Staff Software Engineer II

Job Description

Kickstarter, PBC is seeking an experienced Staff Software Engineer II to join our team and help deliver great experiences for Kickstarter creators and backers. There can be slight flexibility in the position level. Based on the results of our interview process, candidates will be determined to fit into one of two seniority levels with the following salary ranges for roles in the United States: Staff Software Engineer I = $210,000 - 235,000 Staff Software Engineer II = $245,000 - 270,000 About the Team Kickstarter’s product development team builds the platform that helps bring creative projects to life. We're a cross-functional team of engineers, designers, data analysts, and community specialists working collaboratively using iterative, data-driven, and outcome oriented approaches to solve problems. Our work touches every area of the platform as we develop new features and functionality. Our ability to develop valuable, maintainable and useful solutions opens up more opportunities for creators and backers to bring creative projects to life. We build features with modern frameworks like Ruby on Rails, React, Atomic CSS, Redux, Apollo, and TypeScript, backed by REST and GraphQL APIs. We use iterative and data-driven processes to build and refine our platform that supports our mission of bringing creative projects to life.

In This Role, Listed in Order of Importance, You Will:

• Lead the successful delivery of strategic projects of great complexity which may take multiple months to complete and which may span multiple teams, often requiring the coordination of multiple product managers, engineering managers, and external stakeholders and the resolution of significant ambiguity.
• Serve as a subject matter expert with extensive and varied experience who is able to represent both technical and business considerations in broad areas of Kickstarter's business, and is responsible for effectively communicating those considerations to stakeholders throughout the company, including the executive team.
• Identify novel practices, technologies, and solutions from outside of Kickstarter and apply them to Kickstarter's situation in ways that create significant value for the company and its users.
• Partner with the leadership of the Engineering team to ensure the strategic alignment of all engineering teams in technical areas and to identify and remove roadblocks that may jeopardize the organization's success.
• Write well-tested software that meets product, design, and operational criteria to enable the success of Kickstarter users.
• Estimate task complexity and guide organization-wide execution of strategic projects, ensuring committed work is delivered on-time.
• Work with non-technical stakeholders to understand business challenges and then design, implement, and communicate about corresponding technical solutions.
• Partner with product managers, product designers, engineering managers, directors, vice presidents, and the executive team to ensure the organization is strategically aligned and positioned to achieve its objectives.
• Proactively identify systematic technical improvements and advocate for improved technical or organizational practices across the organization, and then individually drive those improvements to successful adoption.
• Participate in group code reviews to ensure a high standard of quality for all changes to Kickstarter systems.
• Participate in the on-call rotation to ensure continuous availability of services to Kickstarter users.
• Pair with and provide growth feedback and mentoring to more junior teammates.

About You

• You have extensive, expert professional experience writing correct, well-tested software and a knowledge of, or willingness to learn, core Kickstarter technologies (Ruby on Rails, JavaScript (TypeScript), React, MySQL, GraphQL, Android, iOS, AWS).
• You have the demonstrated ability to clearly and effectively communicate complex topics to technical- and non-technical partners and stakeholders, and to explain and advocate for key technical decisions to directors, vice presidents, and the executive team.
• You have proven, deep experience breaking down high-level or long-term business goals into actionable execution plans and to clarify and de-risk different technical approaches.
• You have the demonstrated ability to identify and effectively advocate for points of significant technical or strategic leverage.
• You empathize with creators, the challenges of the creative process and bringing projects to life.

$210,000 - $270,000 a year The salary range posted applies to all candidates based in the United States. There can be slight flexibility in the position level. Based on the results of our interview process, candidates will be determined to fit into one of two seniority levels with the following salary ranges for roles in the United States: Staff Software Engineer I = $210,000 - 235,000 Staff Software Engineer II = $245,000 - 270,000 What You'll Enjoy - A fully remote workforce with plenty of opportunities to get to know your colleagues - 100% employer-paid health plan offerings - 16 paid vacation days, 10 sick days, and a company-wide winter break between Christmas and New Years - 25 volunteer hours each year to give back to your community - 16 weeks of parental leave plus fertility/family planning resources - A 4-day/32-hour workweek! Kickstarter is currently experimenting with one so that we can all enjoy long weekends - Incredibly talented and inspiring colleagues who know how to blend their creative endeavors into their work You can read more about our benefits and working at Kickstarter at our Jobs page: https://jobs.kickstarter.com/ Our Fully Virtual Team We’re currently able to support employees based in the following US locations: CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, MA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OR, VA, and WA. We're also able to support employees in the United Kingdom and Canada (Ontario & British Columbia). If you live in—or are willing to move to—any of these locations, we look forward to your application! If there is a required or preferred location for an open role, it will be listed in the job description. Kickstarter is an equal opportunity employer. As part of our commitment to fight for equality, we work to ensure a fair and consistent interview process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment. Kickstarter is a Public Benefit Corporation, and our mission is to help bring creative projects to life. We measure our success as a company by how well we achieve that mission, not by the size of our profits. In our charter, we spell out our mission, our values, and the commitments we have made to pursue them. Apply for this job