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Coupang

Staff Backend Engineer – Search and Discovery Product Engineering

Mountain View, USA
Salary
$194,000 per year
Level
Staff

Not stated in the posting: work type, visa.

Open. First seen 3 October 2026.

Apply on www.coupang.jobs →

About the role

We exist to wow our customers. We know we’re doing the right thing when we hear our customers say, “How did I ever live without Coupang?” Born out of an obsession to make shopping, eating, and living easier than ever, we are collectively disrupting the multi-billion-dollar commerce industry from the ground up and establishing an unparalleled reputation for being leading and reliable force in South Korean commerce.

Coupang's standard text

We are proud to have the best of both worlds — a startup culture with the resources of a large global public company. This fuels us to continue our growth and launch new services at the speed we have been since our inception. We are all entrepreneurs surrounded by opportunities to drive new initiatives and innovations. At our core, we are bold and ambitious people that like to get our hands dirty and make a hands-on impact. At Coupang, you will see yourself, your colleagues, your team, and the company grow every day.

Role Overview

The Search & Discovery AI Product Engineering team is crafting a visionary search and discovery experience for Coupang users, making product navigation seamless and enriching lives through better discovery. We seek brilliant, driven individuals with deep ownership mindset.

If you want your technical contributions to impact millions and you thrive on high-stakes challenges, lets connect! As a backend engineer on this team, you will drive the evolution of Coupang's most vital interfaces—surfaces facilitating over 60% of all customer transactions.

What you will do

  • Identify and resolve architectural constraints within the existing search system framework.
  • Design and implement cutting-edge solutions utilizing advanced system technologies to eliminate performance bottlenecks.
  • Develop innovative user-centric products for the Coupang search and discovery ecosystem.
  • Scale and optimize mission-critical services to ensure a consistently superior customer experience.
  • Partner cross-functionally with Product Managers and Designers to deliver a unified and intuitive experience for our users.
  • Apply expert-level engineering skills to create pioneering consumer-facing mobile solutions.

Basic Qualifications

  • 5+ years of professional expertise in distributed systems, systems programming, and backend engineering.
  • 5+ years of deep experience with core algorithms, system architecture, and large-scale distribution.
  • Prior React Web experience is a significant advantage.
  • 5+ years of rigorous coding proficiency in Java, Go, or other languages.
  • Advanced degree (BS/MS/PhD) in Computer Science or a related technical field.
  • Proven track record of managing high-availability API platforms and resolving intricate scaling, latency, and performance hurdles in high-traffic environments.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Exceptional communication abilities paired with a sharp product intuition.
  • Intense drive for building impactful products.
  • High degree of autonomy; startup background is highly valued.
  • Resilience in the face of ambiguity and a desire to solve complex, messy problems.
  • A scrappy, risk-taking attitude focused on results.

Pay & Benefits

Our compensation reflects the cost of living across several US geographic markets. At Coupang, your base pay is one part of your total compensation.

The base pay for this position ranges from $194,000/year in our lowest geographic market to $243,000/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on several factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

General Description of All Benefits

  • Annual bonus is 0-20% of the base salary
  • Medical/Dental/Vision/Life, AD&D insurance
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HSA)
  • Long-term/Short-term Disability
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) program
  • 401K Plan with Company Match
  • 18-21 days of the Paid Time Off (PTO) a year based on the tenure
  • 12 Paid Holidays
  • Pre-tax commuter benefits
  • MTV - [Free] Electric Car Charging Station

General Description of Other Compensation

“Other Compensation” includes, but is not limited to, bonuses, equity, or other forms of compensation that would be offered to the hired applicant in addition to their established salary range or wage scale.

Recruitment Process and Others

Recruitment Process

Coupang's standard text

Application Review - Job Fit Interview - Focus Interview – Offer

The exact nature of the recruitment process may vary according to the specific job and may be changed due to scheduling or other circumstances.

Interview schedules and the results will be informed to the applicant via the e-mail address submitted at the application stage.

Details to Consider

  • This job posting may be closed prior to the stated end date for application if all openings are filled.
  • Coupang has the right to rescind an offer of employment if a candidate is found to have submitted false information as part of the application process.
  • Those eligible for employment protection (recipients of veteran’s benefits, the disabled, etc.) may receive preferential treatment for employment in accordance with applicable laws.

Privacy Notice

  • Your personal information will be collected and managed by Coupang as stated in the Application Privacy Notice located below: https://www.coupang.jobs/privacy-policy/

Coupang is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or gender (including pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, transgender status), national origin, age, disability, medical condition, HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C status, marital status, military or veteran status, use of a trained dog guide or service animal, political activities, or affiliations, citizenship, or any other characteristic or class protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation in the recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at usrecruiting@coupang.com.

Job Requisition ID: R0077524

What this role asks for

Particular to this role

Golang · React

Rare in Coupang's other 167 open postings.

Standard for backend roles

Java

Common in backend postings at any company.

75% of this description is written for the role. The rest is Coupang's standard text, folded away below.

Read against Coupang's other open postings on this site.

The team: Search and Discovery HIRES STEADILY

This role is one of 15 open in Search and Discovery. 2 were posted in the last 30 days and the oldest in April: a team that hires all year rather than one being built.

WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS

LLM (11 of 15), Machine Learning (11 of 15), Python (10 of 15), Java (8 of 15), Deep Learning (7 of 15), AWS (5 of 15), GCP (5 of 15)

OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM

From the team and dates on Coupang's own job board.

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