Software Engineer, Product

Who Are We?

Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services. Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we're building toward something much larger — the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service. Our platform already reaches 40 million residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states. Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We're builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn’t be a luxury in government. It’s how you earn trust back.

About the role

This is not a ticket-grinder role. You're not here to implement Figma specs, collect your JIRA points, and wait for the next sprint planning. You're here to move fast, make real calls, and ship things that matter.

Responsibilities

• Full-stack features from zero to shipped - scoping, architecture, build, iteration
• AI-powered product surfaces: intelligent intake flows, real-time constituent assistants, automated case routing, agency operator dashboards
• Direct engagement with federal agency stakeholders - translating messy real-world requirements into clean, shippable product
• Platform reliability and performance at government scale - real users, real SLAs, no hiding
• Code quality that the next engineer will respect: clean, tested, maintainable

Requirements

• 2–4 years of professional engineering experience - or work that makes the years irrelevant
• Deep fluency in React / Next.js and Node.js / TypeScript / Postgres - not just comfortable, but fast
• AI coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, Claude) are already baked into how you work - you're not planning to explore them someday, you've shipped with them
• Something real you've built - a product, an open source project, a thing you couldn't stop working on
• You operate well with ambiguity. You don't wait to be handed the answer.
• You actually care whether the person on the other end of the screen has a good experience

Qualifications

• Strong Candidates May Also...
• You've touched federal, state, or local government tech - or you understand the constraints of building for regulated, high-stakes environments
• Cloud deployment experience (AWS, Vercel, GitHub Actions, ECS/Fargate)
• Exposure to design systems and component libraries - you know the difference between a component that's functional and one that's right

Skills

• Fluency in React / Next.js and Node.js / TypeScript / Postgres
• Experience with AI tooling (Cursor, Copilot, Claude)
• Experience with cloud deployment (AWS, Vercel, GitHub Actions, ECS/Fargate)
• Experience with design systems and component libraries

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United — Gold and Platinum PPO plans, with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option.
• Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents.
• $100,000 in fully paid life insurance.
• FSA and Dependent Care FSA.
• 401(k) access through Guideline.
• Family & Time Off
• 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents.
• Unlimited PTO, closed for all federal holidays, and company-wide winter break the week of Christmas.
• Office & Remote Setup
• Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees. $500 for remote employees.
• $50/month commuter benefit (company contribution).
• Expensed lunch 3x a week while in the office.
• Company-provided laptop.
• Wellness
• Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse — right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg).
• A $225/month value, on us.
• For remote employees, $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement.
• $300/quarter pet care stipend.
• Stipends
• $100/month utility stipend.
• $500/year professional development.
• $250/year recreation.

Pay

Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ. Candidates must reside in New York or be able to commute to New York City to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays).