About the roleThe AI Platform team enables product teams across Betterment to build
useful AI-powered features quickly, enjoyably, and responsibly. As Sr Software Engineer, you will work with a team of senior/staff engineers delivering an expanding set of AI capabilities as well as shared infrastructure, LLM evaluation frameworks, and internal libraries.
You will help build core pieces of our AI product development strategy, working closely with engineering leadership. You will collaborate with product and compliance partners to ensure Betterment's AI capabilities are developed with the rigor that our customers and regulators expect.
By joining us in the early days of our AI product efforts, you will have significant influence over how the organization delivers exciting features into the Betterment product across all lines of business.
This role is based out of our NYC office. Below we've reflected the base salary range we would offer for this position. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of Betterment's total compensation package for employees.
- New York City: $170,000 - $205,000
We offer a competitive equity package, health, dental and vision benefits, life and AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance, EAP, commuter and parking benefits FSA/HSA, and 401(k) with employer match as well as a flexible PTO policy. This job may also be eligible for variable compensation in the form of a company incentive bonus. For jobs based out of our NYC HQ, we require in office attendance Tuesday through Thursday, weekly.
A day in the life- Work with a team of senior/staff engineers building the foundation that enables all Betterment teams to deploy AI features.
- Help deliver Betterment's AI platform strategy - the shared infrastructure, evaluation frameworks, internal libraries, and guardrails that allow product teams to build AI features with confidence and speed.
- Contribute to high-leverage projects that expand our organization's AI technical capabilities, where AI organically enhances existing product value.
- Embed with product teams to ship customer-facing AI functionality to production. Develop broad Betterment domain expertise in the process.
- Collaborate with legal and compliance leaders to scale processes that enable teams to build AI functionality quickly and responsibly within a regulated financial services environment.
- Mentor junior engineers, sharing your experience to expand their impact and accelerate their growth.
What we're looking for- A contributor capable of establishing the strategic vision for Betterment's AI systems while also working hands-on alongside senior and staff IC colleagues to build it into reality.
- Experience with LLM systems, including prompt engineering, agentic workflows, and evaluation systems.
- Experience operating AI features in production, ensuring quality and auditability via online and offline validation, automated monitoring, and human-in--the-loop oversight.
- Comfort operating at the frontier. The ability and drive to stay current with emerging tools, techniques, and best practices within the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.
- Clear judgment about when to use AI and when not to, maintaining a grounded, pragmatic perspective on what we should ship to production today.
- Fullstack development experience including React, GraphQL, and one or more server-side languages (Ruby, Java, TypeScript, C#, Python, etc.)
- Experience collaborating across discipline and team boundaries.
- An open-minded approach when navigating the tension between moving fast, customer quality, and regulatory requirements.
What being at Betterment means for youWe change livesJoin a community of innovators working to transform financial outcomes for real people. Your work will make an impact, always laddering up to our mission: making people's lives better.
We set audacious goalsWe set them for the company, our customers, and ourselves-and we won't stop until we reach them. We don't just show up; we give our all, then celebrate our wins.
We value all perspectivesWhen we collaborate, we're at our best. We believe diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes and strive to uphold our supportive and inclusive community.
We invest in you with:- A competitive suite of benefits, including: medical, dental, and vision insurance; life and AD&D insurance; STD and LTD benefits, including infertility support and World Professional Association for Transgender Health approved benefits; and generous parental leave.
- Flexible paid time off (and encouragement to use it!)
- Meaningful opportunity for community building through our 7 Employee Resource Groups
- Empowerment to own and lead change and affect the business
- Dedicated professional development opportunities
- Lunch from our in-house chef at our NYC headquarters
What happens nextWe'll take a few weeks to review all applications. If we'd like to spend more time with you, we'll reach out to arrange next steps, which will include 3-4 sets of meetings with your future colleagues.
In the interview process, we'll look to learn more about your skills, experiences, capabilities, and motivators. Many of our questions will be aimed at understanding how you might operate here at Betterment. Depending on the role, we may ask you to complete a case study exercise or technical assessments, as we want to collect a robust set of data points to better inform our decisions.
On average, it takes us around 3-5 weeks to make a hiring decision, depending on your availability and sense of urgency. As a best practice, we aim to interview at least 2-3 final round candidates before making a hiring decision. Please note that, as we usually receive an overwhelming number of applications for open positions, we're unable to offer individual feedback during the interview process.
We recognize that interviewing for a new role is a big deal. We appreciate you considering Betterment as the next step in your career, and our Recruiting Team is here to support and advocate for you through the interview process!
Betterment is dedicated to providing accommodations to candidates upon request. If you need accommodations at any point throughout the interview process, please reach out to your recruiter.
Please note that in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.
Come join us!