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Senior Software Engineer, Consumer Experience

HandshakeSan Francisco, CAEngineering
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Salary
$225K - $250K USD
Job type
Full-time
Posted
8 Sept 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

Role Overview

The Senior Software Engineer position for the Consumer Experience team at Handshake involves creating the products that bridge the gap between millions of students and potential employers. Based in San Francisco, California, this full-time role operates entirely onsite five days a week and is tailored for experienced technologists who thrive in dynamic, high-growth environments.

Key Responsibilities

Spearhead the design and implementation of consumer-facing features designed to boost user engagement and optimize the connection pathway between students and employers.
Design, build, and scale distributed systems capable of supporting millions of users while maintaining strict standards for high availability and performance.
Partner with cross-functional colleagues to steer technical strategy and ensure engineering initiatives match broader business objectives.
Provide mentorship to engineers throughout the team to cultivate an environment centered on technical excellence and professional growth.
Advocate for engineering standards and best practices that improve overall product quality and operational efficiency.

Requirements

Bring eight or more years of professional software engineering background with a history of successfully delivering large-scale and complex systems.
Exhibit experience operating at a staff-level scope with the ability to guide technical decisions across multiple teams.
Demonstrate proficiency in building and scaling distributed systems, ideally within consumer-facing platforms or social products.
Possess strong programming skills in Python, Go, or JavaScript geared toward maintaining high-quality production codebases.
Show a solid grasp of modern system design principles and cloud infrastructure platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.
Maintain exceptional communication abilities to explain intricate technical topics clearly to various audiences.
Demonstrate a history of mentoring senior engineers and strengthening team culture.

Nice to Have

Previous background working on search, recommendations, ranking systems, or large-scale personalization.
Familiarity with user identity knowledge graphs, real-time inference, and entity resolution.
Practical experience developing AI-powered systems and applications leveraging large language models (LLMs).
Past work history within rapidly scaling or high-growth company settings.

Skills and Tools

Python
JavaScript
AWS
GCP
Azure
LLM
Distributed Systems

Salary and Benefits

Competitive annual compensation ranging from $225,000 to $250,000 in USD.
Company equity providing ownership in a rapidly scaling organization.
Financial wellness tools including a 401(k) match and financial coaching.
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision health coverage along with mental health support and a wellness stipend.
Family support benefits featuring paid parental leave, fertility benefits, and parental coaching.
Professional development resources including a learning stipend and ongoing career growth support.
Onsite perks at the San Francisco office including free lunch, gym access, commuting support, and internet stipends.
Time off benefits consisting of flexible PTO, 15 holidays, and 2 flex days.
Additional perks such as team outings, referral bonuses, and a dedicated team connection culture.

About the Company

Handshake operates a career platform that currently supports over 25 million job seekers, upwards of 1 million employers, and 1,600 educational institutions. Founded with the mission to give everyone a path to a great career regardless of their background or network, the company launched Handshake AI to partner with frontier AI labs and create evaluations and benchmarks.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should visit the official Handshake careers page at joinhandshake.com/careers to submit an application for this position.

Skills and tech stack

Questions candidates ask

What is the location and work schedule for this role?

This position is located in San Francisco, CA, and requires working five days a week onsite in the office.

What is the salary range for the Senior Software Engineer, Consumer Experience role?

The yearly salary ranges from $225,000 to $250,000 USD.

How many years of experience are required?

Candidates must have 8 or more years of software engineering experience with a track record of delivering large-scale systems.

What programming languages are preferred?

Strong proficiency in Python, Go, or JavaScript is required for this position.

What benefits are included for full-time US employees?

Benefits include company equity, a 401(k) match, medical/dental/vision coverage, paid parental leave, flexible PTO, wellness and learning stipends, and free lunch and gym access at the SF office.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official Handshake careers page.

Apply on company site