Whisker is redefining what it means to live with cats—designing intelligent systems that remove friction, elevate the everyday, and celebrate the quiet brilliance of feline companionship. Today, Litter-Robot leads the category. Tomorrow, an entire ecosystem that expands what’s possible for cats and the people who love them. We believe the future is feline. And we’re imagining that future today.

We work onsite 4+ days a week, with our team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Juneau, Wisconsin. Our team of 700+ passionate pet people thrives on collaboration, innovation, and the occasional office cameo from a four-legged friend.

What You’ll Do:

The Senior Software Engineer will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for shaping the vision and execution of Whisker’s service platform strategy. This role will architect, design, and scale high-performance service infrastructure across AWS, lead mission-critical IoT and backend data initiatives, and provide technical oversight on the most complex engineering challenges. The Senior Engineer can mentor and guide multiple engineering teams, drive best practices in data architecture, and collaborate with leaders across product, engineering, and analytics to ensure data systems are reliable, secure, and future-proof.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities as deemed necessary.

• Leads the architecture and long-term vision for Whisker’s IoT and data ecosystem.
• Owns the design, development, and optimization of complex, large-scale ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Provides technical leadership and decision-making across multiple software engineering projects.
• Defines and enforces standards for data governance, security, and reliability.
• Drives innovation in AWS IoT and data platforms, evaluating and implementing emerging technologies.
• Collaborates with product and business stakeholders to align data strategy with business goals.
• Builds frameworks and reusable services to accelerate engineering productivity.
• Partners with Data Scientists and Analysts to ensure availability of high-quality, accessible data.
• Oversees integration of new IoT hardware products with backend systems at scale.
• Proactively identifies bottlenecks, scalability issues, and areas for system improvement.
• Provides technical mentorship, guidance, and thought leadership to Senior and Junior Engineers.
• Champions best practices in software engineering, including testing, code quality, and observability.
• Experiments with new architectures and prototypes to validate technical feasibility.
• Contributes to company-wide technical strategy as a key data domain expert.
• Will perform additional responsibilities when required

Our Tech Stack:

• Cloud-native, serverless infrastructure on AWS
• REST APIs with AWS API Gateway and GraphQL APIs and engines
• DynamoDB and other serverless databases
• Modern TypeScript and Python codebases

High-Level 2-Year Scope of Product Development:

• Focus: Continued development of our IoT pet backend platform
• Database: Design new and maintain legacy systems
• Transaction Management: Create highly reliable high speed data systems

What You’ll Bring:

• BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent experience (Master’s preferred).
• 7+ years of backend development with 5+ years architecting systems in AWS.
• 6+ years of TypeScript or Python
• 6+ years of experience in backend development
• 7+ Experience with Cloud systems: 2+ years of experience with containers
• 5+ years of experience with GraphQL
• 5+ years of experience with CI/CD pipelines
• Deep expertise with AWS services: DynamoDB, Redshift, IAM, IoT Core, ECS, Kinesis, Lambda, API Gateway.
• Proven experience building and scaling enterprise-grade data pipelines.
• Advanced proficiency in Python and SQL; experience with TypeScript a plus.
• Strong background in Data Modeling, Data Architecture, and high-scale systems design.
• Experience with containers, GraphQL/REST APIs, and distributed systems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence technical direction.
• Exceptional communication skills with ability to translate technical strategy for diverse audiences.
• Strong problem-solving, organizational, and leadership skills.
• High initiative, self-motivation, and ability to mentor and inspire engineering teams.
• Maintains confidentiality of proprietary information
• Ability to maintain a professional atmosphere in a fast-paced environment with numerous interactions and interruptions
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with Team Members and colleagues
• Comfortable with office pets (cats/dogs).

Not Required but Nice to Have!

• Experience with Agile methodologies
• Experience as a team leader
• Familiarity with IoT systems / hardware integrations
• Familiarity with JIRA, Confluence, or similar tools

Benefits & Purrks:

Join a tenacious, inventive company that empowers team members to chart their own path, lead by grounding decisions in the “why”, and has a strong sense of empathy and openness to new perspectives. Be a part of exciting growth, work with incredible people, and create tomorrow’s pet products—plus a whole lot of extras. You will also be provided with:

• Premium Medical/Dental/Vision insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Whisker Parents Program
• 1 day "pawternity" leave for new pet adoption
• Pet Insurance Discount
• 401K match
• Flexible spending accounts
• Company-paid short-term disability and life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Generous paid time off
• 14 Paid Holidays
• Top of the line equipment
• Pet-friendly office
• Whisker products and swag
• Continuing education Support
• On-site gym with Peloton
• Referral program

Statement of Inclusivity:

We believe different perspectives make Whisker better and strive to create a place where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.

Please ensure to regularly check your email spam folder for any communication from Whisker to avoid missing important updates regarding your application status.

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