--- title: 'Staff Software Engineer-Backend at Cameo' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-backend-cameo-chicago-9tj6xefrxcqr' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-12' --- # Staff Software Engineer-Backend at Cameo - **Company:** Cameo - **Location:** Chicago, IL - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-06-04 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-12 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/cameo/jobs/7763653003 ## Job description Staff Software Engineer, Backend At Cameo, we make impossible connections possible. Our platform allows fans to get personalized messages from their favorite comedians, actors, athletes, and more.... not gonna lie, it’s pretty magical. And now we’re looking for passionate, hardworking humans to help take Cameo to the next level. 🚀 Our #Fameo means everything to us. Join a stellar team of smart, curious, and driven individuals, and experience working at a globally known consumer startup. 📈 Best in class. We’ve been named one of LinkedIn’s Top 50 Startups to Work For, voted one of America’s Best Startup Employers by Forbes, and the #1 Most Innovative Social Media Company by Fast Company. 💰Get all good stuff. Health insurance, 401(K), Fun work environment at our Downtown Chicago Headquarters, and opportunities to meet Cameo Talent! Come to work every day knowing your efforts will have a material impact, shaping the direction of the next outstanding tech company! About the role: You will set the technical direction for the backend platform that connects fans and talent to create the perfect video shoutout; and you'll make it fast, reliable, and ready for the next order of magnitude of scale. This is a hands-on leadership role: you'll architect the core services behind our website and mobile app, own the hardest distributed-systems and data problems, and raise the engineering bar for the teams around you. As a staff backend engineer, you'll go deep on our backend (node.js) and data layer (MongoDB), design the event-driven and API architecture that ties everything together, and partner closely with product, data, and platform teams. You'll also help define how we build with AI; from using agentic coding tools to move faster, to designing the AI-powered systems that make Cameo better. You won't just ship features; you'll define how we build, where we invest, and how we stay reliable as we grow. What you bring to the table: - 10+ years of professional backend engineering experience, with deep expertise in node.js (express, async patterns, etc.) - A track record of designing and operating distributed systems serving millions of users in production - Expert-level data modeling with NoSQL (Mongo), and good judgment on when relational or other stores fit better - Experience designing event-driven and streaming architectures (Kafka/Confluent, queues, pub/sub) - You've built and owned high-throughput, low-latency REST (and/or async) APIs as long-lived platforms, not one-offs - Security-minded across authn/authz, data protection, and supply-chain risk - Strong cloud-native chops on AWS - AI fluency: you use agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) to multiply your output, and you help set the standards for how the team builds with AI; including designing agentic and AI-powered systems into the platform - You set technical direction across teams and mentor engineers, leading through influence rather than authority - You have a strong product sense and connect technical decisions to real user and business impact - You're a doer who thrives in ambiguity and brings others along with you - You love building and scaling, and you raise the bar for everyone around you Cameo is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for every person who walks through our doors. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. Cameo celebrates and embraces diversity. The salary range for this position is $175,000 to $215,000 with opportunities for additional compensation based on performance.  Cameo determines salary ranges by role and level with ranges for US roles typically based on our home market of Chicago. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within that range, individual pay is determined by job-related skills, experience, and relevant education and training. Posted salary ranges reflect base salary only, exclusive of equity, commissions, and other compensation and benefits. Please consult the Notice to California Residents contained in Cameo's Privacy Policy available athttps://www.cameo.com/privacy for information regarding your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act if you are a California resident. ## About Cameo ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Cameo is a fan engagement platform that enables personalized video shoutouts and connections between fans and their favorite celebrities, athletes, creators, and public figures. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series C, $100M round in March 2021) - **Headquarters**: Chicago, Illinois, USA (downtown HQ) - **Founded**: 2017 - **Founders**: Steven Galanis (CEO), Devon Townsend (CTO), Martin Blencowe (COO) ## Core Business - Primary industry: Fan engagement / Creator economy / Digital marketplace - Target customers: B2C (fans seeking personalized experiences), B2B (brands using talent for marketing), and talent/celebrities (supply side) - Mission: "To create the most personalized and authentic fan experiences on earth." ## Products & Services - **Cameo (Core Platform)**: A marketplace where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from over 20,000+ celebrities, athletes, TikTok creators, and comedians. Fans pay a fee set by the talent, and receive a custom video message. Type: Digital marketplace / Service - **Cameo for Business**: Brands can leverage Cameo's talent network for marketing campaigns, customer engagement, and corporate gifting. Type: B2B service - **Cameo Live**: (Historically offered) Live streaming and group video experiences with talent, though current focus remains on personalized video. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Just over $1 billion (as of March 2021 Series C announcement) - **Total Funding**: Over $165 million (including a $100M Series C led by e.ventures, with participation from others) - **Key Metric**: Over 2.5 million personalized video moments fulfilled since launch, with over 27,000 hours of personalized connections enabled. The platform has talent in 183+ countries. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Investors include e.ventures (lead on Series C), with prior rounds from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, and others. The company has worked with talent to donate over $30 million to charity. - **Growth Signals**: Employee base grew 30% in a recent period; achieved 50/50 gender parity on global leadership team; featured in 8,500+ publications in 2023; recognized as LinkedIn Top 50 Startups (2021), Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, and #1 on The Information’s TI50 Most Promising Startups. ## Competitive Advantages - **Network Effects**: A two-sided marketplace with over 20,000+ talent on the supply side and a global fan base on the demand side. The more talent on the platform, the more value for fans, and vice versa. - **Strong Brand & Celebrity Ties**: Cameo has built a recognizable consumer brand and deep relationships with celebrities across sports, entertainment, music, and social media. - **Proven Consumer Demand**: Over 2.5 million fulfilled requests and presence in 183+ countries demonstrate strong product-market fit and global appeal. - **Charitable Integration**: The platform has facilitated over $30 million in charitable donations, enhancing brand goodwill and talent appeal. ## Strategic Focus - **Scaling the Talent Network**: Continuously onboarding new creators and celebrities, including nearly 10,000 new stars in a recent year. - **Platform Expansion**: Moving beyond individual shoutouts into broader fan engagement and brand partnerships. - **Technology & Automation**: Investing in engineering to build tools that streamline the connection between talent and fans, making the experience "seamless." - **Global Reach**: Expanding into new geographies and verticals (e.g., sports, music, comedy) to capture more of the creator economy. ## Why Work Here - **Culture & Values**: Cameo emphasizes five core values: Embrace Innovation, Fight for Simplicity, Act Like an Owner, Challenge Assumptions, and Make it Memorable. The culture is described as curious, candid, and focused on long-term success. - **Flexible Work**: "Where We Work" program offers a mix of hub office (Chicago HQ), hybrid, work-from-home, and fully remote roles, depending on the team. Employees are encouraged to meet in person regularly. - **Perks & Benefits**: Comprehensive health/dental/vision plans, 401k after 90 days, unlimited PTO, equity grants for all employees, $50 monthly Cameo credit, $100 monthly Fringe credit (for vendors like Uber Eats, Xbox, etc.), sign-on tech/peripherals benefit, WiFi hotspot or home internet supplement, and celebrity drop-ins at company events. - **Engineering Culture**: Tech stack includes Node.js, React, TypeScript, Python, Java, MongoDB, Salesforce, Tableau, Figma, and more. The team is described as using "new tools and technologies" to innovate. Open roles include Automation Engineer and Staff Software Engineer - Backend. - **Growth & Impact**: As a well-funded unicorn with strong traction, Cameo offers the opportunity to work on a high-impact product that reaches millions of fans globally. The company has been recognized as a top startup to work for. ## Sources 1. [careers.cameo.com](https://careers.cameo.com/) 2. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/cameo](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/cameo) 3. [careers.cameo.com/benefits](https://careers.cameo.com/benefits) 4. [builtin.com/company/cameo](https://builtin.com/company/cameo) 5. [careers.cameo.com/where-we-work](https://careers.cameo.com/where-we-work)