Instacart

Senior Software Engineer, Digital Twin Platform

United States full-time Senior $166,000 - $210,000
full-time Senior level Technology & IT Salary listed Curated
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About the role

We're transforming the grocery industry

At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.

Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.

Instacart is a Flex First team

There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.

Overview
The Digital Twin Platform team at Instacart is responsible for understanding exactly what is on store shelves at all times. Inventory estimates power some of the most important product experiences at Instacart, from search and advertising to logistics and fulfillment. We own the end-to-end data supply chain — from ingestion and integration of partner data sources to collecting inventory observations, to model development, serving, and integrations across our products.
We are looking for a highly motivated Senior Software Engineer to join our team. You will be instrumental in building our next generation platforms for understanding where products are in a store — think: platforms that provide the precision and depth of a smart warehouse but scaled to every local store. In close collaboration with machine learning engineers, computer vision engineers, product teams, and data scientists, you will enable sophisticated models and data collection platforms to scale while driving new product innovation.
This is a chance to roll up your sleeves with a team that goes far together, solves creatively, and grows the pie by making the entire grocery ecosystem more efficient. We move quickly, work through ambiguity, and focus on delivering real impact for our customers, shoppers, retailers, and the broader business.
You can read more about some of the things our team is doing here: democratizing AI for grocers of all sizes and advancing real-time shelf intelligence.
About the Job

Design, build, and operate the platforms and services that power a real-time understanding of products on store shelves across our network.

Develop data ingestion, processing, and serving systems that combine partner data, inventory observations, and machine learning outputs into a reliable, scalable digital twin.

Collaborate closely with machine learning engineers, computer vision engineers, product teams, and data scientists to move models and data pipelines from research to production.

Take on ambiguous, large-scale challenges across mapping, inventory, logistics, and computer vision, balancing fast delivery with long-term architectural quality.

Contribute to a culture of ownership and continuous improvement, where we serve our users generously, put ideas on the table with transparency, and go far together as a team.

About You
Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

5+ years of software engineering experience designing, building, and operating large-scale production systems.

Strong proficiency in at least one backend programming language such as Python, Java, Scala, or Go, and experience with SQL.

Experience with distributed systems, data pipelines, and cloud infrastructure such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.

Track record of shipping production software with a focus on reliability, testing, observability, and maintainability.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with machine learning infrastructure, computer vision, image-based data pipelines, or annotation platforms.

Experience with real-time, streaming, or geospatial services and systems in production.

Experience building data-intensive products in e-commerce, retail, logistics, or grocery.

Experience with edge devices, IoT, or hardware-software integration.

Familiarity with data processing frameworks such as Spark, Kafka, or Airflow.

Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here.

Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.

For US based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.

CA, NY, CT, NJ

$199,000—$210,000 USD

WA

$191,000—$201,000 USD

OR, DE, ME, MA, MD, NH, RI, VT, DC, PA, VA, CO, TX, IL, HI

$183,000—$193,000 USD

All other states

$166,000—$175,000 USD

Originally posted on Himalayas

Interview prep

Walk in with sharper answers.

Use this as a quick practice sheet before you speak with the employer.

Senior
Technology & IT API integration Operations Python Remote Collaboration Senior level full-time

Likely questions

  1. Tell us about work you have done that is close to the Senior Software Engineer, Digital Twin Platform role.
  2. How would you approach your first 30 days at Instacart?
  3. Which of API integration, Operations and Python have you used recently, and what did it help you achieve?
  4. How have you led people, improved a process, or made a hard decision in a previous role?
  5. How do you handle busy days, changing priorities, or pressure at work?

Prepare before the call

  • A recent example that proves your experience with API integration, Operations and Python.
  • One short story with a problem, your action, and the result.
  • Two examples that show the strengths listed on your CV.
  • A clear reason why this role and company interest you.
  • Your availability, preferred work style, and salary expectations.

Ask them

  • What would success look like in the first 90 days?
  • What are the main problems this hire should help solve?
  • How does the team give feedback and measure good work?
  • What does a normal working week look like for this role?
Practice line

I am interested in the Senior Software Engineer, Digital Twin Platform role because I can bring practical experience in API integration, Operations and Python, learn the team quickly, and contribute to the outcomes Instacart needs from this hire.

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