Senior Software Engineer (Ad Tech Focus)

Checkmate; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

401(k) plan

Health insurance

PTO 4 weeks

Remote-friendly culture

Job summary

Checkmate is a remote-first AI growth network powering 100M shoppers and leading brands. This senior backend role designs and ships core systems for mate, including pixel, tracking, and ad delivery services, with ownership of architecture on a fast-moving small team.

You’ll optimize identity graphs, integrate with major DSPs, and lead reliability and tooling efforts while mentoring engineers and shaping engineering practices.

Qualifications

• 6+ years building and shipping production software.
• Experience in ad tech (DSP, ad platform, or identity provider).
• Strong backend engineering skills in API design and distributed services.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and ship backend services and APIs powering mate’s agents from spec to production.
• Improve and maintain an identity graph.
• Own features end to end, collaborating with product and design.
• Write clean, production-grade, well-tested code and set high standards for the team.
• Build and maintain pixel, tags, and server-side tracking and conversions with major platforms.
• Build integrations with DSPs and partner APIs.
• Make architecture calls on scaling services, storage, queues, and caching.
• Own reliability in production: monitoring, debugging, and incident response.
• Improve developer tooling, CI/CD, and reduce tech debt.
• Lead design reviews and code reviews, and mentor engineers.
• Help shape engineering practices and hiring as the team grows.

Skills

Backend development

Python

TypeScript

APIs

Distributed systems

Ad tech

Pixel tracking

Tools

Python

TypeScript

Job description

About Checkmate and Mate.

Checkmate is a multichannel offers network loved by 100M shoppers and hundreds of leading brands.

mate. is your AI growth teammate, the data network that agentically turns customer intelligence into revenue.

Checkmate is the distribution network, with 100M+ shoppers and 12B+ live intent signals. mate is the AI layer built on top of it: it resolves anonymous visitors, spots the revenue a brand is missing, and builds and executes the campaigns to capture it.

The combination is rare: a consumer product shoppers love and an AI growth engine brands depend on.

We work with leading brands like Everlane, Brooklinen, and Malbon, and we're backed by Google Ventures, Mantis VC, Fuel Capital, and others.

We're a remote-first team with hubs in LA and NYC, and a preference for hiring in or near major cities.

Role Overview

You’ll design, build, and ship the core systems behind mate: the pixel, tracking, and ad delivery services that brands plug into and rely on every day. If you’ve built production systems inside a DSP, an ad platform, or an ad tech company and know how pixels and conversions actually work under the hood, this is a senior seat where you own real architecture decisions on a small team that ships fast.

Please note: this role is a US-based role only and we cannot offer visa sponsorship for this role at this time.

What You’ll Do

Build and ship core product

• Design, build, and ship backend services and APIs that power mate’s agents, from spec to production
• Improve and maintain an identity graph.
• Own features end to end, partnering with product and design on what to build and how
• Write clean, well-tested, production-grade code and set the standard for the rest of the team

Ad tech infrastructure

• Build and maintain our pixel, tags, and server-side tracking, and the conversion integrations with Meta, TikTok, Google, and others
• Build integrations with DSPs, ad platforms, and partner APIs
• Build the real-time services that deliver offers across the network, fast and reliably

Architecture and reliability

• Make architecture calls on how our systems scale: service design, storage, queues, and caching
• Own reliability in production: monitoring, alerting, debugging, and incident response
• Improve developer tooling, CI/CD, and pay down tech debt where it slows us down

Engineering leadership

• Lead design reviews and code reviews, and mentor other engineers
• Help shape engineering practices and hiring as the team grows

Who You Are

• You’ve built ad tech from the inside and know how the pieces connect, from pixel to conversion.
• You like owning a system end to end, not just a ticket queue.
• You’re pragmatic: you ship fast on a small team without cutting corners on quality.
• You think about the brand’s outcome, not just whether the code ships.
• You raise the bar for the engineers around you.

What You Bring

• 6+ years building and shipping production software, with meaningful time at an ad tech company (DSP, ad platform, ad exchange, or identity provider)
• Strong backend engineering skills in Python and Typescript, including designing APIs and distributed services
• Hands-on experience building pixels, tags, SDKs, or conversion tracking, client-side and server-side
• Experience building systems that handle high request volume with low latency
• Comfort with cloud infrastructure, containers, and CI/CD
• A track record of owning systems in production, from launch through monitoring and on-call

Bonus: Identity resolution / graph networks, ecommerce or Shopify, or early-stage startup experience.

Why This Role Matters

Mate only works if the systems underneath them are fast, reliable, and plugged into the ad platforms brands already buy on. This engineer builds that foundation. Get it right and brands see clearer results, buy more effectively, and spend more with us. It’s one of the highest-leverage engineering seats at the company

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Equity in a fast-growing, venture-backed company
• Competitive medical/dental/vision/other healthcare coverage
• 4 weeks PTO + health days
• 401k plan
• Monthly stipend for fitness/wellness activities
• Company retreats and team get togethers 2x a year
• Remote-first culture