{"id":69091,"url":"https://alion.io/job/forma-staff-back-end-engineer-data-platform","title":"Staff Back End Engineer (Data Platform)","company":{"id":28482,"name":"Forma.ai","domain":"forma.ai","url":"https://alion.io/company/forma","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"C","score":59,"open_postings":22,"ghost_share":0.682,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-17T05:46:00Z"}},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"staff","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Toronto, Canada"],"countries":["CA"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":107000,"max_usd":179000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":35},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"C#","optional":false},{"name":"ETL/ELT","optional":false},{"name":"Go","optional":false},{"name":"Kotlin","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Spark","optional":false},{"name":"SQL","optional":false},{"name":"AWS","optional":true},{"name":"Django","optional":true},{"name":"Docker","optional":true},{"name":"JavaScript","optional":true},{"name":"Kubernetes","optional":true},{"name":"PostgreSQL","optional":true},{"name":"React.js","optional":true},{"name":"TypeScript","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2024-10-24T21:58:12Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-07-08","last_verified_at":"2026-10-18T01:33:00Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":723,"trust":{"level":"ghost","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale","company_stale"],"days_open":722},"description":"About Forma.ai: \nForma.ai is a Series Bstartup that's revolutionizing how sales compensation is designed, managed and optimized. We handle billions in annual managed commissions for market leaders like Edmentum, Stryker, and Autodesk. \nOur growth has been fuelled by our passion for fundamentally changing and shaping how companies use sales intelligence to drive business strategy. \nWe’re welcoming equally driven individuals who are excited about creating something big! \nAbout the Team\nEngineers on this team construct our rules-based calculating engine for processing sales commissions. This might sound simple if you have never been exposed to sales comp plans, it is not! We are low on meetings, high on accountability. Most of the team are in EST time zone but we have a few located in PST and Central as well. We are far from maintenance / progressive evolution in many areas, there is a lot of room to make a big impact in the overall design.\nWhat you’ll be doing\nReporting to the Manager of Data Platform, you will play a critical role in the evolution of our Spark based data platform. You'll lead development efforts for our complex, data-rich platform features while being an example to the team of code quality and thoughtful software design. You will be working on the most challenging code at Forma.\nAs a Staff Engineer, you are expected to operate with a high degree of ownership and trust. This includes proactively identifying architectural risks, surfacing edge cases or constraints others may not see, and advocating for improvements that strengthen the long-term integrity of the system. We value engineers who bring forward thoughtful perspectives - even when they challenge assumptions - and who help the team see around corners.\nYou will:\nDesign and evolve backend services that power product workflows.\nArchitect data models representing hierarchical & graph structures, relationships, and large-scale enterprise datasets.\nBuild deterministic, reliable systems that allow customers to reason clearly about their data.\nDrive architectural decisions that balance extensibility, performance, and operational simplicity.\nImprove observability, testing strategy, and production reliability across backend services.\nPartner closely with Product to translate nuanced business requirements into clean, scalable designs.\nMentor engineers across levels and help raise the bar for backend engineering standards.\nUse, and demonstrate using, AI tooling to improve implementation velocity while thoughtfully investing in technical and product specifications\nWhat We're Looking for:\nSignificant experience designing and building complex backend systems in production environments.\nDemonstrated ability to surface unarticulated risks, propose alternative approaches, and advocate for architectural improvements with sound technical reasoning.\nExpertise in at least one production-grade backend language (e.g., Python, Java, Kotlin, Go, C#, etc.).\nStrong foundation in relational schema design, data modelling, and SQL.\nBackground working with Spark, or other ETL tools / frameworks\nExperience working with hierarchical, graph-like, or relationship-heavy data structures.\nFamiliarity with graph databases or graph-based modelling concepts is a strong plus.\nExcellent written and verbal communication skills.\nA track record of improving scalability, reliability, and observability in distributed or data-intensive systems.\nA desire to influence architecture and product direction - not just implement tickets.\nThrive in a collaborative, detail-oriented environment across Engineering, Product, and Analytics.\nNice to have:\nExperience building SaaS products serving mid-market or enterprise customers.\nExperience building rule-driven systems, validation workflows, or approval/governance platforms.\nFamiliarity with AWS-based infrastructure and Kubernetes.\nExposure to Sales Performance Management (SPM), RevOps, Incentive Compensation (ICM), or related domains. ****\nTechnologies we use\nFrontend: JavaScript, React, TypeScript\nBackend: Java/Springboot, Django, Postgres\nInfrastructure: AWS, Docker\nWhat success looks like: 30/60/90 days\nFirst 30 days\nYou’ll focus on building deep context across the product domain, backend architecture, and the data models that power Forma’s platform.\nBy the end of your first 30 days, you will have:\nDeveloped a strong understanding of Forma.ai ’s product, customers, and sales performance domain.\nBuilt a clear mental model of the backend architecture, core services, and data flows across the system.\nGained familiarity with key data models, including hierarchical structures, relationships, and workflow-driven entities.\nSet up your development environment and become comfortable navigating the codebase, services, and infrastructure.\nLearned the team’s engineering practices around testing, observability, deployment, and reliability.\nBuilt relationships with engineering, product, and analytics partners.\nContributed to technical discussions, asking thoughtful questions and identifying early areas of complexity or risk.\nShipped small but meaningful improvements or fixes to build familiarity with the system.\nStarted identifying opportunities to improve data modeling, system clarity, or backend reliability.\nFirst 60 days\nYou’ll begin owning meaningful backend systems and influencing technical decisions.\nBy the end of your first 60 days, you will have:\nTaken ownership of a significant backend component, service, or workflow.\nDesigned and delivered well-structured, maintainable backend code aligned with system standards.\nPartnered closely with Product to translate complex business requirements into scalable backend designs.\nDemonstrated strong judgment in data modeling, especially around relationships, hierarchy, and workflow representation.\nIdentified and surfaced architectural risks, edge cases, or inconsistencies in existing systems.\nProposed and, where appropriate, implemented improvements to backend architecture, data models, or service boundaries.\nContributed to improvements in observability, testing, and production reliability.\nParticipated actively in code reviews and technical design discussions, raising the bar for quality and clarity.\nBegun mentoring or supporting other engineers in areas of strength.\nBuilt enough system context to make informed tradeoffs between performance, extensibility, and simplicity.\nFirst 90 days\nYou’ll be operating as a trusted technical leader across backend systems.\nBy the end of your first 90 days, you will have:\nLed the design and delivery of a complex backend initiative spanning multiple services or domains.\nIntroduced or significantly improved core data models, system architecture, or workflow handling.\nDemonstrated the ability to anticipate and mitigate long-term architectural risks.\nInfluenced technical direction through clear, well-reasoned proposals and design decisions.\nImproved the reliability, observability, or scalability of critical backend systems.\nEstablished strong working relationships across Engineering, Product, and Analytics.\nElevated engineering standards through mentorship, design reviews, and technical guidance.\nHelped the team better reason about complex, data-intensive workflows through clearer system design.\nIdentified and begun executing on longer-term backend investments that improve system integrity and developer velocity.\nDemonstrated clear impact on both system quality and the team’s ability to deliver confidently at scale.\nAdditional Job Info:\nThis position is for an existing vacancy\nWhat you can expect from us\nMeaningful compensation. In addition to your base salary, you’ll join our employee stock ownership plan to further recognize your contributions to Forma.ai ’s success.\nHealthcare coverage. We have a full benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance, and a paid parental leave program.\nLearning and development. Access the resources you want to help you grow in your role by utilizing our $750 yearly training stipend.\nGrowth. You’ll have a huge opportunity to build a career for yourself and gain the type of experience you’re looking for, whether that’s as an individual contributor or as a people leader.\nOur Values: \nWork well, together. We’re real. We have kids and pets. Mortgages and student loans. We’re in this together, so no matter how brilliant any one of us is, we always play nice with one another - no exceptions. \nBe precise. Be relentless. We believe complacency breeds failure, so we set new goals as quickly as we achieve them. We persist in the face of adversity, learn from our mistakes, and push each other to continuously improve. The status-quo is kryptonite.\nLove our tech. Love our customers. Our platform solves a very complex problem in a currently underserved market. While everyone at Forma isn’t customer-facing, we’re all customer-focused. Maybe even slightly customer-obsessed. ­ \n Use of AI for Recruitment\nCurrently, Forma.ai does not useartificial intelligence as part of our recruitment process, specifically but not limited to the screening, filtering and shortlisting of applicants. \nOur commitment to you: \nForma is a proud equal opportunity employer that is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. Every effort to accommodate candidates for accessibility will be made upon request. Information received related to accommodations will be addressed confidentially. We know that applying to a new role takes a lot of effort. You're encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn't precisely match the job description. There are many paths to a successful career and we’re looking forward to reading yours.\nWe thank all candidates for their interest however only qualified applicants will be shortlisted.","description_format":"text","description_chars":9784,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Life insurance","Parental leave"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Sales Enablement","HR & Payroll Software"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2024-10-24T21:58:12Z"},{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-26T05:18:34Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"CA","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"Positions approved through LMIA in 12 months: 1","filings_12m":1,"filings_prev_12m":0,"green_card_filings_12m":null,"median_offered_wage_usd":null,"route":"Global Talent Stream","cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-03T21:10:52+00:00","sources":["ESDC: employers issued a positive LMIA"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":7,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.242,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":722,"expected_fill_days":47,"reasons":["conf:3","stale_co","ghost","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-17T05:46:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/forma-staff-back-end-engineer-data-platform","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/forma-staff-back-end-engineer-data-platform.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-18T03:27:17Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":5407,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-19T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":28482},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=28482"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fforma-staff-back-end-engineer-data-platform"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fforma-staff-back-end-engineer-data-platform"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fforma-staff-back-end-engineer-data-platform"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/forma-staff-back-end-engineer-data-platform\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fforma-staff-back-end-engineer-data-platform"}]}