Staff Software Engineer - Core Workflow Engine | Remote - Europe
The AI orchestration of your wildest imagination.
n8n is the open workflow orchestration platform built for the new era of AI. We give technical teams the freedom of code with the speed of no-code, so they can automate faster, smarter, and without limits. Backed by a fiercely inventive community and 500+ builder-approved integrations, we’re changing the way people bring systems together and scale ideas for impact.
Since our founding in 2019, we’ve grown into a diverse team of over 160 - working across Europe and the US, connected by a shared builder spirit and with our centre of gravity in Berlin. Along the way, we’ve:
Cultivated a community of more than 650,000 active developers and builders
Earned 145k+ GitHub stars, making us one of the world’s Top 40 most popular projects
Been ranked as one of Europe’s most promising privately held SaaS startups (4th in Sifted’s 2025 B2B SaaS Rising 100)
Raised $240m to date, from Sequoia’s first German seed to our recent $180m Series C - bringing us to a $2.5bn valuation
And are grateful for our 94 eNPS score (most companies would call 70 excellent)
That’s the company we’ve built. Now we’d love to see what you can build. If you’re applying, try n8n out - whether you’re technical or not - and share a screenshot of your first workflow with us. The easiest place to start is here: app.n8n.cloud/register.
We’re in a defining moment of an incredible journey. Come and build with us.
Mission
As n8n is growing at tremendous speed and growing in complexity as an app we are looking for a Staff Engineer that wants to work on the very core of n8n, the workflow engine. You’ll design for scalability, reliability, and extensibility, making it easier for contributors and teams to build on top of n8n. You should lead and drive the change, as well as challenge status quo.
We are looking for someone that has built and scaled workflow engines or similar systems like state machines, job schedulers, distributed task processors, or event driven platforms that scales to millions of users and tasks.
These are examples of what you will work on improving
Scalability: Enabling high throughput use-cases
Memory efficiency
Reliability of the platform (executes workflows correctly, consistently, and predictably even under normal or high-stress conditions)
Fault tolerance (e.g. how well the engine recovers from unexpected problems)
Links to our Github repository
Some links to part of the engine
https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/tree/master/packages/core/src/execution-engine
https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/tree/master/packages/cli/src/execution-lifecycle
Requirements
You have deep experience with both architecting and hands on building complex event-driven platforms such as a workflow engine that have scaled to millions of users and events.
You have experience driving and leading multi-year projects which impacted a wide part of the product.
Because of this, you need to be an excellent communicator and project manager making sure everyone is aware of the changes and you can get people behind it.
Willingness to work with Node.js & Typescript as this is the main language of n8n (Great if you have deep knowledge of the ecosystem, but the language should be more an implementation detail, as parts of the system could be built using something different).
n8n is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
We can sponsor visas to Germany; for any other country, you need to have existing right to work.
Our company language is English.
You care about diversity and inclusion? We do too! Check out our Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives at n8n (https://www.notion.so/n8n/Diversity-inclusion-and-belonging-n8n-c1bec2fff536422d868b1a438d990e35).
Location disclaimer: If you see multiple job postings for the same role, it is most likely because we're hiring remotely for this role and posting in different locations to make sure every potential candidate can see the role. Please apply to the location you're the most likely to work from in the future.
Benefits
Competitive compensation 💸 – We offer fair and attractive pay.
Ownership 💪 – Our core value is to “empower others,” and we mean it—you’ll get a slice of n8n with equity.
Work/life balance 🏖️ – We work hard but ensure you have time to recharge:
Europe: 30 days of vacation, plus public holidays wherever you are.
US: 15 vacation days, 8 sick days, plus public holidays wherever you are.
Health & wellness 🩺 –
Europe: We provide benefits according to local country norms.*
US: Multiple low-premium, low-deductible medical plans with coverage for individuals and families—plus a no-cost premium HDHP option with a pre-seeded HSA—along with dental and vision coverage.
Future planning 💰 –
Europe: We provide pension contributions according to local country norms.*
US: 401(k) retirement plan with a 4% employer match.
Financial security 🛡️ –
Europe: We provide benefits according to local country norms.*
US: Company-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance, plus life insurance to support you and your loved ones.
Career growth 📈 – We hire rising stars who grow with us! You’ll get €1K (or equivalent) per year to spend on courses, books, events, or coaching to level up your skills.
A passionate team 🤩 – We love our product, and we prove it with regular hackathons where we see who can build the coolest thing with it!
Remote-first 🌏 – Our team works remotely across Europe, with regular off-sites for team bonding. Some roles, like sales in the US, are hybrid—please check the job description.
Giving back 🤝 – We're big fans of open source, and you'll get $100 per month to support projects you care about.
AI enablement 🤖 – We believe in working smarter—everyone gets an unlimited AI budget to explore and use the best tools to boost productivity and creativity.
Transparency 🙏 – We all know what everyone’s working on, how the company is doing—the whole shebang.
An ambitious but kind culture 😍 – People love working here—our eNPS for 2024 is 94!
* Country-specific details are provided in your contract.