Software Engineer, Buyer Growth

Whatnot; New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco (NY, CA, WA, CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 205,000; Full time

Job summary

Whatnot is a leading livestream shopping platform, seeking a bold Software Engineer focused on growth. The role involves leading initiatives that enhance user engagement and retention through innovative systems. Ideal candidates will thrive in a fast-paced environment, showcasing their engineering expertise to influence our dynamic market approach.

Benefits

Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision

Work From Home Support with a home office setup allowance

401k offering with employer match up to 4% of base salary

Parental Leave of 16 weeks paid leave

Qualifications

• 5+ years of full-time experience in software engineering with a track record of delivering user-facing products.
• Ability to work across product, marketing, and data science.
• Excellent product instincts focusing on user experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale critical growth initiatives such as onboarding and referral systems.
• Design and own end-to-end systems for millions of users, ensuring reliability.
• Mentor other engineers and contribute to raising the bar for engineering excellence.

Skills

Software Engineering

User Experience Focus

Growth Mindset

Adaptability

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Job description

Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot!

Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. We’re redefining e-commerce by blending community, shopping, and entertainment into a community just for you. As a remote co-located team, we’re inspired by innovation and anchored in our values. With hubs in the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, and Germany, we’re building the future of online marketplaces—together.

From fashion, beauty, and electronics to collectibles like trading cards, comic books, and even live plants, our live auctions have something for everyone.

And we’re just getting started! As one of the fastest-growing marketplaces, we’re looking for bold, forward-thinking problem solvers across all functional areas. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs, and join us to turn your passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.

Role: Buyer Growth Engineer

The Buyer Growth team is responsible for driving Whatnot’s top-of-funnel growth and first-time buyer success. We focus on acquisition, activation, and early retention, partnering closely with product, data, design, and marketing to build experiences that bring new users into the ecosystem and turn them into loyal customers. In this role, you will:

1. Lead and scale critical growth initiatives such as onboarding flows, referral systems, guest browsing, notification systems.
2. Design and own end-to-end systems, from backend services to frontend experiences, impacting millions of users. Drive architectural decisions to ensure reliability, scalability, and extensibility as we grow rapidly.
3. Collaborate across teams to identify high-leverage growth opportunities and rapidly iterate on experiments.
4. Monitor and improve funnels to increase new user conversion and retention.
5. Mentor engineers and contribute to engineering excellence across the team.

Location: US-Based

Team members in this role should be within commuting distance of our hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, or New York.

We value a growth mindset, humility, and a proactive approach to high-impact work.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of full-time software engineering experience in high-growth tech companies.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Proven track record of delivering end-to-end user-facing products and working across the stack (backend and frontend).
• Strong product instincts, prioritizing user experience.
• Ownership of ambiguous areas and driving impact.
• Ability to work across multiple workstreams in a fast-paced environment.
• Preferred: Experience building e-commerce or social products.

Compensation:

Salary range: $185,000 to $205,000/year + benefits + equity. Final salary depends on experience, skills, and level.

Benefits:

• Health insurance options including Medical, Dental, and Vision.
• Work from home support: home office setup allowance, monthly allowance for phone and internet.
• Retirement plans: 401(k) with employer match (up to 4%) in the US, pension plans internationally.
• Dogfooding allowance: develop a deep understanding of our product by using Whatnot as a buyer and seller.
• Parental leave: 16 weeks paid parental leave plus a one-month gradual return to work.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Whatnot values diversity and does not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability, or any other protected status. We believe diverse teams make us stronger and our culture better.

Application Process

To apply, please fill out the application form with your details. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.