Your impact

Handshake is hiring a Senior Software Engineer to join our Brand Team. In this role, you'll play a pivotal part in our mission to build a robust Branding platform that enables nearly 1 million employers to amplify their reach to over 15 million students and 1,500+ educational partners.

Although we’ve already launched a promising MVP, this initiative is just beginning to reveal its potential. As we scale and expand, we’re looking for talented engineers to help elevate our systems and build features that drive significant business revenue.

The platform and features you develop will directly contribute to Handshake’s revenue streams while positively impacting key performance indicators such as engagement and adoption. You’ll lead large-scale projects through every stage of development—from brainstorming and refining requirements to architectural design, scoping, execution, and final release.

Your role

As a Senior Software Engineer, your day-to-day will involve collaboration and impact across multiple domains:

• Cross-functional teamwork: Work closely with designers, product managers, and fellow engineers to develop exceptional solutions. Engage with teams across the organization, including data analytics, support, and marketing.
• Build impactful features: Architect and deliver scalable, high-quality features that SMB employers use daily.
• Lead projects: Own and deliver sizable projects, including those requiring collaboration across multiple engineers and teams.
• Maintain high standards: Lead by example in producing quality code and providing thoughtful feedback in reviews and architecture discussions. Contribute to organization level technical enhancements.
• Shape the roadmap: Use your expertise to influence team priorities, balancing innovation with operational health initiatives like quality control,  on-call reliability and technical excellence.
• Mentor and guide: Provide mentorship to junior engineers, unblocking challenges, and fostering growth within the team.

Your experience

We’re seeking candidates who bring:

• Extensive experience: 6+ years as a full-stack engineer with confidence driving architectural decisions on both backend and frontend systems.
• Proven collaboration: Success in partnering with product, design, and analytics teams to define, build, and launch impactful systems and experiences.
• Scalable solutions: A track record of implementing complex, scalable, and highly available services that power high-traffic platforms across web and mobile.
• Leadership in execution: Experience leading significant user-focused projects from strategy to delivery with high quality.
• Empathy and mentorship: Strong interpersonal skills to provide guidance and support to your team, fostering a culture of growth and excellence.
• Commitment to growth: A proactive approach to feedback and continuous improvement in code, processes, and team dynamics.
• Effective communication: The ability to articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Bonus areas of expertise

• Experience with Ruby on Rails, GraphQL, PostgreSQL, ReactJS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or similar technologies.
• Familiarity with SMB SaaS products or Ed-Tech at scale.
• Demonstrated ownership mentality and accountability in delivering impactful work.

Compensation range

$180,000 - $220,000

For cash compensation, we set standard ranges for all U.S.-based roles based on function, level, and geographic location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. In order to be compliant with local legislation, as well as to provide greater transparency to candidates, we share salary ranges on all job postings regardless of desired hiring location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including geographic location as well as candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.

About us

Handshake is the career platform for Gen Z. With a community of over 17 million students, alumni, employers, and career educators, Handshake’s network is where career advice and discovery turn into first, second, and third jobs. Nearly 1 million companies use Handshake to build their future workforce—from Fortune 500 to federal agencies, school districts to startups, healthcare systems to small businesses. Handshake is built for where you’re going, not where you’ve been.

When it comes to our workforce strategy, we’ve thought deeply about how work-life should look at Handshake. With our hybrid-work model, employees benefit from collaboration and shared team experiences three days per week in our vibrant offices, and enjoy the flexibility of remote work two days per week (unless noted in the specific job posting). Handshake is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, London, and Berlin.

What we offer

At Handshake, we'll give you the tools to feel healthy, happy and secure.

Benefits below apply to US employees in full-time positions.

• 💰 Equity and ownership in a fast-growing company.
• 🍼 16 Weeks of paid parental leave for birth giving parents & 10 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birth giving parents.
• 💝 Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision policies including LGTBQ+ Coverage. We also provide resources for Mental Health Assistance, Employee Assistance Programs and counseling support.
• 📚 Generous learning & development opportunities and an annual $2,000 stipend for you to grow your skills and career.
• 💰 Financial coaching through Origin to help you through your financial journey.
• 🛜 Monthly internet stipend and a brand new MacBook to allow you to do your best work.
• 🚃 Monthly commuter stipend for you to expense your travel to the office (for office-based employees).
• 🥗 Free lunch provided 3x a week across all offices.
• 🤝 Referral bonus to reward you when you bring great talent to Handshake.

• 🏦 401k Match: Handshake offers a dollar-for-dollar match on 1% of deferred salary, up to a maximum of $1,200 per year.
• 🏝 All full-time US-based Handshakers are eligible for our flexible time off policy to get out and see the world. In addition, we offer 13 standardized holidays, and 2 additional days of flexible holiday time off. Lastly, we have a Winter #ShakeBreak, a one-week period of Collective Time Off.
• 💻 Handshake offers $500 home office stipend for you to spend during your first 3 months to create a productive and comfortable workspace at home.
• 🍼 Family support: Parental leave coaching and support provided by Parentaly. We partner with Maven Clinic to provide a lifetime coverage up to $15K for expenses related to fertility and family forming!
• 💰 Lifestyle Savings Account: We offer you an annual stipend of $500 to use for purchases such as fitness classes, gym memberships, work-from-home setup, and more.

Looking for more? Explore our mission, values and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Handshake is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or reasonable accommodation, please let your recruiter know during initial communications.