Senior Staff Software Engineer

Octane•New York City, NY

22h•$170,000 - $220,000•Remote

About The Position

Octane is unlocking the power of financial products for merchants and consumers. Our cutting-edge technology and innovative financial products empower businesses with more control and flexibility, enabling them to deliver seamless digital experiences, drive customer loyalty, and build long-term value. Octane supports merchants throughout the sales cycle: connecting dealerships with high-intent buyers, driving transparent, fast, and easy closings with award-winning technology, and providing on-going customer care with superior loan servicing. Founded in 2014, Octane supports over 60 OEM partner brands and over 4,000 dealer partners, and has a team of over 600. Visit www.octane.co . We are seeking a seasoned Senior Staff Software Engineer who thrives at the intersection of technical excellence and business impact. In this role, you will partner closely with engineering leadership to shape long-term technical strategy, identify systemic improvement opportunities, and drive architectural decisions across the full technology stack. You will design and build scalable, maintainable systems, lead by example through hands-on development and rigorous design practices, and elevate the broader engineering organization through mentorship and technical leadership. This role is ideal for a highly experienced engineer who enjoys solving complex problems, influencing technical direction, and enabling teams to deliver high-quality solutions that directly support critical business objectives.

Requirements

12+ years of professional software engineering experience, including 5+ years in system architecture and 5+ years in technical leadership roles.
Strong expertise in designing and delivering scalable, production-grade systems across frontend, backend, and infrastructure layers.
5+ years of hands-on experience with AWS and Infrastructure as Code.
Proficiency in multiple programming languages, with recent experience in Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript.
Proven experience owning technical decisions across multiple projects and leading interdisciplinary teams from design through delivery.
Experience delivering consumer-facing applications and mission-critical backend systems, preferably within regulated industries.
Strong problem-solving mindset with a track record of delivering impactful technical solutions to complex business challenges.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience working directly with stakeholders, clients, or end users.
Demonstrated ability to mentor and elevate other engineers through coaching and technical guidance.
MS in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent industry experience (advanced degree is a plus).

Responsibilities

Partner closely with engineering leadership to identify opportunities for improvement and shape long-term technical strategy.
Design and architect high-quality, scalable, and maintainable software systems with a holistic view spanning user interfaces, backend services, and infrastructure.
Write high-quality, production-ready code to deliver mission-critical systems, resolve defects, lead design discussions, and conduct thorough code reviews.
Establish and promote coding standards, best practices, and design patterns while mentoring engineers to write clean, effective code and amplifying overall team output.
Develop deep expertise in the business domain to ensure technical solutions fully align with and satisfy business requirements.
Validate application functionality by designing and implementing automated testing strategies to prevent regressions and ensure long-term reliability.
Collaborate cross-functionally with engineers, product partners, and business stakeholders to continuously improve products and platforms.
Drive improvements in engineering efficiency through the adoption of modern tools, automation, and AI-enabled development platforms.
Break down ambiguous and complex problems into clear, actionable solutions that reduce time to implementation while ensuring the right outcomes are delivered.