Staff Software Engineer - Wallet/Authentication Platform

ID.me is the next-generation digital identity wallet that simplifies how individuals securely prove their identity online. Consumers can verify their identity with ID.me once and seamlessly log in across websites without creating new logins or re-verifying. Over 140 million users rely on ID.me at 20 federal agencies, 44 state government agencies, 66 healthcare organizations, and 600+ consumer brands.

About the Role

ID.me is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join the Wallet/Authentication Platform team, where you will build and operate the core sign-in, registration, MFA, and account management infrastructure used by over 140 million members. This platform powers authentication for verified identity across federal, state, healthcare, and consumer brand partners. As a Staff Engineer, you will set technical direction, drive cross-team architectural decisions, and serve as a force multiplier for the engineering team.

This position is based in our Mountain View, CA office and requires in-office work five days per week.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Vision: Define and drive the technical roadmap for authentication platform services, identifying systemic challenges, architectural risks, and strategic opportunities. Author architecture proposals, lead design reviews, and own critical technical decisions.
• Cross-Team Influence: Partner with Platform, Security, Identity, Product, and adjacent engineering teams to align on authentication standards, shared infrastructure, and cross-cutting concerns. Represent the team’s technical perspective in org-level planning and architectural forums.
• Systems Design & Architecture: Lead end-to-end design and implementation of high-impact authentication features—sign-in flows, MFA, federation, account lifecycle management—balancing security, scale, and developer ergonomics.
• Security & Risk Engineering: Define the team’s approach to auth security, including threat modeling, credential protection, session management, abuse mitigation, and real-time risk signal integration. Champion security as a first-class engineering discipline.
• Engineering Excellence: Set standards for code quality, testing, observability, and incident response. Drive technical debt reduction and platform reliability improvements. Mentor senior and mid-level engineers through code reviews, design critiques, and pairing.
• AI-Augmented Development: Model and champion AI-first engineering practices using tools like Claude Code and Cursor to accelerate design, implementation, and review cycles. Help the broader team adopt these workflows effectively.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 8+ years of professional software development experience, with demonstrated impact at a senior or staff level.
• 5+ years of experience in backend services engineering, with strong proficiency in Java and Spring Boot.
• 1+ years of experience with AI-assisted development tooling (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor), including at least one year of daily use, and a commitment to an AI-first engineering culture.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep expertise in authentication and identity protocols: OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), SAML 2.0, FIDO2/WebAuthn, and related standards.
• Proven ability to lead large-scale technical initiatives from design through production, including driving alignment across multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Experience designing, building, or operating an Identity Provider (IdP) or Identity and Access Management (IAM) platform at scale.
• Familiarity with government identity and security frameworks: NIST SP 800-63 (IAL/AAL), FedRAMP, or Kantara Initiative accreditation requirements.
• Experience with federation, SSO, and enterprise identity integration patterns (e.g., SCIM, XACML, LDAP/Active Directory).
• Strong background in auth security engineering: threat modeling, credential attack mitigation, account takeover prevention, rate limiting, and session security.
• Experience with React or modern frontend frameworks in the context of authentication UX.
• Track record of mentoring senior engineers and driving improvements to engineering culture and practices.
• Startup or high-growth company experience with a strong bias toward ownership and execution.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Health savings account (HSA) and flexible spending accounts (FSA) for medical, dependent care, and commuter benefits.
• Basic and voluntary life and AD&D insurance.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Parental leave.
• Unlimited paid time off (PTO), including 8 company-wide holidays.
• Short- and long-term disability insurance.
• Accident and critical illness insurance.
• Referral bonus policy.
• Employee assistance program (EAP).
• Pet insurance, travel assistant program, wellbeing and childcare discounts, and learning and development benefits.

Pay

Mountain View, CA pay range: $222,011–$258,300 USD (annual base salary). Final offers may vary based on qualifications, experience, skills, education, relevant training, and geographic location. The listed range does not include bonus, equity, or benefits.

ID.me maintains a work environment free from discrimination and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified employees with disabilities.