--- title: 'Senior Staff Software Engineer, Recognition Platform at Metropolis' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-software-engineer-recognition-platform-metropolis-seattle-0eqeg4q643q3' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-09' --- # Senior Staff Software Engineer, Recognition Platform at Metropolis - **Company:** Metropolis - **Location:** Seattle Washington, United States - **Posted:** 2026-08-26 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/metropolis/jobs/7931194003 ## 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 Staff Software Engineer, Recognition Platform to serve as the technical owner of the Metropolis Recognition Platform (MRP). You are the engineer other engineers route their hardest architectural questions to, holding the entire platform architecture in your head and navigating cross-functional boundaries across application engineering, computer vision, data, security, and platform teams as well as external partners. In this role, you will lead the evolution of high-volume edge-to-cloud pipelines and decisioning systems that transform physical-world sensor signals into real-time actions, setting technical direction, establishing architectural RFCs, and driving cross-functional alignment without needing formal reporting authority. ## What you'll do - Lead end-to-end architecture across edge ingestion, identity resolution, decisioning, notification, and operator surfaces while driving spec-driven development through RFCs and managing roadmap sequencing - Drive cross-functional alignment and resolve ownership ambiguities across application, CV/ML, data, security, and platform engineering teams as well as external partner integrations - Evolve high-volume edge-to-cloud streaming pipelines on a horizontally scalable backbone, engineering for tail latency, intermittent connectivity, backpressure, and out-of-order events - Design rules and decisioning layers for real-time actions including watchlist alerting, arrival routing, eligibility, consent gating, frequency capping, and next-best-action logic - Balance deterministic logic with probabilistic signals by establishing explicit thresholds, quantitative cost reasoning for recognition errors, and replay harnesses for model testing - Architect privacy, identity, and consent models designed for biometric-regulated environments with bounded-time opt-out propagation in close collaboration with Legal and Security - Own production quality by defining SLOs, actionable alerting, runbooks, soak testing, and progressive rollout via feature flags - Elevate technical standards through design reviews, code reviews, mentorship, and AI-native engineering workflows ## What we're looking for - 12+ years of experience building and operating distributed, data-intensive production systems, including deep experience as a multi-service platform technical owner - Proven track record of cross-functional technical leadership and aligning independent engineering teams on shared architecture - Expert proficiency in a JVM language such as Java or Scala, alongside fluency in event-driven and service-oriented design using gRPC/protobuf, streaming, and relational data modeling - Hands-on experience designing high-throughput ingestion pipelines with deep understanding of delivery semantics, idempotency, ordering, backpressure, and tail latency - Experience building rules, eligibility, or decisioning systems where deterministic logic coexists with probabilistic or model-driven signals - Strong systems judgment integrating third-party APIs, SDKs, and vendor constraints - Excellent written technical communication skills with a track record of writing decisive RFCs - Comfortable navigating physical-world deployment constraints, hardware conditions, and operational messiness beyond staging environments - Deep understanding of observability, automated testing, progressive delivery, and fluency with AI-assisted engineering tools like Claude Code and GitHub Copilot in daily workflows While not required, these are a plus: - Experience with computer vision, biometric matching, or sensor-fusion systems, specifically reasoning about confidence, thresholds, and drift - Background operating in privacy- or biometric-regulated domains such as BIPA, CCPA, or GDPR, or working with consent-management systems - Experience with IoT, edge computing, fleet-scale device telemetry, or MQTT-class transports - Expertise in identity resolution or customer data platforms, stitching multi-system signals into durable profiles - Experience with hospitality, retail, or physical-operations software, including hospitality CRM and PMS integrations - Prior experience in a Uber-tech-lead, TL-of-TLs, or principal-adjacent scope ## 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 $231,000 - $267,500 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-LR1 #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, or pregnancy), national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. ## 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. 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