Job Details

Who is Recruiting from Scratch: Recruiting from Scratch is a specialized talent firm dedicated to helping companies build exceptional teams. We partner closely with our clients to deeply understand their needs, then connect them with top-tier candidates who are not only highly skilled but also the right fit for the company's culture and vision. Our mission is simple: place the best people in the right roles to drive long-term success for both clients and candidates.

Job Title: Staff Software Engineer

Location: Remote or Hybrid - New York City, Washington D.C., or San Francisco Bay Area
Company Stage of Funding: Venture-backed technology company
Office Type: Hybrid (occasional travel as needed)
Salary: Competitive (full range shared during process)

1. Company Description
We're representing a high-growth technology company building the network for trusted trade. Through an AI-powered product network, this team enables governments and businesses to strengthen global economic resilience, enhance security, and keep trade flowing across borders.

This is a mission-driven environment centered on creating world-scale impact. The engineering team builds the platforms, APIs, services, and core architectures that power this vision. The system is fundamentally driven by AI, scales across massive datasets, and serves a diverse global customer base. Engineers collaborate closely with data scientists to analyze global economic signals, unlock new insights, and deliver powerful APIs and workflows that bring the product to life.
2. What You Will Do
In this role, you will play a central part in building and evolving complex, high-scale systems that sit at the core of the platform's functionality. You will design and ship backend and data-centric solutions while guiding technical quality across the team.

You will:

• Translate product requirements into technical requirements and iterative design plans.
• Work closely with a product manager to build implementation plans aligned to technical roadmaps.
• Maintain, develop, and deploy backend services that power the platform's architecture.
• Analyze technical challenges and recommend scalable, efficient solutions.
• Automate, test, and deploy your own work and support the team's deployment practices.
• Review code and technical designs with a focus on high engineering standards.
• Mentor other developers and support their technical growth.
• Drive the day-to-day engineering excellence of a team, ensuring roadmap-aligned progress.
• Lead technical decision-making to produce maintainable, high-quality solutions.
• Identify technical and operational gaps and create plans to address them.
• Serve as the domain expert for part of the product surface area while maintaining broad technical fluency.
• Collaborate with leads and managers to maintain team focus, alignment, and sustainable delivery.

3. Ideal Background
The ideal candidate thrives in complex environments, values engineering excellence, and brings deep backend and data engineering experience.

• BS or MS in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of professional experience building backend or data-driven software in demanding production environments.
• Experience deploying production code and services to cloud-hosted environments.
• Proven ability to deliver iterative releases from proof-of-concept to MVP to production.
• A self-starter comfortable working on large, ambiguous problem spaces.
• Strong commitment to clean code, scalable design, and technical craftsmanship.
• Experience taking ownership of existing codebases and continuing to evolve them.
• Ability to prioritize effectively and maintain focus on high-impact areas.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience leading engineers on complex projects.
• Experience with Python machine learning toolsets (NumPy, Pandas, Dedupe).
• Experience with container technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.

4. Preferred
While not required, experience with the following technologies is highly beneficial:

Languages: Python, PySpark
Tools: Docker, Git, Kubernetes, Swagger/OpenAPI, AWS/Azure, MLFlow, Celery
Data Platforms: Databricks, Delta Lakes
5. Compensation and Benefits
Salary: $170,000 - $220,000 USD base salary, depending on experience and skillset.
Equity: Competitive equity grants included in most full-time offers.
Bonus: Eligible for discretionary bonus or variable compensation depending on role.

Benefits include:

• Flexible Time Off (FTO) to support work-life balance
• Industry-leading Paid Parental Leave (14-26 weeks fully paid)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with generous employer contributions
• Employer-paid high-deductible health plan + HSA contributions
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options
• Employer-paid life insurance, short- and long-term disability, and AD&D coverage
• 401(k) retirement savings program
• Commuter benefits for transit and parking
• Wellness benefits, including premium Calm subscription
• Pet insurance options
• Employee Assistance Program (confidential support services)
• Dependent Care FSA for childcare expenses

Why This Company Is a Great Place to Work:

• Collaborative, team-first culture
• Strong commitment to engineering excellence
• Focus on personal and professional development
• Diverse perspectives welcomed and valued
• Opportunity to impact global challenges at scale

Equal Opportunity:
The company is committed to creating an inclusive environment where employees thrive. Hiring decisions are based on qualifications and business needs without regard to protected characteristics. Discrimination or harassment of any kind is prohibited.
Salary Range: $170,000 - $220,000 base.