When we started DoorDash’s engineering office in Brazil, we knew it was an ambitious move. What we didn’t fully anticipate was just how energizing, challenging, and rewarding the journey would be.
As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of our São Paulo-based engineering office, it’s a moment to reflect on the story behind it—the people, the culture, the lessons, and the future we’re building together.
Why Brazil? A strategic bet on talent, culture, and scale
DoorDash’s decision to build a presence in Brazil was intentional. We sought out engineers who are entrepreneurial, resilient, and comfortable with ambiguity—qualities that align perfectly with DoorDash’s fast-paced, problem-solving culture.
Brazil's timezone facilitates easy collaboration between DoorDash's U.S. and European teams, making it a key factor in the decision to establish a presence there, alongside the availability of local talent.
For me, joining this effort was a natural next step as building strong engineering teams in Brazil is something I'm passionate about. Adapting DoorDash’s hiring processes to the Brazilian market was one of our first major challenges. Our bar for talent is high, but the local market dynamics are different. One key unlock was establishing a local recruiting team that deeply understands Brazil’s unique landscape. It made all the difference.
Building a culture of ownership and engagement
From day one, we set a clear expectation: those who joined early weren’t just joining a team—they were helping build the foundation of something bigger. Ownership wasn’t a buzzword; it was the job description.
Our culture today is participative, high-energy, focused, and fun. We prioritize real-life connections, encouraging time in the office, shared meals (Brazilian-style long lunches are sacred here), and regular team events. We host monthly all-hands meetings to share updates, challenges, and celebrate wins—transparency is non-negotiable.
At the heart of it, we treat employees like partners. They help shape decisions, solve problems, and influence the future of the office.
One of my proudest moments was in March 2025, when we held our first large-scale external event with the participation of DoorDash VP of Engineering, Ryan Sokol. What made it truly special was that it was entirely self-organized by the team—a testament to the ownership mindset we’ve nurtured.
Opportunities: Why join us?
If you’re an engineer in Brazil wondering why you should consider DoorDash, here’s why:
- You get to work at Silicon Valley scale, solving complex problems that impact millions of users every hour.
- You’ll be part of an office that’s still growing super strong — help shape the culture, the norms, and the legacy.
- DoorDash operates at the unique intersection of big-tech maturity and startup scrappiness: high execution, ownership, and speed.
This first year was just the opening chapter. We’re currently hiring across data engineering, business intelligence, backend, frontend, mobile engineering, and product design. If you’re looking for a career-defining opportunity, we should talk.
Final Thoughts: A personal note
On a personal level, this experience has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career. Building something from the ground up, watching it thrive, and knowing that DoorDash is fully invested in making it successful—it’s inspiring.
If there’s one piece of advice I’d offer to anyone considering a journey like this, it’s simple: be adaptable, be resilient, solve one problem at a time, and always lead with transparency.
The best is yet to come.