---
title: 'Senior Software Engineer, Product Foundations at Metropolis'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-product-foundations-metropolis-seattle-washington-gcgqhj4zt9xd'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-16'
---

# Senior Software Engineer, Product Foundations at Metropolis

- **Company:** Metropolis
- **Location:** Seattle Washington, United States
- **Posted:** 2026-05-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-16
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/metropolis/jobs/7746447003

## Job description

## Who we are

The real world is the next frontier, and at Metropolis, we are creating the artificial intelligence to make it responsive. We are pioneering the Recognition Economy — a future where mundane repetition disappears and being known unlocks access, comfort, and belonging everywhere you go. From transforming parking into a seamless drive-in, drive-out experience for millions of Members to expanding our intelligence layer across retail and hospitality, we are building a world that feels instinctive and magical. The future isn’t coming; it’s here, and we need builders, innovators, and problem solvers to help us create it.

## Who you are

Metropolis is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for our Product Foundations team to architect and build Metropolis Web Services (MTWS), the composable, foundational services serving as the substrate for all current and future products across the company. In this role, you will solve complex distributed systems challenges at scale and build the technical foundation enabling us to expand into new markets and support new verticals from the ground up. Working alongside highly technical hypernerds who live and breathe distributed systems, performance optimization, developer productivity, and reliability engineering, you will collaborate across multiple technical teams including Application Development, Infrastructure, and our Advanced Technologies group to deliver remarkable, checkout-free real-world experiences.

## What you'll do

- Design and build the core services of Metropolis Web Services, the composable platform that will power multiple mobility businesses including IAM, notifications, message processing, and other critical infrastructure components
- Build and maintain our service mesh infrastructure, enabling secure, reliable, and observable communication between hundreds of microservices at scale
- Create sophisticated developer tooling, CI/CD pipelines, and platform automation that enables product teams to ship code safely and efficiently while maintaining high operational standards
- Make critical technical decisions about service boundaries, API design, data consistency patterns, and system reliability that affect the entire platform and multiple business lines
- Architect and optimize systems for high throughput and low latency to support millions of transactions across our global platform as we scale to new markets
- Establish monitoring, alerting, and reliability practices that ensure 99.99% uptime for mission-critical mobility infrastructure
- Drive architectural discussions, establish engineering best practices, and mentor other engineers while contributing directly to complex technical implementations

## What we're looking for

- 6+ years of backend software engineering experience with deep focus on distributed systems and platform infrastructure
- Demonstrate expert-level Java proficiency with deep understanding of JVM performance, concurrency, and ecosystem tooling
- Possess production experience with microservices architecture, container orchestration (Kubernetes), and cloud platforms (AWS)
- Exhibit strong systems thinking with a proven ability to design and implement large-scale, high-availability distributed systems that handle significant load
- Demonstrate observability expertise including hands-on production experience with metrics, logging, tracing, and alerting systems in high-load environments
- Utilize database and data systems knowledge including relational databases, event streaming (Kafka, SQS), caching strategies, and data consistency patterns
- Show experience with AI-powered development tools such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or similar agentic coding tools for enhanced productivity, specifically context engineering
- Maintain excellent technical communication with the ability to design and document complex systems, lead technical discussions, and collaborate across multiple teams

While not required, these are a plus:

- Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field
- Possess Scala experience and security compliance expertise, particularly in authentication, authorization, secrets management, and regulatory compliance for financial transactions
- Demonstrate experience with high-growth environments where you have scaled systems through rapid expansion and increasing load
- Showcase open source contributions or technical blog writing that demonstrates depth of technical expertise in distributed systems
- Exhibit performance optimization experience with profiling, benchmarking, and system tuning at hyperscale

## Our Stack

- Languages + Frameworks: TypeScript, React, Scala (principally), Java (limited)
- Datastores: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Snowflake
- Cloud: AWS
- Version control: Git & GitHub
- AI Tooling: Copilot on GitHub and Claude Code
- Observability: Datadog

4 Days in Office: Metropolis values in-person collaboration to drive innovation, strengthen culture, and enhance the Member experience. Our corporate team members hold to our office-first model, which requires employees to be on-site at least four days a week, fostering organic interactions that spark creativity and connection

When you join Metropolis, you'll join a team of world-class product leaders and engineers, building an ecosystem of technologies at the intersection of parking, mobility, and real estate. Our goal is to build an inclusive culture where everyone has a voice and the best idea wins. You will play a key role in building and maintaining this culture as our organization grows. The anticipated base salary for this position is $150,000.00 USD to $200,000.00 USD annually. The actual base salary offered is determined by a number of variables, including, as appropriate, the applicant's qualifications for the position, years of relevant experience, distinctive skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location of residence and/or place of employment. Base salary is one component of Metropolis' total compensation package, which may also include access to or eligibility for healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan, short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, a lucrative stock option plan, bonus plans, and more. #LI-CM1 #LI-Onsite Metropolis may utilize an automated employment decision tool (AEDT) to assess or evaluate your candidacy for employment or promotion. AEDTs are used to assist in assessing a candidate’s application relative to the required job qualifications and responsibilities listed in the job posting.

As part of this process, Metropolis retains data relevant to your candidacy, including personal information, for a period that is reasonably necessary for the use of the tool. If you are hired for the position, your data may become part of your employee records.

Metropolis Technologies is an equal opportunity employer. We make all hiring decisions based on merit, qualifications, and business needs — without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law.

We are committed to providing a welcoming, accessible hiring experience. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please reach out to us at recruiting@metropolis.io.

## About Metropolis

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Metropolis is an artificial intelligence company that uses computer vision to create checkout-free, frictionless payment and access experiences for physical infrastructure, primarily parking.
- **Entity Type**: Private (raised $1.8B in 2023-2024, plus $1.6B in debt financing in 2025)
- **Headquarters**: Santa Monica, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Founding team established the company in 2017 (individual founder names not prominently featured in primary company materials)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Smart Mobility, Computer Vision AI, Parking Infrastructure, Real-World Technology
- Target customers: B2B (real estate operators, parking lot owners, property managers), B2C (drivers who park at Metropolis-enabled locations)
- Mission or purpose statement: "We're reimagining how we live our lives by developing artificial intelligence for the real world, creating an intelligence layer that powers frictionless, precognitive, personalized experiences everywhere."

## Products & Services
- **Metropolis Recognition Platform**: An AI-driven, computer vision-based platform that enables checkout-free, drive-in/drive-out parking. The technology recognizes vehicles and members automatically, eliminating the need for tickets, kiosks, or app interaction at entry and exit.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – $1.8B raised (Series B and later financing in 2023-2024), plus $1.6B in financing in 2025. This was cited as the third-largest AI fundraise in 2023 and the largest venture-backed M&A deal of the year.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not explicitly listed in provided materials, but the scale of fundraising and the take-private acquisition of SP+ indicates backing from major institutional investors.
- **Growth Signals**:
    - Became the largest parking network in North America following the take-private acquisition of SP+ in 2024, with over 4,500 locations.
    - Over 1 million new members added every month.
    - Saved members 212+ million minutes through frictionless parking.
    - Reaches more than 50 million customers.
    - Named to Forbes' list of America's Best Startup Employers.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary Computer Vision Technology**: The company’s primary moat is its industry-leading AI that enables checkout-free, recognition-based access without requiring users to scan, tap, or use an app.
- **Scale as the Largest Parking Operator**: Through the SP+ acquisition, Metropolis now operates the largest parking network in North America, creating an unmatched physical footprint and data advantage.
- **Data Network Effect**: Each parking transaction feeds the AI model, making the platform smarter and more responsive over time across thousands of locations.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expanding the "Recognition Economy"**: Metropolis is focused on building a platform that goes beyond parking to make all real-world infrastructure responsive, personalized, and frictionless.
- **AI-Driven Infrastructure**: The company is developing an "intelligence layer" for physical spaces, aiming to eliminate repetitive, analog tasks in everyday life (e.g., payments, access control).
- **Growth Through M&A**: The acquisition of SP+ was a landmark deal that instantly scaled the network, and the company continues to seek integration and expansion opportunities.

## Why Work Here
- **Office-First Culture**: Metropolis values in-person collaboration. Corporate team members are required to be on-site at least four days a week. Offices are located in Santa Monica (HQ), Austin, Chicago, Nashville, New York, Seattle, and Chennai, India.
- **Best-in-Class Benefits**: The company offers a generous PTO package, paid holidays (with double pay for those working), parental leave, a 4% 401(k) match, subsidized health insurance, wellness benefits, short- and long-term disability coverage, and life insurance.
- **Compensation**: Stock option plan and bonus plans are available for all employees. Example base salary for a Senior Data Engineer in Seattle is listed at $160,000/year (actual base salary is determined by role, experience, and location).
- **Culture**: Three core values drive the company: We are leaders, We are innovators, and We are owners. The culture emphasizes agility, iteration, ownership, and challenging each other with respect.
- **Scale & Impact**: Employees work on a platform used by 50 million people, with massive real-world infrastructure and an AI-first approach. The company is growing rapidly and is described as "product-led" and "transformational."
- **Open Roles**: As of mid-2026, the company has 130 open positions, with significant hiring in Engineering (Cloud Infrastructure, Machine Learning, Software Engineering) and Data Engineering.

## Sources
1. [metropolis.io (Homepage)](https://www.metropolis.io/)
2. [metropolis.io (About/Company)](https://www.metropolis.io/about)
3. [metropolis.io (Careers)](https://www.metropolis.io/careers)
4. [Greenhouse (Metropolis Jobs)](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/metropolis)
5. [Built In (Metropolis Technologies)](https://builtin.com/company/metropolis-technologies)

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