Software Engineer (Js, Python)

About The Role

We are seeking experienced Staff Software Engineers to join multiple engineering pillars at Whatnot, including Buyer Growth, Seller Growth, Trust & Risk, Discovery & Personalization, Search, AI Developer Tools, and Customer Experience.

This role offers the opportunity to impact millions of users by designing and evolving complex, high-performance systems that support live auctions, payments, search, recommendations, trust mechanisms, and growth funnels.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of full-time software engineering experience, preferably at high-growth technology companies
• Proven track record leading large technical initiatives in fast-scaling environments
• Experience designing and evolving distributed systems such as service-oriented architectures, event-driven systems, real-time platforms, high-throughput APIs, and data pipelines
• Strong foundation in backend and frontend development, comfortable working across layers and integrating systems end-to-end (primarily using Python, Elixir, JavaScript)
• Demonstrated ownership and a sense of urgency in technical problem-solving
• Experience leading technical initiatives without direct management responsibilities
• Able to influence architecture and strategy across multiple teams
• Excellent product instincts and understanding of how technical decisions impact user experience and business outcomes
• Able to operate effectively in ambiguity, defining problems clearly and bringing structure to complex challenges
• Experience mentoring engineers and elevating engineering quality through rigorous design and feedback

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and evolution of large, distributed systems supporting live auctions, payments, search, recommendations, trust mechanisms, and growth funnels
• Own ambiguous, high-impact technical challenges from inception through production, setting long-term architectural direction
• Act as the technical lead for major initiatives, driving alignment and collaboration across multiple teams
• Balance urgency with technical excellence, making principled trade-offs to enable rapid iteration and scalability
• Raise engineering standards through design reviews, mentorship, and hands-on contributions to critical systems
• Partner with leadership to identify and prioritize investments that enhance reliability, performance, and developer velocity
• Support Whatnot’s scaling efforts during hypergrowth, ensuring system resilience and robustness for global expansion
• Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and technical excellence within the engineering teams