Offer summary

Qualifications:

Proven experience with Protocol Buffers in production Go/gRPC environments., Strong proficiency in Golang, including code generation and concurrency patterns., Familiarity with GoGoProto and its ecosystem is preferred., Experience in large, production-critical codebases within service-oriented architectures..

Key responsibilities:

Audit and identify current usages of GoGoProto extensions in protobuf definitions.

Migrate .proto files to standard protobuf options and regenerate protobuf code using modern tools.

Refactor Go-based services to accommodate changes in code generation and validate through testing.

Collaborate with internal teams to align on changes and document migration steps for long-term maintainability.

Job description

Overview:

Our client, a leader in cloud-based storage and collaboration technology, is seeking a seasoned Protobuf Cleanup Engineer with deep expertise in Protocol Buffers (protobuf) and Go (Golang) to support a critical modernization effort within their core metadata infrastructure team. This contractor will play a key role in refactoring legacy protobuf implementations, replacing GoGoProto dependencies with modern, standard tooling to ensure long-term service scalability, maintainability, and security.

This is an opportunity to contribute to the foundation of a large-scale, highly distributed system that manages billions of files and directories across a global user base.

Location: Remote (U.S.), W2 Contractor
Duration: through 12/31/2025
Type: Contract
Industry: Cloud Storage / Platform Infrastructure

Key Responsibilities:

Audit and identify all current usages of GoGoProto extensions in protobuf definitions.
Migrate .proto files to use standard protobuf options, removing deprecated or custom GoGoProto constructs.
Regenerate protobuf code using modern, supported tools (e.g., protoc, protoc-gen-go), ensuring compatibility with the client’s Go/gRPC infrastructure.
Refactor Go-based services to account for changes in code generation, particularly where GoGoProto-specific behaviors were in use (e.g., custom JSON serialization, field annotations).
Validate code changes through testing and integration with live-tier services.
Collaborate with internal engineering teams to align on changes, unblock development workflows, and avoid regressions.
Document migration steps, tooling processes, and best practices to support long-term maintainability and knowledge sharing.

Requirements

Proven experience working with Protocol Buffers in production Go/gRPC environments.
Strong proficiency in Golang, including experience with code generation, interfaces, and concurrency patterns.
Familiarity with GoGoProto and its ecosystem is strongly preferred.
Experience working in large, production-critical codebases within service-oriented architectures.
Ability to work independently, proactively solve problems, and communicate effectively across distributed teams.
Comfort navigating infrastructure-level projects with broad cross-functional impact.

Compensation Range:

$50-$54/hr

** This pay range is Client-specific for the opening advertised. The identity of the Client will be disclosed if you are selected to move forward in the hiring process. **

Benefits

75% coverage on employee-only medical and dental plans, with a $0 employee-only medical plan option available.
Vision - opt-in available
PTO
Laptop
Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, AD&D coverage
Short-term Disability, Accident, Cancer/Critical Illness, Pet insurance - opt in available

Required profile