We're Meta's Standalone Apps Team — we build new apps to reach new user scenarios and serve needs that aren't well met today. The project we're building right now is an image-and-text community where real people share first-hand experiences and recommendations — what to try, where to go, how to do something. It's where people come to get inspired and to make everyday decisions, learning from others who've actually been there. It's still early — a small team working 0 1.If you want high ownership, a short path from idea to ship, and the chance to shape a product from its first version, this is that kind of team.We're looking for a senior backend engineer to build the services behind the product. You'll design and own backend systems that power the app, make them reliable and fast as usage grows, and partner with client and ML engineers on the end-to-end experience.

Software Engineer - Backend, Standalone Apps Team Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and own backend services and APIs that power the core product.
• Model data and design systems that stay reliable, fast, and cost-efficient as usage grows.
• Set technical direction for major backend areas
• raise the bar on quality, observability, and operational health.
• Partner with client, ML, and product to deliver features end to end.
• Mentor other engineers and improve how the team builds.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience
• 12+ years of software engineering experience, with significant time building backend/server systems
• Strong grasp of distributed systems, data modeling, APIs, and service reliability
• Track record of designing and shipping backend systems at scale
• Experience leading the technical direction of a project and working independently with limited guidance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated ability to integrate AI tools to optimize/redesign workflows and drive measurable impact (e.g., efficiency gains, quality improvements)
• Experience adhering to and implementing responsible, ethical AI practices (e.g., risk assessment, bias mitigation, quality and accuracy reviews)
• Demonstrated ongoing AI skill development (e.g., prompt/context engineering, agent orchestration) and staying current with emerging AI technologies
Experience taking a new product backend from 0
• 1
• Experience with high-throughput, low-latency systems or social/consumer-scale data
• Experience partnering closely with ML/recsys systems

About Meta:

Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology. People who choose to build their careers by building with us at Meta help shape a future that will take us beyond what digital connection makes possible today—beyond the constraints of screens, the limits of distance, and even the rules of physics.