Sr. Software Engineer, Workflow (Backend)

At Zapier, we build and use automation every day to make work more efficient, creative, and human. So if you’re using AI tools while applying here - that’s great! We just ask that you use them responsibly and transparently.

Check out our guidance on How to Collaborate with AI During Zapier’s Hiring Process, including how to use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or others during our hiring process - and when not to.

Job Posted: 8/19/25

Location: Americas

Zapier’s Workflow Zone is responsible for the core engine that powers our automation platform. As more teams and organizations depend on Zapier to automate critical workflows, we’re investing in scaling the capabilities, reliability, and intelligence of our core product experience.

We’re hiring a Sr. Backend Engineer to join the Runner team in our Workflow Zone. If you’re passionate about building robust systems, enabling advanced user workflows, and shaping the future of automation, we’d love to hear from you.

The Workflow Zone is where Zapier’s automation magic happens. This zone owns the product experience and execution engine behind creating, running, and debugging workflows (Zaps). We’re focused on building powerful, flexible tools that help individuals and teams automate their work with speed and confidence.

As automation use cases grow more complex—especially for Enterprise users—we’re evolving the platform to support more sophisticated logic, scalable execution, and AI-native experiences. This means:

• Building intuitive and resilient workflow authoring experiences

• Expanding execution capabilities and logic primitives

• Introducing AI-powered tools for creation and troubleshooting

• Improving reliability, observability, and control across the system

The Runner team is responsible for reliably executing Zaps—fast. We’re focused on the core infrastructure that powers Zapier’s workflows, including scaling for high volume and reducing latency across millions of executions daily.

In this role, you’ll:

• Develop and maintain Zapier’s execution engine, scaling it to handle millions of daily runs

• Improve system performance, reduce latency, and strengthen failure handling

• Design and implement execution primitives that power reliable automation

• Collaborate across infrastructure, product, and platform teams on core system design

This is a foundational team at the platform layer—ideal for engineers who like deep technical challenges and shipping resilient, high-scale services.

We’re looking for experienced engineers who bring:

• 5+ years of professional experience developing software, including at least 2 years in a senior-level role

• Strong backend experience, ideally in Python and Django and/or TypeScript and Node.js, building reliable, scalable, and observable services

• Familiarity with relational databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL, and the ability to model, query, and optimize data effectively

• Experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs, building event-driven systems, and working with data integrations across services

• Proven ability to lead complex technical projects—owning design decisions, balancing tradeoffs, and guiding implementation across multiple contributors

• You proactively coach and support teammates, foster growth through mentorship, and contribute to a culture of feedback and continuous improvement

• You navigate ambiguity with confidence—able to clarify priorities, align stakeholders, and drive toward meaningful outcomes even when goals shift

• You’ve used AI tooling for work or personal use—or you are willing to dive in and learn fast. You explore new tools, workflows, and ideas to make things more efficient, and are eager to deepen your understanding of AI and use it regularly.

Zapier is a 100% remote team, and has been since day one. We value asynchronous communication, transparent collaboration, and work-life harmony. We believe in building systems that scale—both in code and in culture.

If you’re passionate about shaping the future of AI-driven automation, and want to work at a company that cares deeply about its people and its product, we’d love to hear from you.

At Zapier, we believe that diverse perspectives and experiences make us better, which is why we have a non-standard application process designed to promote inclusion and equity. We're looking for the best fit for each of our roles, regardless of the type of companies in your background, so we encourage you to apply even if your skills and experiences don’t exactly match the job description. All we ask is that you answer a few in-depth questions in our application that would typically be asked at the start of an interview process. This helps speed things up by letting us get to know you and your skillset a bit better right out of the gate. Please be sure to answer each question; the resume and CV fields are optional.

Education is not a requirement for our roles; however, if you receive an offer, you will need to include your most recent educational experience as part of our background check process.

After you apply, you are going to hear back from us—even if we don’t see an immediate fit with our team. In fact, throughout the process, we strive to never go more than seven days without letting you know the status of your application. We know we’ll make mistakes from time to time, so if you ever have questions about where you stand or about the process, just ask your recruiter!

Zapier is an equal-opportunity employer and we're excited to work with talented and empathetic people of all identities. Zapier does not discriminate based on someone's identity in any aspect of hiring or employment as required by law and in line with our commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity. Our code of conduct provides a beacon for the kind of company we strive to be, and we celebrate our differences because those differences are what allow us to make a product that serves a global user base. Zapier will consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, consistent with applicable laws.

Zapier prioritizes the security of our customers' information and is dedicated to adhering to all applicable data privacy laws. You can review our privacy policy here.

Zapier is committed to inclusion. As part of this commitment, Zapier welcomes applications from individuals with disabilities and will work to provide reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodations are needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact [email protected].

The anticipated application window is 30 days from the date job is posted, unless the number of applicants requires it to close sooner or later, or if the position is filled.

Even though we’re an all-remote company, we still need to be thoughtful about where we have Zapiens working. Check out this resource for a list of countries where we currently cannot have Zapiens permanently working.