In the late 1960s, Bell Labs was grappling with a large project: an unwieldy operating system called Multics. It was too complex, too slow, and ultimately Bell withdrew. A small group of researchers, led by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, decided to start over—not with grand designs, but with simplicity at the core.
They aimed for function over perfection and were deliberate in their collaboration. Engineers shared ideas as rough drafts, circulated them early, and refined them through iteration.
From this came Unix. It wasn't about working harder or sacrificing more - it was about getting ideas out quickly and leveraging collective intelligence early in the process.
This is central to how we build at Co–Star: we start with simple solutions, share them early as written docs, and evolve them through real-world feedback.
At Co–Star you’ll help tens of millions of people connect with each other and themselves—through astrology—in real, meaningful ways. We’re looking for a backend engineer who values feedback, who is both fast and deliberate, and who creates systems that let small teams deliver outsized results.
What you'll do
- Partner closely with product, design, and other engineers to deliver high-quality solutions that align with business priorities. You'll be a true collaborator who helps move the team forward as a unit.
- Break down complex problems to provide insight, technical guidance, and shape scope. You’ll weigh tradeoffs to find the best solution for the business and articulate those points in writing.
- Own delivery and move quickly. We’re looking for someone who eagerly seeks feedback and actively moves the ball forward - who genuinely enjoys getting their code into the world.
What you'll bring
- 3-7 years of backend development experience. Knowledge of or excitement to learn Haskell.
- You love good documentation and testing. You know well-documented, tested code sets your future-self up for success.
- A sense of ownership over work end-to-end, accountability for results, and supportiveness for your team.
- You’re passionate and pragmatic when problem solving. You focus on outcomes and enjoy solving user problems.
- Strong technical judgment. You can articulate tradeoffs clearly, especially when working with incomplete information or in pre-decision situations.
- You make informed decisions that balance speed with quality and see around corners to anticipate potential challenges.
- Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS) and databases (we use PostgreSQL).
What we offer
- Fully covered $0 deductible healthcare + vision, dental, and therapy
- 401(k) + 5% matching
- Unlimited vacation + 2 week company-wide recharge at the end of each year
- Equipment budget
- 12 weeks 100% paid parental leave
- Readings with in-house astrologers
- A competitive total rewards package, including base salary, equity (stock options), and benefits. Our salary and equity ranges are highly competitive within the tech industry and are regularly updated using the most reliable compensation survey data. Offers are crafted based on a candidate’s experience, expertise, location, and internal equity relative to peers. Our target new hire base salary ranges for this role is $159,000-$205,000.