Greenhouse ·
full-timeStaff Software Engineer, Query And Access Control
Asana · Reykjavík
Asana is a company that provides a work management platform designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work. As a Staff Software Engineer on the Query and Access Control team, you will be responsible for the infrastructure that governs how data is queried and secured across the platform. The role involves designing and maintaining the query execution path over the company's Work Graph, ensuring that permission checks remain fast, auditable, and accurate as customer domains and permission structures scale. You will address complex technical challenges, such as defining authorization models for AI agents, and drive large-scale, multi-quarter projects that require cross-team alignment. This position is ideal for an experienced backend engineer with over eight years of experience who excels at solving deep infrastructure problems from first principles. The role requires a candidate capable of navigating the trade-offs between system performance and rigorous security, while mentoring other engineers and collaborating with product teams to support new functionality at scale. You will operate within an office-centric hybrid model based in Reykjavík.
Education
- Level: Bachelor's degree
Key Skills
Notes
['Hybrid office schedule (Mon, Tue, Thu in-office)', '8+ years experience required']
Experience required
8-8 years experienceAbout the Role We are looking for a staff software engineer to work on how data is queried and who is allowed to see it. Every read in Asana passes through this layer, resolving user requests and enforcing permissions on each object. Responsibilities Design and implement a query layer over the Work Graph that stays correct and performant as customer domains and permission structures grow. Evolve our access control model so that permission checks remain sound, auditable, and fast on every read path. Define how new classes of caller, including AI agents acting on a user's behalf, are authorized. Drive large, multi‑quarter projects that cut across team boundaries, from design through deployment. Build alignment on design with engineers and leaders in other teams and maintain it as work lands. Share knowledge through design review, code review, and mentorship. Partner with infrastructure teams to define how user data in the Work Graph is accessed. Support framework and product engineers to build new product functionality at scale. Requirements 8+ years of engineering experience building and operating reliable backend services at scale, with 3+ years driving large‑scale projects. Experience driving large technical initiatives spanning multiple teams. Strong ability to design from first principles to production and reason about system correctness. Excellent communication of technical concepts to cross‑functional partners. Desirable: experience with authorization systems, permission models, or multi‑tenant data isolation at scale; experience with query engines, query planning, caching layers, or graph‑shaped data access; familiarity with infrastructure‑as‑code and container orchestration technologies such as Terraform and Kubernetes.
Skills for this role
Required skills
Also mentioned in the listing
| Role | Staff Software Engineer, Query And Access Control |
|---|---|
| Company | Asana |
| Location | Reykjavík |
| Type | full-time |
| Compensation | Not disclosed |
| Posted | 2026-10-19 |
| Deadline | Rolling |
Typical process for this type of role
A general guide — the exact steps for this specific listing may vary; check the original posting for details.
- 1ApplicationSubmit your resume through the apply link.
- 2ScreeningRecruiter reviews your background against the role.
- 3AssessmentA technical test, assignment, or coding round, depending on the role.
- 4Interview(s)One or more rounds with the hiring team.
- 5OfferOffer letter with compensation and start date.
Before you apply
0/4About Asana
Asana is an operating system designed for human-agent teams to manage critical workflows. Founded in 2008, the platform utilizes the Asana Work Graph, a system that connects tasks, projects, goals, and dependencies to provide a shared context for both human users and AI agents. The software enables teams to collaborate within a shared space, utilizing shared memory to improve workflows over time while maintaining enterprise-grade governance, including audit trails and scoped permissions. Asana serves a wide range of organizations, including 85% of Fortune 100 companies, by providing tools for project management, compliance, portfolio monitoring, and cross-functional alignment. The platform is designed to help teams coordinate work, reduce time spent on status updates, and integrate AI agents directly into existing business processes.
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