Senior Software Engineer, Criminal Screenings

Checkr; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lunch five times a week

Commuter stipend

Abundance of snacks and beverages

Relocation stipend for hub locations

Job summary

A leading tech firm is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to enhance its data platform. Located in San Francisco, this role offers a salary range between $185,000 and $218,000 USD. You'll collaborate closely with other engineers to develop system capabilities, maintain high standards for operational excellence, and ensure the product's scalability. The ideal candidate has substantial backend experience, ideally proficient in Ruby, Golang, or JavaScript/TypeScript, and is passionate about building innovative software solutions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of backend software development experience with proficiency in Ruby, Golang, or JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Solid understanding of Computer Science fundamentals, including databases and algorithms.
• Proven track record of writing clear, tested, and concise code.

Responsibilities

• Develop new platform capabilities and product offerings from design through release.
• Ensure system availability and reliability.
• Mentor engineers on the team and across the organization.

Skills

Backend software development

Ruby

Golang

JavaScript/TypeScript

Data structures

Algorithms

REST APIs

System architecture

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI/ML, or related field

Job description

About Checkr

Checkr is building the data platform to power safe and fair decisions. Established in 2014, Checkr’s innovative technology and robust data platform help customers assess risk and ensure safety and compliance to build trusted workplaces and communities. Checkr has over 100,000 customers including DoorDash, Coinbase, Lyft, Instacart, and Airtable. We’re a team that thrives on solving complex problems with innovative solutions that advance our mission. Checkr is recognized on Forbes Cloud 100 2025 List and is a Y Combinator 2024 Breakthrough Company.

Senior Software Engineer – Criminal Screenings

As a Senior Software Engineer at Checkr, you will play a crucial role in advancing our product in our mission to create the data platform of the future. Across the product development lifecycle, you will collaborate with other engineers and product counterparts to architect and deliver new platform capabilities and key product initiatives. Your passion for technical excellence will drive progress in modernizing our technical stack, simplifying system architecture, and automating manual workflows to ensure our platform's scalability and efficiency.

The Criminal Screenings team is on a mission to orchestrate and deliver the world’s most trusted background check and criminal screening reports, building best-in-class, scalable products that are transparent and accessible to everyone at Checkr.

We own market‑leading criminal screening coverage across National Criminal searches, Watchlist, Sex Offender Registry, and jurisdictional workflows—including federal, state, county, and municipal levels—with a strong focus on accuracy, fairness, and fast turnaround times. If you’re passionate about building automation‑first solutions, driving radical transparency, and creating delightful experiences that help millions of people get hired fairly, we’d love to have you join our team.

What you’ll do

• Develop new platform capabilities and product offerings from design through release
• Find the balance between speed to market and long‑term growth by designing for the horizon and building for today
• Partner with Product to define appropriately sized initiatives to construct a roadmap that meets business needs quarter over quarter
• Preserve customer goodwill by ensuring system availability by participating in on‑call rotation, addressing support tickets, and taking action on preventative measures to improve reliability
• Provide mentorship to engineers on the team and across the organization
• Play an active role in the continuous improvement of the engineering organization through lunch table discussions, team showcases, and reviews with senior leadership

What you bring

• 5+ years of backend software development experience with a strong proficiency in Ruby (preferred), Golang, or JavaScript/TypeScript
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, AI/ML, or a related field preferred
• Solid understanding of Computer Science fundamentals such as relational and non‑relational databases, data structures, algorithms, and REST APIs
• Experience with domain modeling, object design, and system architecture
• Proven track record of writing clear, tested, and concise code
• Proficiency to set expectations and inform decisions through project estimates based on the information available
• Ability to write and review technical proposals, providing constructive feedback and articulating trade‑offs
• Strong sense of ownership across all aspects of the development lifecycle, including incident response and accountability for product robustness
• Desire to collaborate and share knowledge with peers, both within the team and across the organization
• Eagerness to learn, improve, and innovate in a fast‑paced and collaborative environment

Pay Transparency Disclosure

One of Checkr’s core values is Transparency. To live by that value, we’ve made the decision to disclose salary ranges in all of our job postings. We use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop ranges for our roles and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range. If this role is remote, we have listed the top to the bottom of the possible range, but we will specify the target range for an exact location when you are selected for a recruiting discussion. For more information on our compensation philosophy, see our website.

On‑target Earnings OR Base Salary range (San Francisco, CA) $185,000 — $218,000 USD

At Checkr, we believe a hybrid work environment strengthens collaboration, drives innovation, and encourages connection. Our hub locations are Denver, CO, San Francisco, CA, Nashville, TN, and Santiago, Chile. Individuals are expected to work from the office 3 days a week. In‑office perks are provided, such as lunch five times a week, a commuter stipend, and an abundance of snacks and beverages. A relocation stipend may be available for those willing to relocate to a Checkr hub location.

Equal Employment Opportunities at Checkr

Checkr is committed to building the best product and company, which requires hiring talented and qualified individuals with a diverse set of perspectives and lived experiences. Checkr believes in hiring people of all backgrounds, including those whose histories are impacted by the justice system in accordance with local, state, and/or federal laws, including the San Francisco’s Fair Chance Ordinance.

Applicant Privacy Policy

If you are a California resident or are located in Alberta or British Columbia, our Applicant Privacy Policy applies to our collection and processing of your personal information when you apply for a role with us or otherwise participate in our recruitment process.

*Legitimate Checkr emails will always include our official domain name after the @ symbol (e.g., [e-mail] or [e-mail]).