Staff Software Engineer, Consumer Experience

Handshake • San Francisco, CA

2d

About The Position

As a Staff Software Engineer on the Consumer Experience team, you'll build the products that connect millions of students with employers. You'll drive meaningful technical initiatives, shape the technical direction of the team, and deliver high-quality, scalable solutions that directly impact one of the fastest-growing career platforms in the world.

Requirements

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with a proven track record of owning and delivering large-scale, complex systems
• Demonstrated experience operating at a staff-level scope, influencing technical direction across multiple teams
• Expertise in building and scaling distributed systems, preferably within consumer platforms or social products
• Strong proficiency in Go, Python, or JavaScript with a focus on maintainable, high-quality production systems
• Solid understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and modern system design principles
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and elevating engineering culture

Nice To Haves

• Background in search, recommendations, ranking systems, or personalization at scale
• Experience with user identity knowledge graphs, including entity resolution and real-time inference
• Experience building AI-powered systems, including LLM-based applications
• Prior experience in high-growth or rapidly scaling environments

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of consumer-facing features that enhance user engagement and streamline the student-employer connection process
• Architect and scale distributed systems to support millions of users, ensuring high availability and performance
• Influence technical direction by collaborating with cross-functional teams to align engineering efforts with business goals
• Mentor and elevate engineers across the team, fostering a culture of growth and technical excellence
• Champion engineering best practices that raise the bar on product quality and team efficiency

Benefits

• 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, wellness stipend
• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees