Software Development Engineer

Avalara, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 130,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Medical, life, and disabilityInsurance

Diversity & inclusion

Employee resource groups

Job summary

Avalara is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to strengthen our AI-enabled, globally distributed compliance platform. You will deliver backend and frontend systems, elevate observability, and embed AI into development workflows while mentoring peers.

Required qualifications include 8+ years in software engineering, .NET/C#, TypeScript/Node.js, AWS, Terraform, Docker/Kubernetes, and experience with distributed systems and APIs. You will collaborate with global teams in English.

Qualifications

• Strong English communication skills (written and spoken) for global collaboration.
• BS in Computer Science or Engineering.
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience aligned to senior-level scope.
• Hands-on experience with .NET (C#) building scalable APIs and services.
• Experience with TypeScript/Node.js building maintainable frontend applications.
• Experience designing and operating distributed systems and RESTful and/or GraphQL APIs.
• Experience with AWS cloud environments.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab).
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes in production environments.
• Experience with relational and/or NoSQL databases.
• Strong knowledge of automated testing strategies.
• Demonstrated hands-on AI usage that improved measurable business or engineering outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Deliver scalable, secure backend and frontend systems that support Avalara's global compliance platform.
• Increase development efficiency by embedding AI-assisted coding, testing, documentation, and architectural exploration into daily workflows.
• Contribute to AI-enabled product features that enhance automation, data processing, and customer-facing intelligence.
• Improve deployment frequency, code quality, and automated test coverage through CI/CD and engineering best practices.
• Reduce production incidents and improve system observability through thoughtful architecture and proactive monitoring.
• Lead technical design discussions and influence architectural decisions for complex distributed systems.
• Raise the performance of the team through mentoring and peer feedback.
• Collaborate with global engineering, product, and business stakeholders in English.

Skills

C#/.NET

TypeScript/Node.js

Distributed systems

REST/GraphQL APIs

AWS

Terraform

CI/CD pipelines

Docker & Kubernetes

Databases (SQL/NoSQL)

Automated testing

AI in engineering

Education

BS in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

GitLab CI/CD

AWS

GraphQL

TypeScript

Node.js

SQL/NoSQL databases

Job description

Overview

Avalara is accelerating delivery of AI-enabled capabilities across our compliance platform to improve customer experience, increase engineering velocity, and scale global operations efficiently. As transaction volumes, product complexity, and AI-driven initiatives expand, we require senior engineers who can both deliver high-quality distributed systems and materially increase leverage through applied AI.

You will elevate platform reliability, accelerate AI-enabled product delivery, and raise engineering standards across a globally distributed team. You will directly influence delivery speed, system resilience, and AI adoption within engineering workflows and product capabilities.

What This Role Elevates

This Senior Software Engineer will:

• Increase engineering velocity through structured AI-assisted development and automation.
• Improve platform reliability, observability, and scalability across distributed systems.
• Deliver AI-enabled product capabilities that improve customer efficiency and insight.
• Raise team performance standards through technical leadership, mentoring, and ownership.
• Contribute to a culture of Bar Raisers who improve talent density and execution quality.

You will improve not only output, but how work gets done, embedding AI into development workflows and strengthening architectural discipline.

Responsibilities

• Deliver scalable, secure backend and frontend systems that support Avalara\'s global compliance platform.
• Increase development efficiency by embedding AI-assisted coding, testing, documentation, and architectural exploration into daily workflows.
• Contribute to AI-enabled product features that enhance automation, data processing, and customer-facing intelligence.
• Improve deployment frequency, code quality, and automated test coverage through CI/CD and engineering best practices.
• Reduce production incidents and improve system observability through thoughtful architecture and proactive monitoring.
• Lead technical design discussions and influence architectural decisions for complex distributed systems.
• Raise the performance of the team through mentoring and peer feedback.
• Collaborate with global engineering, product, and business stakeholders in English.

12-Month Success Signals

Within the first 12 months, this engineer will:

• Deliver multiple production-ready features, including at least two AI-enabled capabilities that improve customer or operational outcomes.
• Increase engineering velocity through AI-assisted workflows and automation (measurable improvement in cycle time, test coverage, or deployment frequency).
• Reduce production defects or incidents through improved architecture and observability.
• Demonstrate Bar Raiser impact by mentoring engineers and elevating technical standards across the team.
• Contribute to improved system scalability and reliability supporting global transaction growth.

AI Expectations

This role is expected to operate as an AI Bar Raiser, applying advanced, practical AI capabilities to improve how software is designed, built, and operated, while expanding the team\'s ability to use AI effectively in both engineering workflows and product development.

You will be asked to:

• Demonstrate measurable impact from AI usage (e.g., reduced cycle time, increased automation, improved quality).
• Apply AI responsibly and securely in both engineering workflows and product features.
• Critically evaluate AI-generated outputs and implement governance-aware best practices.
• Share AI techniques and improve adoption across the team.

Casual AI usage is insufficient. AI must materially improve outcomes.

What You\'ll Need to Be Successful

Required Qualifications

• Strong English communication skills (written and spoken) for global collaboration.
• B.S. in Computer Science or Engineering.
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience aligned to senior-level scope.
• Hands-on experience with .NET (C#) building scalable APIs and services.
• Experience with TypeScript/Node.js building maintainable frontend applications.
• Experience designing and operating distributed systems and RESTful and/or GraphQL APIs.
• Experience with AWS cloud environments.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab).
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes in production environments.
• Experience with relational and/or NoSQL databases.
• Strong knowledge of automated testing strategies.
• Demonstrated hands-on AI usage that improved measurable business or engineering outcomes.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in SaaS or enterprise-scale platforms.
• Experience in compliance, financial systems, or regulated domains.
• Experience leading cross-team technical initiatives.

Bar Raiser Expectations

At Avalara, we hire Bar Raisers—engineers who elevate technical standards, strengthen execution, and contribute to higher-quality outcomes across the systems and teams they work in.

This engineer will:

• Hold high standards of ownership, quality, and accountability.
• Use strong judgment in architectural and technical tradeoffs.
• Improve the performance of peers through coaching and example.
• Leave systems, processes, and documentation stronger than they found them.

Avalara is an AI-first Company

AI is embedded in our workflows, decision-making, and products. Success here requires embracing AI as an essential capability.

• You\’ll bring experience using AI and AI-related technologies, ready to thrive here.
• You\’ll apply AI every day to business challenges - improving efficiency, contributing solutions, and driving results for your team, our company, and our customers.
• You\’ll grow with AI by staying curious about new trends and best practices, and by sharing what you learn so others can benefit too.

How We\'ll Take Care of You

Total Rewards

In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses.

Health & Wellness

Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance.

Inclusive culture and diversity

Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture. We also have a total of 8 employee-run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship.

What You Need To Know About Avalara

We’re defining the relationship between tax and tech.

We’ve already built an industry-leading cloud compliance platform, processing over 54 billion customer API calls and over 6.6 million tax returns a year. Our growth is real - we\'re a billion dollar business - and we\’re not slowing down until we’ve achieved our mission - to be part of every transaction in the world.

We’re bright, innovative, and disruptive, like the orange we love to wear. It captures our quirky spirit and optimistic mindset. It shows off the culture we’ve designed, that empowers our people to win. We\’ve been different from day one. Join us, and your career will be too.

We’re An Equal Opportunity Employer

Supporting diversity and inclusion is a cornerstone of our company — we don’t want people to fit into our culture, but to enrich it. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, national orientation, disability, sexual orientation, US Veteran status, or any other factor protected by law. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.