Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.
The Community You Will Join
The Airfam Products team exists to make every Airbnb employee more productive through a unified digital headquarters experience. As part of a 10-person cross-functional team of engineers, designers, researchers, and product managers, you'll work on platforms that serve Airbnb's entire global workforce.
Our portfolio includes One Airbnb (the company's internal cultural hub with enterprise search, people profiles, and AI-powered chat), OneChat (Airbnb's enterprise ChatGPT enabling secure LLM interactions), and a suite of tools that power how employees discover information, connect with colleagues, and get work done.
You'll report to the Engineering Manager and partner closely with the Employee Experience Tools & Technologies (TNT) team, Product Managers, UX Designers, and Data Scientists. Our team is at the forefront of AI-powered employee experience innovation, building systems that transform how thousands of employees engage with work daily.
The Difference You Will Make
As a Staff Engineer on the Airfam Products team, you'll be the technical backbone for Airbnb's next generation of AI-powered employee experience platforms. Your work will be a force multiplier for the entire company—every tool you build, every architecture decision you make, and every engineer you mentor will amplify productivity across Airbnb's global workforce.
You will:
- Shape technical vision for platforms that serve 10,000+ employees across multiple regions
- Drive company-wide impact by defining how AI and LLM technologies are integrated into the employee experience
- Elevate engineering excellence by establishing best practices, architectural patterns, and quality standards that influence teams beyond Airfam Products
- Transform prototypes into production by taking AI-powered innovations from concept to enterprise-grade deployment
A Typical Day
- Lead the technical vision and architecture for Airfam Products' platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, and maintainability across a multi-cloud environment
- Partner with engineering directors and cross-functional leaders to align platform investments with Airbnb's strategic priorities
- Architect and implement production-ready AI/ML-integrated systems, including LLM-powered features for OneChat and enterprise search
- Drive cross-organizational technical initiatives, coordinating with Infrastructure, Security, and Product teams to deliver company-wide solutions
- Mentor and develop engineers across multiple levels (L7-L9), conducting design reviews, architecture discussions, and providing hands-on guidance
- Define and evolve engineering best practices, establishing standards for testing, observability, and operational excellence
- Evaluate emerging technologies and AI development strategies, determining how to leverage innovations like agentic development and coding assistants
- Troubleshoot complex production issues, leading incident response and driving durable remediation through root cause analysis
- Balance hands-on technical contributions (code reviews, system design, debugging) with leadership activities that multiply team effectiveness
- Represent Airbnb engineering at internal forums and, when appropriate, at external conferences and industry events
Your Expertise
Required:
- 10+ years of software engineering experience, with 5+ years working on distributed systems at scale
- Track record of leading complex technical initiatives from concept to delivery at cross-team or company-wide scale
- Expert proficiency in modern programming languages such as TypeScript, Python, Go, or Java
- Deep experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or similar), including containerization and orchestration (Kubernetes)
- Strong background in API design and implementation (REST, GraphQL), with focus on performance and developer experience
- Demonstrated experience building and optimizing systems that integrate with AI/ML services and LLM technologies
- Experience mentoring engineers at various career stages and driving engineering culture through best practices and documentation
- Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills with ability to influence without authority across organizational boundaries
- Clear communicator who can translate technical concepts for executives and stakeholders while maintaining technical depth
- BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
Preferred:
- Experience building enterprise-grade internal tools and developer productivity platforms
- Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform
- Experience with large-scale messaging systems (Kafka) and data pipelines
- Background in frontend technologies (React, Next.js) and full-stack development
- MS in Computer Science or related technical field
- Experience with AI-assisted development tools and agentic development strategies
Your Location:
This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list . If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.
Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:
Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.
We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: [email protected]. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process.
We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.
How We'll Take Care of You:
Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.
Airbnb Chicago, Illinois, USA Office
Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
Similar Jobs
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
