Software Dev Engineer I

We’re looking for an early-career Software Development Engineer I to join our backend engineering group. You’ll help build distributed systems and APIs that drive Yahoo’s content and personalization platforms. This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy learning modern backend architecture, contributing to real-world production systems, and growing their expertise in cloud-based and data-driven technologies.

We’re also looking for candidates excited about the intersection of backend engineering and artificial intelligence. You’ll have opportunities to integrate AI capabilities into services, experiment with emerging tools, and work with teams exploring how generative AI and machine learning can improve product performance, scalability, and user experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and test backend services and APIs with scalability and reliability in mind.
• Participate in code and design reviews to learn best practices for clarity, performance, and maintainability.
• Contribute to technical design documents and architectural discussions, including creating UML diagrams and other visual artifacts that communicate design intent and system interactions.
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and designers to deliver high-quality features and improvements.
• Work with and experiment on emerging AI technologies, tools, and systems to improve development efficiency, enhance product capabilities, and drive innovation across the platform.
• Research, prototype, and evaluate emerging technologies—such as generative AI, automation frameworks, and intelligent tooling—to inform future platform evolution and guide adoption strategies, to advance platform capabilities and improve developer productivity.
• Contribute to monitoring, debugging, and operational health of production services under senior guidance.
• Follow secure development practices and participate in CI/CD, observability, and documentation workflows.
• Grow your technical skills through mentorship, peer collaboration, and exposure to large-scale systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 1–3 years of professional experience in software development (including internships or equivalent experience).
• Hands-on experience coding in Java plus one of the following: TypeScript/Node.js, Python, Kotlin, or Go.
• Understanding of REST or GraphQL APIs and foundational distributed systems concepts.
• Familiarity with Git, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or similar).
• Clear communication skills and a willingness to learn from feedback.
• Experience or coursework in applied AI or machine learning concepts—such as integrating AI MCP/APIs, leveraging cloud-based AI services, or building data-driven features—is a plus.

Preferred Skills

• Expertise or strong interest in generative AI technologies and large language models (LLMs) for improving development efficiency and product functionality.
• Experience building backend services using frameworks such as Spring Boot, Apollo Server, or Flask.
• Familiarity with GraphQL federation, API gateways, or caching strategies.
• Exposure to containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, ECS).
• Understanding of observability tools (OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Chronosphere) and basic performance tuning.
• Awareness of secure service-to-service patterns (mTLS, JWT) and input validation.