Senior Full Stack Software Engineer - Startpage

System1 (NYSE: SST) is an omnichannel customer acquisition marketing platform powered by AI and machine learning. Our proprietary Responsive Acquisition Marketing Platform (RAMP) uses data science and real-time bidding to match high-intent consumers with advertisers at scale. We operate a portfolio of consumer-facing brands across search, shopping, and travel — including Startpage, MapQuest, and CouponFollow — and build the apps, search engines, and online publications that power them. Startpage (part of System1) is the world's most private search engine, delivering high-quality search results through a privacy-preserving proxy layer that strips identifying information before queries leave our infrastructure.

About the role

Startpage is looking for a full-stack Senior Software Developer to work alongside our existing team. This is a full-time, on-site position with the expectation of a 40-hour work week from our Bellevue, WA office. Engineers work with our product team to build new features for our private search engine, our flagship product, while shaping architectural decisions and proactively tackling tech debt, bugs, and other engineering tasks.

All developers at Startpage work with a wide variety of languages, tools, and technologies across the stack, primarily Python and JavaScript. The team is distributed across North America and Europe, with a 4-5 hour daily overlap for collaboration. Ideal candidates are self-starters who balance quality, output volume, and complexity, and oversee their work from tickets to production deployments. Developers release changes to a highly-trafficked, internationally distributed web product multiple times per week.

Given Startpage’s privacy focus, attention to detail is critical to maintain user privacy, which is treated as an architectural constraint. This role also requires participation in an emergency on-call rotation. The position is hybrid, based at our Bellevue, WA office (10800 NE 8th Street Suite 200, Bellevue, WA 98004).

Responsibilities

• Build and operate production web services at scale.
• Develop and maintain features for Startpage’s private search engine.
• Shape architectural decisions and proactively address tech debt, bugs, and engineering tasks.
• Oversee work from tickets to production deployments and monitoring.
• Release changes to a high-traffic, internationally distributed web product multiple times per week.
• Participate in an emergency on-call rotation.
• Maintain user privacy as a core architectural constraint.

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional software development experience building and operating production web services at scale.
• Deep understanding of HTTP, including front-ends, back-ends, serving infrastructure, and DNS.
• Experience with REST API architectures (both writing and consuming them).
• Proficiency in JavaScript (TypeScript/Node.js/React), modern CSS, and HTML.
• Experience with Python (backend services are predominantly Python-based).
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes and Helm in a multi-region production environment.
• Proficiency with Docker and containerized service development.
• Experience with Redis or similar caching strategies in latency-sensitive systems.
• Comfort with modern CI/CD tooling (e.g., ArgoCD, GitHub Actions).
• Experience with monitoring and instrumentation tools (e.g., New Relic, Datadog, Cloudwatch).
• Strong automated testing discipline (unit, integration, and end-to-end tests).
• Experience with AI coding tools and understanding of when to prioritize speed vs. human oversight.
• Experience with AWS or other modern cloud providers for scalable web applications.

Qualifications

• Excellent communication skills and strong command of English.
• Self-starter with initiative and ability to learn quickly.
• Flexibility in dealing with rapidly evolving technical requirements.
• High attention to detail, particularly regarding user privacy.
• Previous experience with privacy-focused web products is an asset but not required.
• Background in search, ad tech, or browser-facing privacy products is a plus.

Benefits

• Competitive salary + bonus + equity.
• Generous PTO + 11 company holidays.
• Open sick time.
• 100% covered medical, dental, and vision for employees.
• 401k with match.
• Health & Dependent Care Flex Spending Account.
• Paid professional development.
• Leadership & growth opportunities.
• Virtual company and team-building events.

Pay

The U.S. base salary range for this full-time position is $133,000 - $170,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. The range reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries across all US locations. Individual pay is determined by work location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

Schedule

Full-time, on-site position with a 40-hour work week from our Bellevue, WA office. The team is distributed across North America and Europe, with a 4-5 hour daily overlap for collaboration.