About this position:

We're looking for a Staff Engineer to play a critical role in shaping the future of Later's technology stack. This is a senior-level role for a highly skilled engineer who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments and takes ownership of complex, high-impact initiatives. You'll scope, lead, and deliver large projects that elevate our platform while mentoring others and upholding a high bar for engineering excellence.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role where you'll not only ship code but also shape architecture, coach teammates, and influence the direction of our product. If you're passionate about building scalable, secure, and high-quality applications that serve millions of users-and you want to be the person others turn to when things get tough-this is the opportunity for you.
What you'll be doing:
Strategy

• Scope, plan, and lead large-scale technical initiatives, ensuring alignment with business priorities and product roadmaps.
• Anticipate risks, identify opportunities for innovation, and guide technical decision-making to deliver long-term impact.

Technical / Execution

• Design, build, and optimize scalable systems across the stack, from frontend (React, TypeScript) to backend (Node.js).
• Deliver production-grade features end-to-end, while maintaining performance, security, and reliability at scale.
• Improve and maintain codebases, ensuring clean architecture, best practices in testing and deployment, and strong CI/CD pipelines.
• Debug and resolve complex issues across systems and services, serving as the go-to expert when problems arise.
• Implement and advocate for strong application and infrastructure security practices.

Team / Collaboration

• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Design, and other Engineering teams to clarify requirements, resolve ambiguities, and deliver solutions that delight users.
• Communicate technical and non-technical ideas clearly, ensuring stakeholders and teammates feel informed and engaged.
• Act as a technical mentor, coaching junior and mid-level engineers while fostering a culture of collaboration and learning.

Research / Best Practices

• Stay current on emerging tools, frameworks, and methods that can drive performance, security, and scalability.
• Experiment with new technologies-including AI/ML applications-and share learnings to elevate team performance.
• Promote continuous improvement, introducing practices that improve speed, quality, and developer experience.

What success looks like:

• You consistently deliver high-impact projects on time, meeting both technical and business objectives.
• You're seen as a trusted technical leader who raises the bar for engineering excellence across the team.
• You proactively identify opportunities to optimize performance, security, and scalability, and successfully implement solutions.
• You coach and influence peers, creating a ripple effect that improves team performance and morale.

What you bring:

• 8-15 years of professional experience in software development, with a track record of shipping large-scale, high-quality features and systems and driving architectural decisions at the org level.
• Strong frontend expertise in React and TypeScript
• Backend proficiency in Node.js (Kotlin experience a plus)
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases (MySQL, DynamoDB).
• Deep experience with API integration and third-party API management.
• Familiarity with AWS or equivalent cloud infrastructure.
• Proven ability in system design, architecture, and performance optimization.
• In-depth knowledge of application and infrastructure security best practices.
• Hands-on experience with Git, CI/CD pipelines, Docker (Kubernetes a plus), and YAML configuration.
• Knowledge of automated testing frameworks and QA best practices.
• Experience mentoring and coaching engineers, influencing without authority.
• Nice to haves:
  • Experience with social networking platforms
  • Knowledge of accessibility standards
  • Familiarity with AI-powered development tools (Copilot, Cursor, etc.)
  • Experience with monitoring solutions (e.g., DataDog)
  • Background in rapid, iterative development environments

How you work:

• Driven by Impact: You deliver results that matter-prioritizing high-value work, meeting deadlines, and adapting quickly while keeping outcomes clear.
• Strategic & Customer-Centric: You anticipate risks and opportunities, connect decisions to long-term growth, and build trust through proactive insights.
• Curious & Growth-Oriented: You seek knowledge, ask sharp questions, and apply learnings fast-challenging the status quo with a mindset of improvement.
• Collaborative & Resilient: You thrive in change by staying resourceful, solution-focused, and positive-removing roadblocks, sharing insights, and keeping morale high.
• Accountable & Honest: You own your work, hold yourself and others to a high bar, and use transparent feedback to drive growth.
• Emotionally Intelligent: You build trust through empathy and collaboration, foster inclusion, and inspire others with grit, optimism, and integrity.

Our approach to compensation:

We take a market-based & data-driven approach to compensation. We leverage data from trusted third-party compensation sources to help us understand the market value of a role based on function, level, geographic location, and scope. We evaluate compensation bi-annually, including performance and market-related factors.

Our salaries are benchmarked against market Total Cash Compensation for the geographic location of our job posting. Compensation for some roles is structured as On Target Earnings (OTE = base + commission/variable) while for others it is structured as Salary only. The salary range listed for this role reflects the zones that applies to the location of this posting.

To comply with local legislation and ensure transparency, we share salary ranges on all job postings. Skills, experience and other factors help determine the final salary we offer which may vary from the original range posted.

Additionally, all permanent team members are eligible to participate in various benefits plans as part of their overall compensation package.

Salary Range:

For candidates located in the US: $175,000 - $250,000 USD
For candidates located in Canada: $170,000 - $200,000 CDN

#LI-Hybrid

Where we work:

We have offices in Boston, MA; Vancouver, BC; and Vancouver, WA. For select positions, we are open to hiring fully remote candidates. We post our positions in the location(s) where we are open to having the successful candidate be located.