Staff Software Engineer, Product at Plaid

New York, New York, United States

Plaid Logo
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
FinTech, TechnologyIndustries

Requirements

  • 8+ years of engineering experience leading projects spanning multiple teams
  • Experience designing distributed systems, scaling core infrastructure, and navigating complexity to identify impact
  • Exceptional product instincts and the ability to connect technical decisions to user and business outcomes
  • Strong coding proficiency in a backend language (e.g., Go, Java, Python) and system-level debugging skills
  • Track record of mentorship, elevating technical quality across teams, and influencing without authority
  • High-trust, low-ego communication: write clearly, listen deeply, and lead with curiosity rather than certainty

Responsibilities

  • Lead design efforts across infra layers—data pipelines, platform boundaries, service interactions—looking past team lines to improve overall architecture
  • Take on large, technically complex projects that require coordination, influence, and deep attention to reliability, security, and maintainability; stay close to the code to validate architecture, unblock teams, and drive progress
  • Mentor engineers, review technical proposals, and contribute to team norms and standards around architecture, testing, and observability
  • Lead high-impact projects that cut across teams, deliver best-in-class systems, and build infrastructure that makes it easier and safer for engineers to ship critical code
  • Drive architecture for critical Tier-0 systems or own the highest priority product engineering initiatives
  • Partner across product, infra, and security teams to shape durable abstractions, resolve architectural debt, and make systems more reliable and explainable
  • Work across domains like identity resolution, data pipelines, access control, and developer experience, owning decisions that improve quality and accelerate delivery at the company level
  • Raise the bar for engineering by driving execution on ambitious projects, mentoring other engineers, leading technical reviews, and modeling high-context, low-friction collaboration

Skills

Distributed Systems
Data Pipelines
Scaling Infrastructure
Access Control
Observability
Architecture Design
Reliability Engineering
Security
Testing
Mentoring
Technical Reviews

Plaid

Connects financial accounts to apps securely

About Plaid

Plaid simplifies financial data management for individuals and businesses by connecting various financial accounts to apps and services. Its main product is a set of APIs that allow developers to integrate financial data into their applications, enabling users to track spending, initiate payments, and access financial services all in one place. Plaid serves a wide range of clients, including app developers and financial institutions, and is used by popular apps like LendingTree and Square. Unlike many competitors, Plaid focuses on providing a comprehensive and scalable platform that supports various financial use cases, such as transactions and identity verification. The company's goal is to enhance the way users interact with their financial data, making it easier and more secure.

San Francisco, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2013Year Founded
$714.3MTotal Funding
SERIES_DCompany Stage
Fintech, Financial ServicesIndustries
1,001-5,000Employees

Benefits

We've got you covered: From medical, life, and 401ks, we’re here to support your physical, mental, and financial wellbeing.
Everyone is an owner: We want everyone to feel ownership over their work - literally, which is why we offer equity to full-time Plaids.
Vacation your way: We want to make sure you have time to meet your personal needs with unlimited PTO and two weeks of synchronous, company-wide vacation.
Grow your skills: Every Plaid is in control of their career development with our learning stipends, tools, and trainings.

Risks

Increased competition from API-based banking solutions like FIS's Code Connect platform.
Potential legal challenges, such as PNC's lawsuit over trademark issues.
Demand for enhanced transparency and security in financial data sharing.

Differentiation

Plaid offers seamless financial data integration through robust APIs for diverse clients.
Plaid's Pay by Bank for Bill Pay provides a cost-effective recurring payment solution.
Plaid's strategic partnerships enhance its value proposition in payroll and payment sectors.

Upsides

Plaid's expansion into the Triangle area indicates growth and increased hiring potential.
Partnership with Dwolla enhances Plaid's presence in the secure payments sector.
Collaboration with Ansa expands market reach through pay-by-bank capabilities for merchants.

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