Associate Software Engineer, Operator Experience

About the Role

As a Software Engineer on Operating Tooling, you'll build internal products and automation that help Handshake's operators run the business at high quality and speed. This team functions like an embedded/consulting engineering group: you'll partner directly with operators, learn their workflows, and help ship new operational capabilities. This role is collaborative and communication-heavy. Success requires solid technical fundamentals plus good EQ—someone who can take clearly-scoped operational needs and turn them into reliable, well-built systems, iterating based on feedback from operators and senior engineers.

Responsibilities

• Work with operators (with support from senior engineers) to understand processes and pain points, and help translate them into technical requirements.
• Build internal tools, automations, and workflows that improve operational throughput, accuracy, and visibility.
• Own well-scoped projects or features end-to-end: implementation, testing, rollout, and iteration, with guidance on discovery and technical design.
• Write maintainable, well-tested code and follow established engineering practices for the internal-tools environment.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners (operators, engineering, product) to gather feedback and drive adoption of the tools you build.
• Seek feedback proactively and grow your technical judgment through code review and pairing with more senior engineers.

Qualifications

• 0-2 years of software engineering experience, with some experience owning features or small projects from implementation through production support.
• Good communication skills and comfort working with non-engineering stakeholders.
• Exposure to building internal tools, workflow systems, or automation (through internships, previous roles, or side projects) is a plus.
• Growing engineering judgment: able to write clean, scalable code with guidance, and eager to learn how to make good abstraction and design tradeoffs.
• Curiosity and adaptability in ambiguous environments, with a track record of shipping incremental improvements.

Nice to Have

• Exposure to workflow/backlog systems, intake processes, or operational analytics (instrumentation, dashboards, QA).
• Interest in operating in a fast-paced, embedded-engineering environment.
• Coursework, projects, or prior experience touching knowledge-work operations tooling (e.g., case management, review/approval flows, data quality tooling).

Benefits

• Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
• Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
• Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
• Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, wellness stipend
• Growth: Learning stipend, ongoing development
• Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
• Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
• Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Pay

Compensation Range: $135,000 - $150,000