The role involves collaborating with stakeholders to design scalable backend systems and APIs, developing Java services, and improving recommendation quality using data and machine learning.
The Personalization (PZN) team makes deciding what to play next on Spotify easier and more enjoyable for every listener. We seek to understand the world of music, podcasts and audiobooks better than anyone else so that we can make great recommendations to every individual and keep the world listening. Every day, hundreds of millions of people all over the world use the products we build which include destinations like Home and Search as well as original playlists such as Made For You, Discover Weekly and Daily Mix.
The Context team’s mission is to own and innovate on contextual story telling to enhance the listening experience. Using a mixture of human written content and LLMs, we strive to provide depth and connection for all listeners. We are looking for a Backend Engineer to join our team to help us build and scale these capabilities.
What You'll Do
- Collaborate with key internal stakeholders to determine how to design backend systems and APIs to meet their scalable needsArchitect, develop, and operate Java services deployed to millions of users
- Leverage Spotify’s many data sets to create awesome recommendationsBe a technical leader and valued contributor in an autonomous, cross-functional agile team
- Collaborate with other engineers, product owners, and designers to identify and solve challenging problems, improving the recommendation quality of users worldwide
- Be a leader of the Spotify-wide backend developer community affecting and driving our architecture across the company
- Work on what you want during regular hack days and bi-annual hack weeks
Who You Are
- You have experience working directly with stakeholders to understand, document and develop APIs and systems to meet their requirements, driving increased adoption and reducing reliance on custom one-off implementations
- You have experience writing distributed, high-volume services and know how to deploy, monitor, and keep them running in production, especially in the context of machine learning algorithms
- You have interest in big data and machine learning systems
- You love working in an environment where you constantly experiment and iterate quickly
- You believe data is the most powerful tool for informed decision-makingYou have a deep understanding of system design, data structures, and algorithms
- You care about quality and you know what it means to ship high quality code
Where You'll Be
- We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! For this role, you can be within the North America region as long as we have a work location.
- This team operates within the Eastern Standard time zone for collaboration.
The United States base range for this position is $125,562- $179,374 equity. The benefits available for this position include health insurance, six month paid parental leave, 401(k) retirement plan, monthly meal allowance, 23 paid days off, 13 paid flexible holidays, paid sick leave. These ranges may be modified in the future.
Spotify is an equal opportunity employer. You are welcome at Spotify for who you are, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or what’s playing in your headphones. Our platform is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all thrive, contribute, and be forward-thinking! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our differences that we will find the power to keep revolutionizing the way the world listens.
At Spotify, we are passionate about inclusivity and making sure our entire recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We have ways to request reasonable accommodations during the interview process and help assist in what you need. If you need accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know - we’re here to support you in any way we can.
Spotify transformed music listening forever when we launched in 2008. Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the chance to enjoy and be passionate about these creators. Everything we do is driven by our love for music and podcasting. Today, we are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service.
Top Skills
APIs
Java
Machine Learning
Similar Jobs
Big Data • Fintech • Information Technology • Insurance • Software
Develop core services using Golang and PostgreSQL, resolve feature issues, ensure software quality, and promote CI/CD practices while collaborating with teams.
Top Skills:
Ci/CdDockerGoPostgres
Cloud • Computer Vision • Information Technology • Sales • Security • Cybersecurity
The Backend Engineer III will develop the NG-SIEM Global Serverless Platform, focusing on high availability, scalability, and system efficiency while collaborating with a distributed team.
Top Skills:
AWSAzureGCPGoKafka
Big Data • Fintech • Information Technology • Insurance • Software
Develop and support web services for digital life insurance enrollment, collaborating closely across teams to enhance platform capabilities. Responsible for the quality and maintainability of services, utilizing Python and Java, among other technologies.
Top Skills:
DockerGrpcJavaKubernetesPostgresPythonRest
What you need to know about the Boston Tech Scene
Boston is a powerhouse for technology innovation thanks to world-class research universities like MIT and Harvard and a robust pipeline of venture capital investment. Host to the first telephone call and one of the first general-purpose computers ever put into use, Boston is now a hub for biotechnology, robotics and artificial intelligence — though it’s also home to several B2B software giants. So it’s no surprise that the city consistently ranks among the greatest startup ecosystems in the world.
Key Facts About Boston Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 269,000; 9.4% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Toast, Klaviyo, HubSpot, DraftKings
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, software, aerospace
- Funding Landscape: $15.7 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Summit Partners, Volition Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, MassVentures, Highland Capital Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: MIT, Harvard University, Boston College, Tufts University, Boston University, Northeastern University, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, National Bureau of Economic Research, Broad Institute, Lowell Center for Space Science & Technology, National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories


