Senior Software Engineer, Core Platform

Pave; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 196,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Flexible PTO

Meal stipends

Education stipend

Parental leave

Commuter stipend

Job summary

Pave is seeking a Core Platform Engineer in San Francisco to own authentication/authorization services and underpin the data infrastructure powering our compensation intelligence platform.

You will drive large, cross-functional initiatives with strong systems thinking and accelerate delivery in a hybrid environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of backend engineering experience building data intensive applications, ideally TypeScript and Node.js.
• Strong product intuition with generalized platform solutions for cross-product challenges.
• Hands-on experience with data infrastructure, ETLs, data modeling; ML/AI platform experience a plus.
• Experience leading large technical projects with ambiguity and multiple stakeholders.
• Execution-driven mindset in fast-paced environments with maintainability and scale in mind.

Responsibilities

• Own critical services like user authentication and authorization.
• Shape foundational data infrastructure and models powering Pave's compensation platform.
• Drive large, complex initiatives across the organization.
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams to ship enterprise-grade software.

Skills

Backend engineering

TypeScript

Node.js

Data pipelines

ML/AI platform

Project leadership

Data modeling

Tools

MySQL

Prisma

React

GCP

Job description

At Pave, we're building the industry’s leading compensation platform, combining the world's largest real-time compensation dataset with deep expertise in AI and machine learning. Our platform is perfecting the art and science of pay to give 9,000+ companies unparalleled confidence in every compensation decision.

Top tier companies like OpenAI, McDonald’s, Instacart, Atlassian, Affi... (the paragraph continues exactly as in the original)

The future of pay is real-time & predictive, and we’re making it happen right now. We’ve raised $175M in funding from leading investors like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Index Ventures, Y Combinator, Insight Partners, Atomico, Venture Partners, and Craft Ventures.

The Core Platform Team @ Pave

The Core Platform team sits at the center of Pave Engineering, bridging product and platform engineering. We build the foundational services, APIs, and abstractions that enable every team to ship enterprise-grade software with speed and confidence. In this role, you’ll own critical services like user authentication and authorization, as well as the foundational data infrastructure and models powering Pave’s compensation intelligence platform. Success in this role requires strong systems thinking and the ability to drive large, complex initiatives across the organization.

Learn more about our engineering principles here!

What You'll Bring

• 5+ years of backend engineering experience building data intensive applications, ideally utilizing modern web technologies such as TypeScript and Node.js
• Strong product intuition with the ability to design generalized platform solutions that solve cross-product challenges
• Hands-on experience with data infrastructure, data pipelines/ ETLs, data modeling; ML/AI platform experience a plus
• Experience leading large technical projects with high ambiguity and numerous stakeholders
• Execution-driven mindset: You thrive in fast-paced environments, bias toward action, and ship thoughtful solutions with maintainability and scalability in mind

Our stack includes:

TypeScript, Node.js, MySQL, Prisma, and React, hosted on GCP

Compensation, It's What We Do.

Salary is just one component of Pave's total compensation package for employees. Your total rewards package at Pave will include equity, top-notch medical, dental, and vision coverage, an unlimited PTO policy, and many other region-specific benefits. Your level is based on our assessment of your interview performance and experience, which you can always ask the hiring manager about to understand in more detail. This salary range may include multiple levels.

The targeted cash compensation for this position is (level depends on experience and performance in the interview process)

P4: $195,500 - $264,500

Benefits @ Pave

At Pave, growth isn't a perk — it's the point. As you develop, your role expands, your responsibilities deepen, and your compensation reflects the impact you're making.

What We Offer

• Your Health, Fully Covered: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family, with a range of options designed to meet you where you are.
• Time That's Actually Yours: Flexible PTO and the freedom to work from anywhere in the world for up to a month — because life doesn't pause, and neither should you.
• Fuel for the Work: Lunch and dinner stipends plus fully stocked kitchens, so you can stay energized without thinking twice about it.
• Room to Keep Growing: A quarterly education stipend to invest in the skills and knowledge that matter most to you.
• Support When It Matters Most: Robust parental leave so you can be fully present for the moments that count.
• Getting Here, Made Easier: A commuter stipend to support the in-person collaboration that makes great work happen.

Life @ Pave

Founded in 2019 with a clear purpose and a team that has never wavered from it, Pave has grown into a global force in compensation management — giving thousands of companies the tools to take control, build confidence, and earn credibility in every pay decision they make. And we're just getting started. Headquartered in San Francisco's Financial District, with regional hubs in New York City's Flatiron District, Salt Lake City, Kraków (Poland), and the United Kingdom — wherever you're based, you'll find the same thing: people who genuinely care about the work, each other, and the customers that rely on Pave.

We run a hybrid culture that brings teams together in person 3 to 4 days a week — and every Friday, the whole company gathers for our Team Sync: breakfast, new hire welcomes, product updates, fireside chats, and yes, the occasional Kahoot. It's one of the things people notice when they join us — that we truly enjoy spending time together.

Our culture is shaped by five values we live every day:

• Be Intellectually Honest — Truth over comfort. We face reality clearly and speak directly, even when it's hard.
• Play to Win — We're not here to participate. We're here to be the #1 compensation platform in the world, and we act like it.
• Uphold the Pave Platinum Standard — We hold ourselves to the highest bar — for our customers, our data, and each other.
• One Team — We win and lose together. Titles don't drive decisions here — shared goals do.
• Hug of Jawn — Hard to define, impossible to miss. Ask your recruiter.

Our Vision:

Unlock a labor market built on trust.

Our Mission:

Build confidence in every compensation decision.

We build software that transforms how companies pay their people — and we believe the team behind that software deserves the same thoughtfulness. If you're ready to help shape the future of compensation alongside people who are smart, humble, and genuinely motivated by the problem we're solving, we'd love to meet you.