Software Engineer

Column; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Fertility benefits via Carrot

Rent subsidy near SF office

401k plan

Flexible time-off

Sabbatical program

Parental leave

Backup childcare reimbursements

Catered meals in SF

Commuter benefits

Team offsites

Job summary

Column, based in San Francisco, seeks a backend engineer to build and maintain systems powering our payments stack, developer APIs, and core platform services. You will work at the intersection of distributed systems and financial infrastructure, owning core backend components and shaping the company’s technical foundation.

This role is based in our Presidio office and follows a hybrid schedule. You will report to the CEO, William, and contribute to a platform moving billions of dollars per day.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain backend systems powering Column's core banking platform — payments processing, transaction logic, and real-time ledgering
• Own integrations with Federal Reserve and real-time payment networks for correctness and reliability
• Design and implement APIs, services, and data pipelines used by internal teams and external developers
• Improve system resiliency, scalability, and observability across the distributed architecture
• Lead platform initiatives like authentication/authorization, event streaming, and change data capture
• Write high-quality code prioritizing correctness, performance, and fault tolerance in a regulated environment
• Uphold safety standards in a mission-critical, compliance-sensitive context

Job description

About Column

For companies building financial technology and transforming the financial services space, the biggest bottleneck to their growth and innovation is often the underlying banks and infrastructure stack they rely on. We have spent our careers founding and scaling companies like Plaid, Square, Meta, Blend, and affirm, and have seen this problem firsthand — builders and developers needing to partner with traditional banks, and creating API and abstraction layers over the patchwork that is the bank, its core, and many other vendors. All of this results in a complex (and often expensive) banking supply chain involving a user, fintech, BaaS middleware provider, bank, core and the Federal Reserve.

At Column, we set out to simplify and fix this. We are a bank and a software company built from the ground up, offering builders and developers technology-forward banking solutions that cut out the hundreds of vendors, middleware providers, and abstraction layers. This means a safer, more transparent, and less costly banking supply chain. Come build with us!

The opportunity:

We’re a lean and experienced team. We like our current team size of 11 engineers but are open to adding one more strong backend engineer to the team this year.

You’ll be responsible for building and maintaining the systems that power everything at Column — from our payments stack to developer APIs to core platform services. This role is perfect for someone who thrives at the intersection of distributed systems, financial infrastructure, and clean API design. Expect to own core parts of our backend and shape the technical foundation of a company moving billions of dollars per day.

This role is based in our Presidio office in San Francisco and follows a hybrid schedule. You will report directly to William, the CEO.

Read more about Life @ Column and our hiring process here.

What you'll do:

• Build and maintain the backend systems powering Column's core banking platform — payments processing, transaction logic, and real-time ledgering
• Own direct integrations with the Federal Reserve and real-time payment networks, ensuring correctness and reliability at every layer
• Design and implement APIs, services, and data pipelines that both internal teams and external developers depend on
• Drive improvements to system resiliency, scalability, and observability across our distributed architecture
• Lead cross-cutting platform initiatives like authentication/authorization, event streaming, and change data capture
• Write code that runs close to the money: optimize for correctness, performance, and fault tolerance in a regulated environment
• Uphold the highest standards for system safety in a mission‑critical, compliance‑sensitive context

What you’ll get from us:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans, including options that are 100% covered by Column for you and 100% covered for your dependents!
• Comprehensive family planning and fertility benefits via partnership with Carrot, including reimbursement of up to $20,000 in qualified expenses
• Up to $2,000 (post-tax) monthly rent subsidy for employees living within 2 miles of Column’s office
• FSA and HSA account options to enable use of pre‑tax money for medical and dependent care expenses
• 401k plan, including self‑directed brokerage options
• Flexible time‑off policy - take the time off that you want and need to relax and recharge
• Sabbatical Program - Reach your 5‑year anniversary to take up to 8 weeks of fully paid leave to rest, recharge, and pursue personal interest - with full salary and benefits
• 100% paid parental leave, including 16 weeks for birth mothers, 12 weeks for primary caregivers, and 8 weeks for secondary caregivers
• Up to $4,500 in annual reimbursements for backup childcare
• Catered lunches and dinners for SF employees
• Commuter benefits, including paid transportation to‑and‑from the office
• Regular team building events, including annual offsite

Pay transparency:

Compensation packages at Column include base salary, equity, and benefits. New hire offers are made based on a candidate's experience, expertise, geographic location, and internal pay equity relative to peers.

The annual US base salary range for this role is $130,000-$250,000 + equity.

We look forward to hearing from you

Column is committed to working with the best and brightest people from the broadest talent pool possible. We value bringing together a team with different perspectives, educational backgrounds, and life experiences, and believe a diversity of ideas is what allows us to develop the best solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application and recruiting process, please reach out to [e-mail].

We participate in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law. Learn more about the E-Verify program here.