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Senior Staff Engineer, Guest & Host (Host Listings & Quality)

Airbnb· Guest & Host
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Hybrid (United States)$248k - $310kFull-timePosted 3w ago

About the role

Senior Staff Engineer responsible for setting technical direction for Airbnb’s backend platforms that power Listings, Quality, and related features. Shapes APIs, data models, data provenance, and architecture to support AI-assisted features, with emphasis on reliability, platform contracts, and mentorship.

Responsibilities

  • Set the multi-year technical strategy and roadmap for Listings and Quality backend, and bring the team and stakeholders along.
  • Partner with AI Platform, Trust, Infrastructure, and Product teams to shape how Listings and Quality architecture fits with the rest of Airbnb, and set the platform contracts between them.
  • Design APIs, data models, and data provenance so the platform can safely support AI-assisted features and agents.
  • Drive platformization, simplification, and self-service: generalize shared capabilities, consolidate duplicated systems, and let product teams build within guardrails.
  • Raise the bar on reliability and engineering practices, and reduce operational load on systems in critical business paths.
  • Hands-on development, including design and code reviews.
  • Mentor, guide, and support the career growth of individual contributors.

Qualifications

  • 12+ years of relevant experience in the tech industry
  • 4+ years of experience in an Architect or Staff Engineer role with ownership over large-scale software systems
  • Strong product and platform judgment for backend architecture
  • Track record of setting multi-year technical vision for a core platform and delivering incrementally
  • Deep backend expertise in distributed systems, data modeling, and API design for large-scale, business-critical platforms (Java, Kotlin, or similar)
  • Experience designing APIs and data systems for AI-assisted features and agents (data provenance, validation, guardrails)
  • Excellent engineering skills and operational mindset; proven reliability improvements and reduced operational load
  • Strong communication and influence across orgs and platform teams; ability to set platform contracts and mentor engineers
  • Proven track record fostering Diversity and Belonging in organization and tech community

Skills

Required:Backend architecture and strategyDistributed systemsAPI designData modeling and data provenance

Benefits

  • Base pay range: $248,000—$310,000 USD per year
  • Eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits
Last updated Oct 22, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Airbnb

Book accommodations around the world.

Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 33,000 cities and 192 countries. And with world-class customer service and a growing community of users, Airbnb is the easiest way for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions. No global movement springs from individuals. It takes an entire team united behind something big. Together, we work hard, we laugh a lot, we brainstorm nonstop, we use hundreds of Post-Its a week, and we give the best high-fives in town. Headquartered in San Francisco, we have satellite offices in Dublin, London, Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Copenhagen, Berlin, Moscow, São Paolo, Sydney, and Singapore.

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