Animal Welfare Software Developer Jobs in California

Want to help pets live their best lives?
We're proud to be where the pets go and where the pet people go. If you want to make a real difference, create an exciting career path, feel welcome to be your whole self and nurture your wellbeing, Petco is the place for you.
Our core values capture that spirit as we work to improve lives by doing what's right for pets and people.

• Pet First - Protect & Empower. All pets should Live their Best Life. We put the needs of pets and pet parents at the center of everything we do.

• Foster the Fun - Connect & Bond. Our Passion for pets brings us together! We celebrate the journey of pet parenthood through distinct experiences, products, and services.

• Let's Go! Own & Commit. We are stronger as One Petco team. We bring our unique superpowers and champion authenticity in everyone to drive success.

About Petco:
We're proud to be "where the pets go" to find everything they need to live their best lives for more than 60 years - from their favorite meals and toys, to trusted supplies and expert support from people who get it, because we live it. We believe in the universal truths of pet parenthood - the boundless boops, missing slippers, late night zoomies and everything in between. And we're here for it. Every tail wag, every vet visit, every step of the way. We are 29,000+ strong and together we nurture the pet-human bond in more than 1,500 Petco stores across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, 250+ Vetco Total Care hospitals, hundreds of preventive care clinics and eight distribution centers. In 1999, we founded Petco Love. Together, we support thousands of local animal welfare groups nationwide and have helped find homes for approximately 7 million animals through in-store adoption events.
About the Role: Lead Software Developer - Developer Experience
As a Lead Software Developer focused on Developer Experience (DevEx), you will drive the vision, design, and delivery of tools, platforms, and workflows that enhance engineering productivity. You'll play a key role in shaping how developers interact with codebases, CI/CD systems, AI-assisted development tools, and internal platforms.
Technical Leadership
Provide technical leadership in building world-class developer platforms and tooling. Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement across engineering teams.
Drive the DevEx strategy, aligning developer productivity initiatives with business and engineering goals.
Developer Experience & Platform Engineering
Design and improve internal developer platforms, CI/CD pipelines, and self-service tools that streamline development workflows.
Champion best practices in developer productivity, including faster onboarding, efficient debugging, and seamless deployment processes.
Integrate and optimize AI-powered developer tools (e.g., code generation, automated testing, intelligent documentation, and copilots) to enhance engineering velocity and code quality.
System Architecture
Contribute to the architecture of scalable, reliable, and developer-friendly systems.
Ensure platforms and tools are designed for extensibility, usability, and performance.
Coding and Development
Actively contribute to codebases, particularly in platform tooling, automation, and developer infrastructure.
Set high standards for code quality, maintainability, and innovation.
Code Review and Quality Assurance
Lead code reviews with a focus on maintainability, scalability, and developer usability.
Drive quality through automation, testing frameworks, and AI-assisted validation tools.
Project Leadership
Own DevEx initiatives end-to-end, from ideation through delivery.
Partner with product managers, platform teams, and engineers to identify friction points and deliver impactful solutions.
Documentation & Enablement
Create and maintain high-quality documentation, onboarding guides, and developer resources.
Leverage AI tools to enhance documentation discoverability and accuracy.
Collaboration and Communication
Promote a strong engineering culture through open communication, knowledge sharing, and mentorship.
Act as a bridge between platform, infrastructure, and product engineering teams.
Continuous Learning & Innovation
Stay current with emerging trends in Developer Experience, platform engineering, and AI-assisted software development.
Lead initiatives to adopt new tools and practices that improve developer efficiency and satisfaction.
Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field
• 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with leadership responsibilities
• Strong expertise in one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, Java, TypeScript)
• Deep understanding of developer workflows, tooling, and software development lifecycle
• Experience with CI/CD systems, version control (Git), and modern development practices
• Hands-on experience with AI developer tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, code assistants, automated testing tools)
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building internal developer platforms or DevEx tooling
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Knowledge of observability, developer analytics, and productivity metrics
• Experience mentoring engineers and driving engineering culture improvements
• Exposure to LLM-based tooling, prompt engineering, or AI-assisted development workflows

#LI-CS1
#CORP
Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.
Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or any other protected classification.
The pay ranges outlined below are presented in accordance with state-specific regulations. These ranges may differ in other areas and could be subject to variation based on regulatory minimum wage requirements. Actual pay rates will depend on factors such as position, location, level of experience, and applicable state or local minimum wage laws. If the regulatory minimum wage exceeds the minimum indicated in the pay range below, the regulatory minimum wage will be the minimum rate applied.
$121,600.00 - $182,400.00
/ year
For a more detailed overview of Petco Total Rewards, including health and financial benefits, 401K, incentives, and PTO -see https://careers.petco.com/us/en/key-benefits
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