Dropbox Logo

Dropbox

Staff Product Backend Software Engineer, Core Sync

Sorry, this job was removed at 07:21 p.m. (CST) on Thursday, Apr 16, 2026
Remote
Hiring Remotely in United States
248K-336K Annually
Remote
Hiring Remotely in United States
248K-336K Annually

Similar Jobs at Dropbox

Yesterday
Remote
United States
213K-288K Annually
Expert/Leader
213K-288K Annually
Expert/Leader
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Consumer Web • Productivity • Software • App development • Data Privacy
The Staff Product Manager will define and execute the product vision and strategy for Stacks and project context experiences, collaborating cross-functionally, and helping users navigate complex workflows and systems.
Top Skills: AILlmPlatform ConstraintsRetrieval SystemsSearch Relevance
Yesterday
Remote
United States
203K-274K Annually
Expert/Leader
203K-274K Annually
Expert/Leader
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Consumer Web • Productivity • Software • App development • Data Privacy
As a Senior Infrastructure Engineer, you'll build scalable systems for a next-generation search platform, ensuring data integrity and user experience while collaborating with cross-functional teams.
Top Skills: C/C++ElasticsearchGoJavaPython
Yesterday
Remote
United States
203K-274K Annually
Senior level
203K-274K Annually
Senior level
Artificial Intelligence • Cloud • Consumer Web • Productivity • Software • App development • Data Privacy
Design, implement, and operate large-scale distributed storage systems ensuring data durability, availability, and performance. Build and maintain replication, erasure coding, and lifecycle systems; write high-quality Go/Rust/C++ code; participate in on-call rotations; troubleshoot production incidents; collaborate with networking, hardware, and capacity teams; lead scoped projects and drive infrastructure evolution.
Top Skills: C++CephColossusErasure CodingGfsGoReplication ProtocolsRustS3
Role Description

At Dropbox, we believe in simplifying the way people work together. Our engineers build the technology that powers seamless collaboration for hundreds of millions of users worldwide. As a Staff Engineer focused on Dropbox Sync, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the reliability, scalability, and future direction of one of Dropbox’s most critical systems.

You will partner with Product Managers, Engineering Managers, and other senior technical leaders to deliver platform improvements that directly impact customers and enable future innovation. You’ll balance short-term execution with long-term architectural investments, ensuring Dropbox’s sync experience continues to set the standard for simplicity and trust.

As a Staff Engineer, you’ll thrive if you love tackling ambiguity, operating with autonomy, and driving technical strategy across teams. This role offers the opportunity for substantial technical ownership, senior leadership exposure, and the chance to leave a lasting mark on Dropbox’s core product experience.

Our Engineering Career Framework is viewable by anyone outside the company and describes what’s expected for our engineers at each of our career levels. Check out our blog post on this topic and more here.

Responsibilities
  • Architect and deliver high-impact technical solutions that scale to millions of daily active users.
  • Shape technical direction by evaluating tradeoffs between speed, quality, and long-term maintainability across projects.
  • Partner cross-functionally with Product, Design, and Engineering peers to align on priorities and execute against critical business objectives.
  • Lead technical initiatives that modernize core sync systems, improve performance, and reduce customer-reported issues.
  • Mentor and elevate other engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and sharing best practices.
  • Influence org-wide engineering standards by advocating for high-quality systems design, operational excellence, and pragmatic decision-making.
  • Contribute to culture by participating in hiring, onboarding, and company-wide technical forums.

Many teams at Dropbox run Services with on-call rotations, which entails being available for calls during both core and non-core business hours. If a team has an on-call rotation, all engineers on the team are expected to participate in the rotation as part of their employment. Applicants are encouraged to ask for more details of the rotations to which the applicant is applying.

Requirements
  • 12+ years of software engineering experience with proven success in large-scale, user-facing systems.
  • BS in Computer Science or related technical field involving coding (e.g., mathematics, physics), or equivalent technical experience.
  • Demonstrated ability to design and ship technically complex products used at scale.
  • Deep expertise in at least one systems-level area (e.g., sync, distributed systems, OS internals, file systems).
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills, with experience influencing across multiple teams and functions.
  • Comfortable balancing short-term delivery with long-term strategic investments.
  • Willingness to participate in on-call rotations where required.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Advanced proficiency in Rust or C++, with strong debugging and performance optimization skills.
  • Familiarity with operating system internals, compilers, databases, or distributed storage systems.
  • Knowledge of Python and/or Go a plus.
  • Track record of setting technical direction across teams and driving adoption of new technologies.
  • Experience building developer platforms or infrastructure that accelerates product delivery.
Compensation
US Zone 1
$248,200$335,800 USD
US Zone 2
$223,400$302,200 USD
US Zone 3
$198,600$268,600 USD

Dropbox Austin, Texas, USA Office

Austin, TX, United States

Dropbox United States Office

What you need to know about the Austin Tech Scene

Austin has a diverse and thriving tech ecosystem thanks to home-grown companies like Dell and major campuses for IBM, AMD and Apple. The state’s flagship university, the University of Texas at Austin, is known for its engineering school, and the city is known for its annual South by Southwest tech and media conference. Austin’s tech scene spans many verticals, but it’s particularly known for hardware, including semiconductors, as well as AI, biotechnology and cloud computing. And its food and music scene, low taxes and favorable climate has made the city a destination for tech workers from across the country.

Key Facts About Austin Tech

  • Number of Tech Workers: 180,500; 13.7% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
  • Major Tech Employers: Dell, IBM, AMD, Apple, Alphabet
  • Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, hardware, cloud computing, software, healthtech
  • Funding Landscape: $4.5 billion in VC funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
  • Notable Investors: Live Oak Ventures, Austin Ventures, Hinge Capital, Gigafund, KdT Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, Silverton Partners
  • Research Centers and Universities: University of Texas, Southwestern University, Texas State University, Center for Complex Quantum Systems, Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, Texas Advanced Computing Center

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account