Senior Software Engineer, Backend | Product Engineering - SF Only

TRM Labs Inc.; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 210,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

TRM Labs is seeking a Senior Software Engineer, Backend for Product Engineering in San Francisco. You will build scalable backend services, design robust APIs, and own critical data paths used by investigators and partners.

You’ll collaborate with data science, security, and product teams to ship reliable features in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment. The role requires strong Node.js experience, SQL data modeling, and a passion for improving public safety.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and building scalable systems, web apps, APIs, and services.
• Strong understanding of relational databases and data modeling.
• Ability to bridge customer needs with product requirements.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain backend services for TRM's product suite.
• Design robust APIs and ensure performance and reliability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver features.

Skills

Backend engineering

API design

Node.js

Scalable systems

Web applications

Tools

PostgreSQL

REST APIs

Docker

Job description

T R M L a b s i s t h e i n t e l l i g e n c e p l a t f o r m f o r p u b l i c s a f e t y a n d n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y , b u i l t t o d e t e c t a n d d i s r u p t t h e c r i m i n a l n e t w o r k s t h a t e x p l o i t f r o n t i e r t e c h n o l o g i e s f o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f h a r m . O u r A I I n v e s t i g a t i o n s p l a t f o r m b r i n g s t o g e t h e r i n t e l l i g e n c e f r o m d o z e n s o f p r e v i o u s l y d i s p a r a t e s o u r c e s t o l i n k o n l i n e a c t i v i t y t o g l o b a l s e c u r i t y t h r e a t s , g i v i n g i n v e s t i g a t o r s a h o l i s t i c p i c t u r e o f c r i m i n a l a c t i v i t y s o t h e y c a n d i s r u p t i t a t m a c h i n e s p e e d .

O u r c u s t o m e r s u s e o u r t e c h n o l o g y t o c r e a t e a s a f e r w o r l d . O u r t e a m c o m b i n e s e x p e r t i s e f r o m l a w e n f o r c e m e n t , d a t a s c i e n c e , e n g i n e e r i n g , a n d f i n a n c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e t o c o m b a t t e r r o r i s t f i n a n g i n g , d r u g t r a f f i c k i n g , h u m a n t r a f f i c k i n g , a n d o t h e r s e r i o u s c r i m e s . H e r e , y o u ' l l j o i n a m i s s i o n - d r i v e n , f a s t - p a c e d e n v i r o n m e n t w h e r e i n n o v a t i o n d r i v e s r e a l i m p a c t . W h e t h e r y o u ' r e a n a l y z i n g b l o c k c h a i n d a t a , d e v e l o p i n g c u t t i n g - e d g e s o f t w a r e , o r p a r t n e r i n g w i t h g l o b a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , e a c h d a y b r i n g s f r e s h c h a l l e n g e s a n d o p p o r t u n i e s t o m a k e a m e a n i n g f u l d i f f e r e n c e i n s t o p p i n g c r i m i n a l a c t i v i t y .

Kyle Armstrong

Director of Law Enforcement Relations

"My career has been about expanding impact — from handling single cases at the FBI, to supporting investigations nationwide in the Virtual Assets Unit, and now at TRM, helping law enforcement globally. Through Beacon Network, we’ve built something neither the private nor public sector could do alone: a dynamic partnership driving real action against illicit crypto activity worldwide."

Chris Wong

“At TRM, data isn’t just part of the process—it’s the very core of our existence, making it incredibly exciting for a data engineer like me to contribute where everything begins with data.”

Staff Software Engineer (Data Platform)

“Every day, I get to work with experts across law enforcement, engineering and law who share a mission to create a safer world for people. We actually fight bad guys, and help the good guys win.”

Assistant General Counsel

“I've spent my entire career working to protect the financial system from illicit actors, and now I get to do it on a bigger scale, alongside those who are the very best in the world at what they do, building something really special together.“

Ari Redbord

Global Head of Policy

“By coming to TRM from the FBI, I’ve been able to scale my impact of combatting ransomware and nurturing collaboration between the public and private sectors.”

“I get to work with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met from 30+ countries, and we spend all day figuring out how to help combat drug trafficking/terrorist financing/elder scams/etc. I can’t imagine anything more fulfilling.”

Kevin Tran

Data Science Team Manager

“Some people in tech spend every weekday working on products that are not really making the world a better place, I get so much satisfaction spending my time looking for the smartest people I can find, and saying ‘Would you like work at a company that is making the world a safer place?”

Head of Talent

“In my previous life in the public sector, there was a lot of bureaucracy that slowed down my ability to make an impact. Thats not the case at TRM, people here have high ownership and see through their projects. It’s so rewarding.”

“The product we’re building is making a real impact on peoples lives; and I get to build this alongside smart, passionate humans who push me to get better at my craft.”

Jenny Gai

Senior Product Marketing Manager

“I can tell you the exact reason I decided to join TRM. When I was conducting my job search, I was evaluating 3 offers and all were in the start-up space. What stood out to me about TRM was very similar criteria to a previous start-up I joined that went public; it has bleeding edge technology, solid funding, very smart people and was experiencing hyper growth. That equation adds up to success.”

“I was most excited to join TRM because of our mission, but I didn’t realize how much I’d love working with this team. At TRM, we have a culture of supportive teamwork and close collaboration. My colleagues are some of the most interesting, high-integrity and high-achieving people I know. I’m inspired just by working alongside them.”

Kinsey Cronin

Terry Carson

Data Scientist

"TRM offers an unparalleled and remarkable experience. Working at a company with a strong mission in a fast-paced industry is incredibly motivating—especially when you can directly see the difference your efforts make in the real world."

Accounting Manager

“Moving to the private sector from law enforcement can be quite challenging. I think one of the things that I struggled with, and is quite common, is that the move to the private sector often comes with a change in identity and lost purpose. But then I found TRM, and thats one of the reasons I really love it here- we've still got that purpose. I still get to work alongside law enforcement every day, and I still get to help catch bad guys — but now I just do it on a more global scale.”

Head of Deployment Strategy, APAC

“TRM is a place where I, and others, experience a safe environment to openly challenge ideas, which ultimately helps me learn and grow in a career”

Staff Software Engineer

“At our last company All Hands, we covered two recent cases where law enforcement had leveraged TRM - one helping stop an ISIS terrorist attack, and another helping stop a child sexual abuse operation. I love TRM not just because the people are brilliant, but because we dedicate our time to impact like this.”

Our global team

TRM brings together experts in machine learning, data science, anti-fraud and compliance to crack complex problems and build future-proofed solutions for pre-eminent organizations and public agencies around the world.

Senior Software Engineer, Backend | Product Engineering - SF Only

Location

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Department

R&D Engineering Software Engineering

Compensation

$210K – $240K

Build a Safer World.

TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure.

The Product Engineering team is responsible for building a comprehensive set of features, frameworks, and functionalities for both end customers and internal-facing teams to successfully execute and scale TRM’s business. We are looking for a pragmatic backend engineer who can build reliable and scalable software that will be used by all TRM customers. You’ll also design backend APIs with a deep understanding of the customer experience and performance.

As an early member of the team, you will be deeply involved in the technical details along with our operational processes to champion the velocity, quality, and overall impact of TRM, ultimately building a safer financial system for billions of people.
This role is based in our San Francisco office. Employees in this position are expected to work from the office at least three (3) days per week to support in-person collaboration and team engagement.

The impact you’ll have here:

Work on complex engineering problems that help you build and hone not only technical skills but also project management and human/soft skills

Develop and maintain public APIs that are part of the API Product suite

Collaborate with stakeholders on transforming a functional vision into a tangible roadmap with clear outcomes

Support and enable internal business units through shared engineering services and functionalities

Develop cross-functional relationships with stakeholders across the organization to understand and empower their mission from end to end

Experience designing and building scalable systems, web applications, APIs, and services (our backend is built in Node.js but prior experience in Node.js is not required; we believe tools and languages can be learned on the job)

What we’re looking for:

Experience designing and building scalable systems, web applications, APIs, and services.

An understanding of storage systems such as relational databases (e.g., Postgres) and analytical databases.

Demonstrated experience in understanding customer pain points and bridging their needs to technical & product requirements.

A high degree of initiative and ownership, combined with the ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt quickly to change.

Exceptional ability to structure problems and identify the most critical issues to prioritize.

Ability to communicate complex ideas effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences, verbally and in writing.

Experience working collaboratively in a cross-functional environment with a diverse group of people at all levels in an organization.

About the Team:

The team operates on a weekly sprint schedule. Individuals on the team are tasked to lead projects as technical anchors, and given a chance to grow and take ownership according to their level and goals. We work closely with our internal stakeholders to deliver impactful features to our internal customers and the company.

The team’s culture is built on psychological safety wherein team members build rapport and trust-based relationships with teammates, hold each other accountable and to a high bar, collaborate extensively, and have lots of fun along the way.

The team’s timezone is a mix of EST and PST with at least 6 hours of overlap with PST (8 am to 2 pm PST)

On-Call: We have an on-call rotation that is specific to internal tools. In this role, the internal tools engineer is responsible for triaging customer support requests from specific Slack channels pertaining to internal tools.

Learn about TRM Speed in this position:

Ruthless Prioritization & Adaptability: We adapt quickly when faced with new information. For example, an engineer may message the PM or EM to prioritize Task A vs. Task B in the middle of the sprint – we don’t let inertia guide our decisions. Instead we focus on ruthless prioritization and pivot quickly as needed.

Challenging Timelines (Execution Pressure): An engineer questions a teammate’s proposed 3-week timeline, and constructively argues for condensing it to 2 weeks—backed by rationale, tradeoffs, and a plan to reduce scope or increase velocity. They show ownership of delivery speed and willingness to push for urgency.

Time-Boxed Spiking (Rapid Learning & Decision-Making): An engineer proposes a 1-week spike with a clear time-box and success criteria to explore implementation options or validate feasibility through a proof of concept. They demonstrate speed not just in execution, but in de-risking decisions early.

The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:

Individual pay is determined by skills, qualifications, experience, and location. The compensation details listed in this posting reflect the US base salary only.

The estimated base salary range for this role is $210,000 - $240,000.

Additionally, this role may be eligible to participate in TRM’s equity plan.

Please note – we factor in the different costs for geographies outside the United States.

What to Expect From Our Interview Process

Our process is designed to understand how you think, solve problems, and deliver impact, while giving you the opportunity to evaluate TRM. Most interview processes include a case study, AI skills assessment, and Leadership Principles interview.

Recruiter Intro: Explore your experience, motivations, and alignment with the role.

Hiring Manager: Dive deeper into your relevant experience, skills, and impact.

First Round: Typically 1–2 interviews focused on the skills most critical to the role.

Final Round: Typically 3–5 interviews to go deeper on your craft, problem-solving, and alignment with TRM.

References: We’ll speak with former colleagues who can provide perspective on your work and impact.

Offer: If it’s a mutual fit, your recruiter will walk you through your offer and answer your questions.

Welcome to TRM: Once you sign, we’ll get you ready for your first day and onboarding.

Your recruiter will share your specific interview plan and preparation guidance along the way.

We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day.

TRM moves quickly. We are a high velocity, high ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days.

Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.

At TRM, you should expect:

Priorities and targets to change quickly as we experiment and iterate

Work that often requires operating with a high degree of ambiguity

A high level of personal ownership and accountability

Close collaboration across teams and functions

Frequent, high-touch communication

Creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking

A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes

This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires comfort navigating ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment.

We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.

At the same time, many people find this work deeply rewarding. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute. Learn more: Interviewing at TRM: How We Hire and What Success Looks Like

AI Fluency at TRM

AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM.

We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks.

At TRM, AI fluency means you are among the top 10 percent of operators in your function in how you apply AI to:

Accelerate repeatable workflows

Structure and solve problems

Increase speed and leverage

You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.

We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.

Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.

Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end‑to‑end, and invest in getting better everyday.

Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one‑team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.

Join our Mission

At TRM we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast.

TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore.

Privacy Policy and Additional Information

By submitting your application, you agree to allow TRM Labs to process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy .

We collect the information you provide (such as your resume, work history, and contact details) solely for the purpose of evaluating your candidacy for current and future roles at TRM.

Because our hiring cycles for certain positions may span 24 to 36 months, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months from the date of your application. After that period, your data is deleted unless a different retention period is required or permitted by law.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with applicable data protection laws, you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data at any time before that period ends. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [e-mail] .

To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non‑compliant, please submit a report through this form . No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

The use of AI tools of any kind (including but not limited to notetakers, interview assistants, and real-time coaching tools such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, Cluey, or similar) during TRM interviews is not permitted without prior approval from TRM. TRM uses its own internal tools for note-taking to ensure a consistent and confidential experience for all candidates.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form .

Recruitment agencies

TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third‑party agency or company without a signed agreement.