Senior Software Engineer

Rippling; Newton (MA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Alder is an early-stage startup building the next generation of scalable, AI-augmented applications. We’re small, ambitious, and moving fast, seeking exceptional engineers who want to shape the foundation of our product and culture.

As one of our first core engineers, you’ll own architecture, technology direction, and how we scale our systems and team. You’ll thrive on autonomy and turning ideas into impact in a fast-paced environment with CTO and founders.

Qualifications

• Strong full-stack experience with Java and React.
• Deep understanding of scalability and distributed systems.
• Hands-on AWS experience and DevOps best practices.
• Autonomous self-starter with fast learning.

Responsibilities

• Design and build end-to-end features across the stack (React frontend, Java-based backend, AWS infrastructure).
• Architect scalable systems capable of handling high user traffic and complex data flows.
• Leverage AI tools to augment and write, test, and ship code faster and smarter.
• Collaborate closely with CTO, founders and product to define and deliver new capabilities.
• Drive technical excellence to improve code quality, scalability, observability, and developer velocity.
• Shape our engineering culture through mentorship, tooling choices, and processes that balance speed and quality.

Skills

Full-stack development

Java & Spring Boot

React frontend

Distributed systems

DevOps practices

AI-assisted development

Autonomous mindset

Tools

AWS

CI/CD

DevOps tooling

Job description

For over 30 years, Alder has been a trusted guide for more than 5,000 families across the Northeast, helping them navigate the aging journey with compassion, clarity, and expert care. Our life care managers are seasoned social workers and nurses, providing both strategic direction and hands‑on support, from coordinating medical care and assessing home safety to attending appointments and facilitating meaningful family conversations.

Deeply rooted in the community, we leverage a broad professional network to connect families with trusted resources and foster collaboration across disciplines. Whether offering occasional consultations or urgent crisis support, we tailor our involvement to meet each individual’s unique needs. At the heart of our work is a simple goal: to help families approach the practical and emotional aspects of aging with confidence.

The Role:

We’re an early-stage startup building the next-generation of scalable, intelligent applications at an e-commerce-level scale, AI-augmented development speed, and product-driven engineering excellence. We’re small, ambitious, and moving fast and we’re looking for exceptional engineers who want to help shape the foundation of our product and culture.

As one of our first core engineers, you’ll have massive ownership and influence over architecture, technology direction, and how we scale our systems and our team. If you thrive in fast-moving environments where learning never stops, and you love turning ideas into impact, this is for you.

Responsibilities:

• Design and build end-to-end features across the stack (React frontend, Java-based backend, AWS infrastructure).
• Architect scalable systems capable of handling high user traffic and complex data flows, similar to e-commerce-scale applications.
• Leverage AI tools (Claude Code, Copilot/Codex, custom LLM integrations, etc.) to augment and write, test, and ship code faster and smarter.
• Collaborate closely with CTO, founders and product to define and deliver new capabilities.
• Drive technical excellence to improve code quality, scalability, observability, and developer velocity.
• Shape our engineering culture through mentorship, tooling choices, and processes that balance speed and quality.

Required skills / experiences:

• Strong full-stack experience with Java (Spring Boot, Micronaut, or equivalent) and React (or similar frontend frameworks).
• Deep understanding of scalability in distributed systems, performance optimization, caching, and database design.
• Hands‑on AWS experience (EC2, Lambda, DynamoDB, S3, etc.) and DevOps best practices.
• Self‑starter mindset who thrives with autonomy, owns outcomes, and moves fast.
• Curiosity and growth mindset ; you experiment, learn quickly, and adapt technologies as the product evolves.
• Expertise with AI‑assisted development ; leveraging tools that amplify productivity and innovation.

Why Join Us:

• Build from the ground up : Be among the first few engineers shaping product and tech strategy.
• Accelerate your growth : Work directly with CTO and make decisions that drive company trajectory.
• Cutting‑edge work : Apply AI in real, high‑scale systems from day one.
• Collaborative culture : Transparent communication, fast iteration, and shared ownership.
• Competitive compensation with equity: Grow with the company you’re helping to build.

In accordance with the Massachusetts Pay Transparency Act, the expected pay range for this position is $160,000-$175,000 annually including bonus and equity. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as licensure, years of experience, and other relevant qualifications.