Senior Staff Software Engineer

Checkr; California (MO); On-site; USD 257,000 - 302,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Learning stipend

Equity compensation

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Fertility & parental planning support

Flexible PTO

Wellness stipend

Job summary

Checkr is seeking a Senior Staff Software Engineer to shape the long-term design of Checkr’s core systems and lead critical cross-organizational initiatives, including international expansion and Enterprise Architecture. You will collaborate across the R&D org to ensure an API-first product that scales for the future.

The role emphasizes hands-on contribution, setting architectural standards, and mentoring engineers to raise the bar for quality and scale, with in-office collaboration across

Qualifications

• Degree in computer science or related field (Bachelor's or Master's).
• 2+ years leading architecture projects across an organization.
• 5+ years in a leadership role.
• 15+ years as a software engineer.
• Experience developing in Ruby, GoLang, and Python.
• Cloud technologies and backend stacks.
• Microservices design and asynchronous queues.
• Data pipelines handling billions of data points.
• Mentoring engineering and product teams in domain-driven design.
• Leading and influencing cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities for impact for the engineering organization.
• Own direction and lead organization-wide technical efforts.
• Hands-on contribution in high-risk areas.
• Break down complex projects into maintainable systems.
• Create standards of architectural best practices.
• Upskill Staff Engineers to raise quality and scale.
• Inform buy vs build decisions, supporting business strategy.
• Understand needs and represent teams in leadership discussions.

Skills

Leadership

Architecture projects

Cross-functional collaboration

Ruby/Go/Python

Cloud technologies

Microservices design

Data pipelines

Mentoring

Project management

Ownership & initiative

Learning mindset

Education

BS/MS in computer science or related field

Job description

About Checkr Checkr is building the data platform to power safe and fair decisions. Over 140,000 companies and millions of people rely on Checkr for AI verification in the moments that matter most: getting a new job, a new place to live, a car ride, childcare, even a date. Customers include Uber, Pennymac, Airbnb, Doordash, and Anthropic.

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.

Checkr is looking for an experienced Senior Staff Software Engineer to facilitate the long-term design of Checkr’s core systems and to lead critical cross‑organizational initiatives, including the international expansion of our platform and development of an Enterprise Architecture. In this role, you will work across the entire R&D organization to deeply understand the product’s domain models and customer needs, and work across all teams to ensure that Checkr is architecting a best‑in‑class, API‑first product that can scale into the future.

What you'll do:

• Proactively identify the top opportunities for impact for the engineering organization
• Own direction and lead execution of organization‑wide technical efforts
• Hands‑on contribution in areas with a high degree of business risk
• Break down very complex projects into simple systems that can be effectively built and maintained by less experienced engineers
• Create documents to set standards of architectural best practices that the broader engineering organization consumes
• Upskill the Staff Engineers in the company to systematically raise the bar for quality and scale
• Inform buy vs build decisions, supporting broad business strategy
• Deeply understand customer, partner, and product team needs, and represent your teams in technical conversations with company leadership

What you bring:

• Degree in computer science or related field (Bachelor's or Master's)
• 2+ years leading architecture projects across an organization
• 5+ years of experience in a leadership role
• 15+ years of experience as a software engineer
• Experience developing in Ruby, GoLang, and Python
• Solid understanding of cloud technologies and all layers of backend stacks
• Deep understanding of microservices design and asynchronous queueing models
• Experience designing and maintaining real‑time & batch processing data pipelines serving up billions of data points
• Experience mentoring engineering and product teams in domain‑driven design
• Experience leading and influencing cross‑functional teams
• Strong collaboration, communication, and project management skills
• A strong sense of ownership
• A great desire to learn, collaborate, improve, and innovate

#LI‑TD1

Pay Transparency Disclosure

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)

$257,000—$302,000 USD

What We Offer

• A fast‑paced and collaborative environment
• Learning and development allowance
• Competitive cash and equity compensation, and opportunity for advancement
• 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Up to $25K reimbursement for fertility, adoption, and parental planning services
• Flexible PTO policy
• Monthly wellness stipend

At Checkr, we believe an in office 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]).