Senior Software Engineer, Backend - Emerging Products

Rippling; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Rippling is hiring a Senior Backend Engineer to design and implement backend services and APIs powering core workflows across the Emerging Products platform. You will build secure, scalable systems handling high-volume operations, data modeling, and policy enforcement while aligning with product requirements and enterprise security standards.

Based in San Francisco, this role emphasizes collaboration with product, frontend, and platform teams, and includes mentoring, architecture decisions, and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of production backend experience with Python or Go.
• Expertise in distributed systems architecture and relational databases.
• Experience with large-scale systems.
• Strong CS fundamentals and project delivery skills.
• Excellent cross-functional communication.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement backend services and APIs powering core features.
• Build secure, scalable systems for high-volume workflows.
• Shape architecture, data modeling, performance, and reliability.
• Translate business needs into robust technical solutions with cross-functional teams.
• Lead code reviews and promote backend engineering best practices.
• Create unified product experiences across modules.
• Mentor others and raise technical standards.

Skills

Python

Go

Distributed systems

Relational databases

CS fundamentals

Communication

Job description

Senior Software Engineer, Backend - Emerging Products

Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system.

Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third‑party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds.

Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B+ from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes.

We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from @ Rippling.com addresses.

About the role:

Rippling’s Emerging Products teams which span Core Experience, Spend, and IT Products build deeply integrated systems across financial operations, IT administration, employee lifecycle automation, and enterprise security. These are high‑trust product areas where reliability, correctness, security, and scale are critical.

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you’ll design and build the services, APIs, and platform primitives that power complex workflows across Rippling’s multi‑product platform. You’ll work on systems involving permissions, policy enforcement, approvals, payments, device and app management, procurement, asset tracking, auditability, and secure handling of sensitive workforce and financial data.

This role also supports Rippling’s expansion of AI‑powered workflows across HR, IT, Finance, Spend, and core platform experiences. You’ll help make AI capabilities safe, reliable, explainable, auditable, and enterprise‑ready, while ensuring customers have the trust, transparency, and control needed to adopt automation at scale.

What you will do:

• Own the design and implementation of backend services and APIs that power critical product capabilities.
• Build reliable, secure, and scalable systems for high‑volume workflows across Spend, IT, identity, access, approvals, and compliance.
• Make strategic technical decisions around architecture, infrastructure, data modeling, performance, and operational reliability.
• Translate ambiguous business and customer needs into robust technical solutions in partnership with product, frontend, platform, design, and cross‑functional teams.
• Build and evolve systems involving workflows, permissions, policy enforcement, financial operations, device and app management, procurement, and security controls.
• Raise the technical bar through system design, code reviews, design reviews, mentorship, and backend engineering best practices.
• Help create unified product experiences that replace fragmented point solutions for managing employees, spend, devices, apps, access, and business operations.

What you will need

• 5+ years of experience in a production environment using Python, Go, or a similar high‑scale backend language.
• Deep expertise in distributed systems architecture, data modeling, and performance optimization of relational databases.
• You have seen and contributed to systems operating at a significant technical and organizational scale.
• Strong understanding of CS/algorithms fundamentals and experience with complex project delivery.
• Exceptional communication skills with technical and cross‑functional stakeholders.

Additional Information:

Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics, Rippling is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email [e-mail]

Rippling highly values having employees working in‑office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office‑based employees (employees who live within a defined radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role.

This role will receive a competitive salary + benefits + equity. The salary for US‑based employees will be aligned with one of the ranges below based on location; see which tier applies to your location here .

A variety of factors are considered when determining someone’s compensation–including a candidate’s professional background, experience, and location. Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed below.

The pay range for this role is:

168,000 - 280,000 USD per year (US Tier 1)