuition paired with the ability to influence and align senior cross functional stakeholders.
• A proven ability to balance vision with pragmatism, knowing when to invent vs. when to leverage existing patterns.
• Humility and a growth mindset: you lead through expertise and collaboration, not hierarchy.
• Comfort with ambiguity and a bias for action in fast-paced environments.
• Must be comfortable regularly exercising discretion and independent judgment in performing job duties, including evaluating options, making informed decisions, and determining appropriate courses of action within the scope of assigned responsibilities.

Notice to Applicants for Jobs Located in NYC or Remote Jobs Associated With Office in NYC Only

We use Covey as part of our hiring and/or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT in NYC. As part of the hiring and/or promotion process, we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound from August 21, 2023, through December 21, 2023, and resumed using Covey Scout for Inbound again on June 29, 2024.

The Covey tool has been reviewed by an independent auditor. Results of the audit may be viewed here: Covey

Compensation
The successful candidate's starting pay will fall within the pay range listed below and is determined based on job-related factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Base salary is localized according to an employee's work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future.

In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants. Talk to your recruiter for more information.

DoorDash cares about you and your overall well-being. That's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package to all regular employees, which includes a 401(k) plan with employer matching, 16 weeks of paid parental leave, wellness benefits, commuter benefits match, paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws (e.g. Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act). DoorDash also offers medical, dental, and vision benefits, 11 paid holidays, disability and basic life insurance, family-forming assistance, and a mental health program, among others.

To learn more about our benefits, visit our careers page here.

See Below For Paid Time Off Details

• For salaried roles: flexible paid time off/vacation, plus 80 hours of paid sick time per year.
• For hourly roles: vacation accrued at about 1 hour for every 25.97 hours worked (e.g. about 6.7 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 3.4 hours/month if working 20 hours/week), and paid sick time accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (e.g. about 5.8 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 2.9 hours/month if working 20 hours/week).

The national base pay range for this position within the United States, including Illinois and Colorado.

$193,800—$285,000 USD

About DoorDash
At DoorDash, our mission to empower local economies shapes how our team members move quickly, learn, and reiterate in order to make impactful decisions that display empathy for our range of users—from Dashers to merchant partners to consumers. We are a technology and logistics company that started by enabling door-to-door delivery, and we are looking for team members who can help us go from a company that is known as the place you order food to a company that people turn to for any and all goods.

DoorDash is growing rapidly and changing constantly, which gives our team members the opportunity to share their unique perspectives, solve new challenges, and own their careers. We're committed to supporting employees' happiness, healthiness, and overall well-being by providing comprehensive benefits and perks including premium healthcare, wellness expense reimbursement, paid parental leave and more.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We're committed to growing and empowering a more inclusive community within our company, industry, and cities. That's why we hire and cultivate diverse teams of people from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that true innovation happens when everyone has room at the table and the tools, resources, and opportunity to excel.

Statement of Non-Discrimination: In keeping with our beliefs and goals, no employee or applicant will face discrimination or harassment based on: race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, or veteran status. Above and beyond discrimination and harassment based on "protected categories," we also strive to prevent other subtler forms of inappropriate behavior (i.e., stereotyping) from ever gaining a foothold in our office. Whether blatant or hidden, barriers to success have no place at DoorDash. We value a diverse workforce – people who identify as women, non-binary or gender non-conforming, LGBTQIA+, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, differently-abled, caretakers and parents, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Thank you to the Level Playing Field Institute for this statement of non-discrimination.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and any other state or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation.

If you need any accommodations, please inform your recruiting contact upon initial connection.