Software Engineer, Systems

At Smallstep we believe distributed systems deserve great security out-of-the-box, and we're on a mission to shift the paradigm away from network perimeter security.

As a remote-first company, we work reasonable, flexible hours. We look for people who are thoughtful, can break down problems, and often work individually. You are trusted to work on your own and to ask for help when blocked. At Smallstep you get the benefit of working with a tight-knit team across many areas and contribute directly to the success of the organization. Do you love open-source software, developer communities, and want to do impactful work while helping others do the same? Keep reading.

Smallstep is a nimble deep-tech startup of seasoned experts. We are looking to add a Systems Software Engineer to our team to help build features for Smallstep’s identity authority (APIs, CLI, & SDKs) as well as tighter integrations into traditional platforms and the rapidly emerging cloud-native ecosystem with the goal to bring the myriad benefits of PKI & mTLS to a broader audience.

Qualities of a successful candidate for this role include:

• You feel comfortable building software infrastructure & integrations
• You have an prior experience with cryptography & protocols (X.509, OAuth, JWT, HTTPS/TLS, etc) and operations of non-trivial distributed systems
• You have experience with Golang, C/C++, or similar languages
• You have spent 7+ years shipping software in professional environments and have prior experience working remotely
• You have built and optimized systems in virtualized / containerized environments running in Docker, Mesos, or Kubernetes using service meshes, such as Linkerd, Istio, or Envoy

We believe in action-based empathy. We actively work to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and valued as teammates and contributors. We know a diverse team is essential to create a vibrant and inclusive culture that fosters a true sense of belonging. By embracing the unique talents and perspectives of our entire team, we approach challenges in ways that a monocultural team simply cannot.

We’re committed to building a tight-knit group that is collaborative, low-ego, and results driven that represents a variety of skills, backgrounds, and lived experiences. We believe everyone deserves a competitive salary, industry leading benefits, the ability to share in the company’s success, and the psychological safety to be their truest selves at work.

Smallstep is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We encourage all those interested to apply.