Staff Software Engineer

About the role

Project Canary is a climate technology company offering an enterprise data platform that helps energy companies improve and report on their emissions footprint. Project Canary builds high-fidelity sensors, ingests data from various other technologies and sources, and leverages proprietary analytics and models to deliver insights that operators can act on to reduce emissions. The data-driven technology enables energy operators to stop leaks faster, reduce risk, streamline reporting, and differentiate their operations for key stakeholders. We’re hiring a senior engineer who enjoys solving hard technical problems and wants meaningful ownership in a growing company.
This is a hybrid role based in downtown Denver, Colorado. We value in-person collaboration and build best when engineers spend meaningful time working side by side, whiteboarding, prototyping, and iterating together.

Ownership of meaningful systems with real influence over technical direction
Direct access to product and company leadership
Fast feedback loops and fewer layers between idea and implementation
A collaborative environment where ideas are debated openly and decisions move quickly
Visible impact. Your work will shape the trajectory of the company
WHAT “SENIOR” MEANS HERE
In our environment, senior engineers:
Make sound technical decisions and clearly explain the tradeoffs behind them
Step into ambiguity and create clarity for others
Deliver reliably and adjust execution based on business priorities
Elevate the quality of systems, discussions, and team standards
Contribute to a culture of curiosity, accountability, and momentum

Technical Depth and Rigor
You have demonstrated the ability to reason through complex systems and make sound engineering decisions. That evidence might come from:
Designing and shipping production systems
Building products from 0 to 1 in ambiguous environments
Research, open-source contributions, or other technically rigorous work
Solving problems that required thoughtful system design, tradeoff analysis, or non-obvious technical decisions
You are comfortable reasoning from first principles, when necessary, rather than relying solely on established patterns.
We care more about how you think and build than whether your background follows a traditional path.
Startup Adaptability
We are a mid-stage startup. Priorities evolve. Documentation is not always perfect. Sometimes the best path forward is not immediately obvious.
We are drawn to engineers who:
Thrive in environments with evolving structure
Take ownership of learning new systems and domains
Proactively identify next steps rather than waiting for assignments
Stay anchored to business goals, not just technical elegance
Ownership, Pace, and Judgment
Strong candidates demonstrate:
Clear reasoning behind architectural decisions
Ability to articulate tradeoffs, not just best practices
Awareness of business context when estimating timelines
The discipline to meet commitments
The judgment to increase intensity when the situation calls for it and to simplify when complexity is not justified
We value engineers who understand that great software supports real business outcomes.
Breadth and Curiosity
We appreciate engineers who:
Have expanded their scope over time through new systems, domains, or increased responsibility
Are comfortable stepping slightly outside their core area when needed
See product, customer impact, and technical design as interconnected
Deep specialists are welcome, especially those who have increased complexity and ownership within their domain.
Experience That Is Particularly Relevant, Not Required
Exposure to complex or real-world data problems is compelling, including:
Systems interacting with physical processes
Geospatial or spatial data
Combining multiple data streams to infer meaningful signals
Problems requiring modeling, interpretation, or non-obvious conclusions
Strength in some areas can compensate for gaps in others.