5+ years of experience in engineering, with a focus on system architecture and scalability
Hands-on experience with TypeScript, Java, or Kotlin
Proven ability to mentor and lead a small engineering team
Expertise in building and scaling complex systems
Familiarity with compliance and regulatory demands
Responsibilities
Own the technical architecture and direction across payroll and payments
Lead engineering execution on complex technical challenges
Hire and guide a small, high-performing engineering team
Make critical decisions regarding system security and reliability
Collaborate closely with product and operations teams to align workflows
Develop roadmaps and ensure timely shipping of functionalities
Benefits
Opportunity to shape the core technology stack
Direct interaction with company founders and leadership
Immediate impact on the company's growth and strategy
Environment fostering mentorship and team collaboration
Work in a dynamic and evolving sector with real-world impact
Full Job Description
Staff Engineer, Thera (NYC, in-person)
We're looking for a hands-on Staff Engineer to own the technical foundation in our highest-leverage areas and help us scale from "great product" to category-defining company.
This is not a sit-back-and-manage role. You'll be in the code, in the architecture, and in the room making high-stakes decisions daily.
NYC, 5 days/week
Why this role exists
We have:
a product customers use
real workflows running through it
increasing complexity across payments, accounting, and ops
We need someone who can turn that into a durable, scalable system.
What you'll own
Architecture and technical direction across payroll, payments, and new products
Engineering execution on the hardest problems in the stack
Helping hire and tech-lead a small, high-quality team (starting ~5 engineers)
Decisions on security, reliability, scalability, and compliance in your areas
Tight partnership with product and ops to translate real workflows into systems
Roadmaps, prioritization, and actually shipping
What you'll build
Systems powering payroll and money movement
Products across Spend, Docs, Cash, and Accounting
Internal tooling that reduces manual work and errors
Infrastructure that increases velocity without breaking things
Your first 90 days
30 days
Get deep on the system, data flows, and constraints
Identify the biggest risks (payments, data integrity, scaling)
Ship a meaningful improvement on the spend product
60 days
Start addressing the highest-leverage technical gaps
Map out future builds across the roadmap
Begin influencing how we hire and level engineers
90 days
Set technical direction in your areas
Improve engineering velocity and reliability
Help build out our engineering in-person culture
About you
You've built and scaled real systems
You're still hands-on and like being close to the code
Strong systems thinker
You move fast and take ownership
Comfortable operating in a regulated environment
You've mentored or tech-led engineers before
Stack today: TypeScript + Java/Kotlin (flexible)
Not a fit if
You want a pure management role
You avoid ambiguity or messy real-world systems
You're not willing to be in-person in NYC
Why Thera
You shape the technical foundation in your areas
You work directly with founders
Your decisions immediately impact the company's trajectory
Backed by YC, 10X Founders, Zillionize, and Amino Capital.
