Software Engineer

Impruve; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Impruve is a boutique forward-deployed engineering firm helping wealth management firms deploy AI in production. You will join our founding engineering team and own pieces of live engagements from spec to production, pairing with senior engineers across the stack.

You’ll work on data pipelines, AI workflows, and compliance infrastructure, using Python, Node.js, and modern tools. The role blends client work with hands-on coding in a fast, supportive environment in Chicago.

Qualifications

• Shipped production code with real users dependent on it.
• Strong business sense from prior work experience.
• Demonstrated curiosity and ability to learn new concepts quickly.
• Comfort working in ambiguous environments with minimal guidance.
• Collaborative mindset with ability to pair across teams.
• Clear communication to both engineers and non-engineers.

Responsibilities

• Own workstreams on client engagements from spec to production with support from a senior engineer.
• Pair across the team regularly to improve problem solving and reduce risk.
• Work across the stack on data pipelines, backend services, frontend, and AI workflows.
• Ship AI that works in production with real users and compliance reviewers.
• Contribute to agentic coding tools and document learnings for the team.
• Help shape team processes including code reviews, retros, and onboarding.

Skills

Workstream ownership

Pair programming

Full-stack development

Client communication

Ambiguity tolerance

Collaboration

Attention to detail

AI in production

Tools

Python

Node.js

Express

TypeScript

Next.js

MongoDB

Redis

AWS ECS

Docker

LangChain/LangGraph

Job description

Impruve is a boutique forward-deployed engineering firm that helps wealthmanagement firms get real business results from AI. We embed directly with ourclients to build production data pipelines, AI tools, custom software, andcompliance infrastructure for top-tier firms managing billions in clientassets. We have more demand than we can currently serve, and we're growing theteam to meet it.

Our founders previously built and exited Packback ,an AI company that served more than 3 million users. We operate with the speedof a small startup and the rigor of a top firm.

We're four engineers right now, and we're building how we work on purpose, notbackfilling a culture after the fact. We care about doing right by clients andby each other. We take the work seriously: real client money, real compliancerisk, real production systems. We do team-wide retros every two months to makesure we're all on the same page and continually improving.

We pair early and often, across the team, because it's how we actually getbetter. If you notice something interesting mid-task, we want you to flag itand pull someone in, not disappear down a rabbit hole solo. When somethingbreaks, we run blameless postmortems; the point is fixing the system, notfinding someone to blame.

We don't expect you to walk in with all the answers. Nobody here has themeither. We expect you to be scrappy: willing to try something, see whathappens, and figure it out with the team rather than wait until you're sure.

You will not be joining something fully formed. You'd be joining our foundingengineering team, with real say in how this team works, not just what it ships.

Why This Role

Most wealth management firms want AI in their business and have access to thefrontier models. What’s missing is the engineering capability to deploy iteffectively and compliantly. That’s the gap Impruve fills.

You’d join a small, senior team doing real client work from day one. You won’tbe watching from the sidelines or building internal tools nobody uses — you’llown workstreams inside live engagements, with experienced engineers around youwho pair early and often. The learning curve is steep and the reps are real.

Some of our best candidates came to software from somewhere else — finance,operations, consulting, the military. If you built a career doing real workwith real clients and then taught yourself to code, that combination isexactly what we’re looking for. Business judgment and client instincts arehard to teach; engineering skills, we can help you sharpen.

What You’ll Do

• Own Workstreams on Client Engagements: You’ll take a piece of a liveengagement — a data pipeline, an AI workflow, a frontend feature — and ownit from spec to production. A senior engineer owns the overall engagement,so you have real support while you build the judgment that comes fromshipping things that matter.
• Pair Across the Team: Pairing is how we work, not a fallback for whenyou’re stuck. You’ll pair with teammates across the stack regularly —that’s how you get better fast and how we catch problems early.
• Work Across the Stack: Data pipelines, backend services, frontend,RAG and agent workflows. You don’t need to know all of it coming in, butyou’ll touch most of it within your first few months.
• Ship AI That Works in Production: The systems you build will face realusers and real compliance reviewers, not just demos. You’ll learn what ittakes to make AI reliable in environments where mistakes have realconsequences.
• Work AI-Natively: Agentic coding tools are how we build — Claude Code,spec-driven development, custom agent skills. You’ll use them daily andbring what you learn back to the team.
• Help Shape How We Work: We’re still building our norms. You’ll havereal input into how we review code, run retros, and onboard new engineers.

What You’ll Bring to the Team

• 1–3 Years of Professional Engineering Experience: You’ve shippedproduction code that real users depended on. Internships count if you ownedreal work. Career changers: if you spent years in another field and thenmade the switch to engineering, we consider that a strength, not a gap.
• Business Sense: You understand how businesses work because you’veworked in one — not just on the engineering side. You can talk to a clientabout their problem, not just the technical solution.
• Genuine Curiosity: You pick things up because you want to, not becausesomeone assigned them. You’ve taught yourself something meaningful recentlyand you can talk about how.
• Comfort with Ambiguity: You’d rather try something and learn from whatbreaks than wait until you have the full picture. Client work is mess‑y —you’re okay with that.
• Collaboration Over Solo Heroics: You’d rather pair through a hardproblem than sit on it alone. You ask for help early, not as a last resort.
• Clear Communication: You explain technical work clearly to engineersand non-engineers alike. Our clients are wealth management professionals,not developers.
• Care About the Details: Testing, monitoring, documentation. Theunglamorous work that keeps production systems running.
• AI as a Tool, Not a Crutch: You use AI to work more efficiently; youdon’t use it to replace original thinking, creativity, and humancollaboration.

Stack: Python, Node.js, Express, TypeScript, Next.js, MongoDB, Redis, AWSECS, Docker, LangChain/LangGraph. We care more about curiosity and soundjudgment than a checklist match.

Compensation

$100,000 to $150,000 all-cash compensation.

Our Workplace

We work on a hybrid in-person / remote schedule from our Chicago office, butwe're open to fully remote for candidates outside Chicago. Close collaborationis part of how we build, and we make remote work well.

Because we pair frequently and work closely as a team, we hire in the USCentral Time Zone. For exceptional candidates, we're open to ±1 hour(Eastern or Mountain).

Different Perspectives Make Us Better

Research consistently shows that women and people from underrepresented groupsare less likely to apply to a role unless they check every box, while othersapply anyway. If that's you: apply anyway. We care more about curiosity,scrappiness, and kindness than a perfect resume match, and we build a betterteam when the people on it don't all think alike.

Hiring Process

We respect your time. We keep the hiring process tight and decide quickly:

• Team interview with the founders, including a working session on arealistic engineering problem.
• Decision and offer.

Requires US work authorization; we can't sponsor visas.