Staff Software Engineer - Backend/AI (Remote)
Rula$184,100 - $216,600/year
Full Time
Expert & Leadership (9+ years)
$200,000 – $260,000Compensation
Senior (5 to 8 years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
FintechIndustries
Requirements
- 4+ years of experience building and scaling production systems, ideally in Ruby on Rails
- Solid grasp of system design, API development, and data modeling
- Comfort working across the stack and collaborating closely with mobile and product teams
- Excited by fast iteration, ownership, and helping shape platform foundations for future products
- Experience balancing iteration speed with clean architecture and testing discipline
- Strong product sense - care about the “why” behind features as much as the “how.”
- Entrepreneurial mindset - thrives in ambiguity, takes initiative, and loves turning ideas into working systems
Responsibilities
- Architect and ship the first version of a new 0 to 1 product - from concept to launch
- Design and own reusable systems, growth tooling, and experimentation infrastructure that accelerate iteration across this and future Kikoff verticals
- Design and implement core APIs, growth automation services, and backend systems that power new product verticals
- Build flexible, scalable Rails architectures that balance iteration speed with long-term maintainability
- Build flexible, reusable microservices shared across Kikoff’s product ecosystem
- Partner with product and data to set up experimentation infrastructure, metrics pipelines, and event tracking
- Own end-to-end integrations and services that make new products possible
- Contribute to internal tooling and shared libraries that improve developer productivity and system observability
- Help define Kikoff’s backend platform strategy - enabling future 0 to 1 initiatives to spin up faster and safer
Skills
Key technologies and capabilities for this role
Questions & Answers
Common questions about this position
What is the salary range for this Senior Software Engineer position?
The salary range is $200K - $260K.
Is this role remote or hybrid, and what's the location policy?
The position is hybrid.
What skills and experience are required for this role?
Candidates need 4+ years of experience building and scaling production systems, ideally in Ruby on Rails, a solid grasp of system design, API development, and data modeling, comfort working across the stack, and experience balancing iteration speed with clean architecture.
What is the team culture like at Kikoff for this role?
The role is part of a small, high-leverage incubation team operating like a startup within the company, focused on fast-moving, experimental work with deep alignment to Kikoff’s mission, emphasizing blank-canvas building, solving ambiguous problems, and balancing speed with scalable foundations.
What makes a strong candidate for this Senior Software Engineer role?
Strong candidates have an entrepreneurial mindset, thrive in ambiguity, possess strong product sense, get excited by fast iteration and ownership, and are passionate about shaping platform foundations.
Kikoff
Credit building services for individuals
About Kikoff
Kikoff helps individuals, especially those with low or no credit, build a positive payment history and improve their credit scores. Its services are user-friendly and do not require credit checks, making them accessible to a wide range of clients. Kikoff offers tools for credit management, including easy disputing, rent reporting, and credit monitoring reports, along with an optional Autopay feature. The company's goal is to empower users to take control of their credit journey and achieve significant improvements in their credit scores.
San Francisco, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2019Year Founded
$41.3MTotal Funding
SERIES_BCompany Stage
Fintech, Financial ServicesIndustries
51-200Employees
Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Stock Options
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Risks
Increased competition from new fintech startups could dilute market share.
Regulatory scrutiny may lead to increased compliance costs for Kikoff.
Economic downturns could decrease consumer spending, impacting revenue.
Differentiation
Kikoff offers credit building without credit checks, making it accessible to many.
The platform provides easy disputing and rent reporting to enhance credit scores.
Kikoff's Autopay feature ensures clients never miss a due date.
Upsides
Kikoff recognized as a top credit builder app in 2024.
AI-driven tools can enhance user experience with personalized strategies.
Partnerships with educational platforms can attract younger demographics.
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