Staff Software Engineer – Identity and Access, Identity Squads | UK | Remote

ABOUT THE ROLE We are seeking a highly skilled Staff Software Engineer to join our Identity and Access team, specifically the Identity squad, at Grafana Labs. As a Staff Engineer, you will be responsible for defining the technical direction of our authentication systems and leading complex initiatives from conception through delivery. This is a rare opportunity to shape the technical direction of authentication infrastructure at scale, with a direct impact on millions of users every day. WHAT YOU'LL DO As a Staff Engineer on the Identity squad, you will: - Set the technical direction for our authentication systems and lead the most complex initiatives from conception through delivery. - Collaborate closely with engineering leadership, product management, and cross-functional partners to define how Grafana authenticates millions of users every day. - Spend approximately 55% of your time on backend development (Golang), 25% on technical leadership and cross-team collaboration, and 20% on operations and reliability. - Define and own the technical architecture for the Identity squad's authentication systems, including our edge authentication redesign. - Lead the design and implementation of large-scale, multi-quarter initiatives in the critical path of user interaction, spanning multiple services and teams. - Mentor and develop senior engineers, providing technical guidance, design feedback, and support for their professional growth. - Serve as a technical authority for identity protocols at Grafana, driving alignment on how we implement and evolve OAuth, OIDC, SAML, LDAP, and SCIM across the organization. - Drive cross-team technical alignment on authentication standards, patterns, and best practices across Grafana's engineering organization. - Represent Grafana Labs at meetups and conferences, and contribute to the broader identity and authentication community. WHAT YOU'LL NEED To be successful in this role, you will need: - Deep, proven expertise in distributed systems engineering with Go, with a track record of owning and delivering large-scale production systems end-to-end. - Demonstrated ability to define technical direction and drive architectural decisions independently, with impact that extends beyond your immediate team. - Extensive experience building and operating low-latency, high-throughput services in distributed, multi-tenant environments. - Proven track record of leading and delivering complex, multi-quarter initiatives that span multiple teams or systems. - Ability to mentor and develop senior engineers, elevating the technical quality and capabilities of those around you. - Strong understanding of SLOs, SLIs, error budgets, and how to design systems that balance reliability, security, and product velocity. - Excellent written and verbal communication skills. WHY REMOTE As a remote-first company, we provide guidance and meet regularly using video calls, so an independent attitude and strong communication skills are essential. We are committed to creating a collaborative and inclusive environment that allows our team members to thrive, regardless of their location. BENEFITS - Competitive salary - Flexible schedule - Comprehensive health plan - Parental leave - Education stipend - Life insurance - Equipment stipend