Senior Software Engineer Job at Handshake (San Francisco)

Senior Software Engineer

Handshake

Location:
United States , San Francisco

Category:
IT - Software Development

Contract Type:
Not provided

Salary:

200000.00 - 235000.00 USD / Year

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Job Description:

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will drive the design and development of the systems and experiences that power Handshake’s core product surfaces—from search and discovery to user acquisition, onboarding, and AI-powered tools. You’ll lead large projects end-to-end, make high-impact architectural decisions, and set the technical standard for your team. This is a high-ownership role where you’ll collaborate closely with product managers, designers, and analytics partners to define, build, and ship products that deliver measurable business impact. You’ll also mentor engineers, shape the team’s roadmap, and balance product innovation with operational excellence—quality, reliability, and on-call health.

Job Responsibility:

Lead large projects through all stages—from brainstorming and requirements, through architectural design and experimentation, to execution and release
Architect and build scalable, high-quality full-stack systems powering core user journeys including search, discovery, matching, onboarding, and identity infrastructure
Drive technical decisions across frontend and backend, balancing trade-offs between product goals, user experience, and system reliability
Collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, designers, data analysts, and other engineers to ensure products align with business goals and user needs
Lead by example in maintaining high standards of quality in your own work and in the feedback you provide during code reviews and architecture discussions
Use both technical expertise and business acumen to influence the team’s roadmap, prioritizing product innovation alongside operational health initiatives like quality control and on-call reliability
Mentor and unblock teammates to accelerate delivery and elevate the team’s overall effectiveness
Take ownership of significant initiatives, including projects that require coordination across multiple engineers and stakeholders
Contribute to organization-level technical enhancements and help establish engineering best practices

Requirements:

5+ years of experience as a full-stack engineer, confident driving architectural decisions across both frontend and backend
Strong proficiency in TypeScript, React, Ruby on Rails, SQL, and PostgreSQL
Demonstrated success collaborating with partners in product, design, and analytics to define, build, and ship great products and experiences
Experience leading large-scale projects from idea through high-quality delivery
A track record of implementing complex, scalable, and highly available services that power high-traffic platforms
Skilled at balancing technical trade-offs with product and business priorities, demonstrating sound judgment and product sense
Empathetic mentor and teammate, proactive in giving and receiving feedback to drive individual and team growth
Excellent communicator, able to clearly articulate technical decisions and business rationale to audiences of varying technical knowledge levels

Nice to have:

Experience with AI-powered products, agentic frameworks, conversational interfaces, or real-time APIs (e.g., OpenAI)
Background building platform systems for user acquisition, identity, authentication, or fraud prevention
Experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Temporal, or matching/marketplace systems
Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP) and deployment pipelines at scale
Ownership mentality with a high degree of accountability for delivering outcomes that move both the product and business forward
Background in consumer SaaS products at scale, particularly in growth or monetization

What we offer:

Equity in a fast-growing company
401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
$2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
Team outings & referral bonuses

Additional Information:

Job Posted:
February 20, 2026

Employment Type:

Fulltime

Work Type:

On-site work

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