Staff Software Engineer, Platform - Remote, US

Earnest’s mission is to make higher education accessible and affordable for everyone. We empower past, present, and soon-to-be students to maximize their financial futures through thoughtful guidance and impactful products.

We build tools that help people feel in control of their financial future, including:

• Private student loans - low rates, people-first service, and flexible payments.
• Student loan refinancing - break free from high interest rates or monthly payments.
• Scholarships - access to thousands of scholarships to help students pay less. 

The Staff Engineer position will report to the Engineering Manager.

As a Staff Engineer, you will:

• Take ownership of key technical projects and initiatives within the engineering department, ensuring they are completed successfully and on time.
• Act as a technical authority within the team, making critical architectural and technology decisions that align with the organization's goals and long-term vision.
• Mentor and provide guidance on best practices to team members 
• Launch new features such as integration with strategic partners, acceleration of loan funding, integration of data science and machine learning models to automate loan decisions
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Product Managers, Designers, and Data Scientists, to ensure alignment on project priorities and successful product launches.
• Ensure that software and systems meet security and compliance requirements, implementing best practices to safeguard customer data.
• Collaborate with leadership to contribute to the development of the engineering department's strategic plan and vision.

Your Impact:

At Earnest, we use Node.js and TypeScript on the server-side. On the front-end we use React/Redux for building new things and Angular for everything else. We deploy services in Docker and Kubernetes on AWS. We integrate with other internal microservices (written in Node.js and Scala) and store the bulk of our data in Postgres and Amazon S3. Your contributions will be instrumental in shaping the technical landscape of our organization and ensuring the success of our products and services. Success in this role will be defined by:

• Strategic Architectural Leadership: You will establish a clear and forward-thinking technical vision for our engineering department, guiding the team in making sound architectural decisions that align with our business goals and long-term objectives.
• Technical Excellence: Success will be measured by the consistent delivery of high-quality software solutions, robust systems, and well-architected applications that meet or exceed customer expectations.
• Team Development: Your mentorship and guidance will empower team members to excel in their roles, fostering a culture of continuous learning, growth, and innovation.
• Successful Product Launches: Success will be evident in the smooth and timely launch of new features and products, including integrations with strategic partners, acceleration of loan funding processes, and the implementation of data science and machine learning models to automate loan decisions.
• Scalability and Performance: Success will be measured by our systems' ability to scale efficiently, maintain optimal performance, and adapt to increased demand without compromising user experience.
• Security and Compliance: Your leadership will ensure that our software and systems maintain the highest levels of security and compliance, safeguarding customer data and preserving trust.
• Innovation and Thought Leadership: Your contributions to research, innovation, and thought leadership will position us as industry leaders, driving our organization's growth and success.

About You: 

• 6+ years of professional development experience
• Experience with server-side concepts, e.g. microservices, database, caching, performance, monitoring and scalability
• Extensive experience with modern Node.js preferred
• Professional experience in React/Redux desirable
• Relevant data modeling experience and integration with databases such as PostgresSQL
• Strong understanding of distributed architecture patterns and microservice best practices
• Knowledge of optimization techniques like caching, compression, performance tuning
• Understanding of security best practices like encryption, access control, vulnerability management
• Experience designing, building and maintaining cloud-based applications (e.g. AWS, GCP, Azure)

Even Better:

• Familiarity with GraphQL APIs and building integrations/webhooks
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automation tools like Jenkins, CircleCI, etc.
• Experience implementing observability through metrics, logging and tracing
• Experience working in Fintech, Banking, or related Consumer Financial Services companies is a plus

About Us:

Earnies are committed to helping students live their best lives, free from the stress of student debt. If you’re as passionate as we are about our mission, read more below, and let’s build something great together! 

What makes an “Earnie” culture: 

• Drivers – Drivers are satisfied by making things happen, not coming along for the ride. They feel a strong sense of ownership for their projects and teams and demand high standards from themselves and others.
• Humility – Humble team players check their egos and consider the team’s needs above their own. They are self-aware of their strengths and opportunities for improvement.
• Growth Mindset – People with a growth mindset approach challenges and failures as learning opportunities. They seek feedback to improve, give feedback to others, and genuinely want to perform well.

Earnest believes in enabling our employees to live their best lives. We offer a variety of perks and competitive benefits, including: 

• Health, Dental, & Vision benefits plus savings plans
• Work anywhere in the U.S. 
• Mac computers + work from home stipend to set up your home office
• Monthly internet and phone reimbursement
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• RSUs
• 401(k) plan to help you save for retirement plus a company match
• Robust tuition reimbursement program
• $1,000 travel perk on each Earnie-versary to anywhere in the world 
• Competitive days of annual PTO
• Annual “my day” 
• Pet insurance!
• Competitive parental leave
• Plenty of Earnest swag, optional in person team gatherings, picnics, celebrations, and plenty of fun virtual events 

At Earnest, we are committed to building an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. Our belief is that a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging enables us to move forward with our mission. We are dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team and encourage anyone to apply if your experience is close to what we are looking for.  

Earnest provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status disability or genetics. Qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for the position in a manner consistent with the Fair Chance Ordinance.

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