Sr. Software Engineer, Backend

Betterment; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Equity for all employees

Flexible paid time off

Company-paid professional coaching

401(k) match

Job summary

Betterment is seeking a Senior Engineer to work on their Broker Dealer platform in New York City. The role involves building and optimizing trading technology while mentoring a team of engineers. Ideal candidates have 5+ years of experience in Java and SQL, and a strong background in distributed systems.

Salary ranges from $175,000 to $215,000 annually, alongside benefits like equity, health coverage, and flexible paid time off.

Qualifications

• 5+ years professional experience in at least one object‑oriented language.
• 5+ years professional experience with SQL and relational databases.
• Experience designing, building, and maintaining core backend software components.

Responsibilities

• Build trading and money‑movement technology.
• Solve complex backend scaling problems.
• Mentor and grow a team of engineers.

Skills

Java

SQL

Object-oriented programming

Distributed systems

Algorithms

Job description

About Betterment

Betterment is a leading, technology-driven financial services company that offers investing, savings and retirement solutions for retail investors and investment advisors as well as financial wellness solutions, including a 401(k) for small and medium-sized businesses. Our team is passionate about our mission, to empower people to build wealth with confidence and ease. We’re headquartered in NYC and offer hybrid NY-based positions (four days a week in-office, with no required office days during the summer and winter holidays).

About the Role

Broker Dealer is the core of the Betterment platform. On a busy day, we securely move millions of dollars through the system and ensure each transaction flows through a complex series of risk checks for strict regulatory compliance. Every ounce of efficiency and intelligence we pour into this system translates into more value for our customers. We’re looking for engineers to help us answer some of our most difficult backend scaling, software design, and optimization questions. As a Senior Engineer in our Broker Dealer organization, you'll help balance on‑time delivery of new platform features alongside system stability and scale, all while mentoring and growing a team of amazing engineers.

Salary: New York City: $175,000 - $215,000 (actual salaries may vary depending on location, experience, and performance). This job may also be eligible for variable compensation in the form of a company incentive bonus.

A Day in the Life

• Build innovative trading and money‑movement technology that empowers people to make the most of their money so they can live better.
• Solve “impossible” problems. Take your ideas to the next level right away. We experiment, iterate, learn, and repeat.
• Uphold a standard of excellence in your work, continuously seeking improvement and welcoming guidance from more experienced engineers.
• Collaborate with purpose. You’ll work in small groups with other talented thinkers and figure out how to make Betterment’s software even better.
• Gain trust through transparency. We believe in taking the guesswork out of investing and building a consistent experience for our customers.
• Create efficiency. Our software helps customers save time and money through clean code, pragmatic programming, and lean engineering.
• Contribute to an environment of open communication where engineers feel empowered to share ideas and take initiative to solve problems that achieve company objectives.

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years professional experience in at least one object‑oriented language.
• Familiarity with writing Java code.
• 5+ years professional experience with SQL and relational databases, including designing schemas and writing detailed SQL queries.
• A strong command of fundamental algorithms and data structures.
• Experience working in large‑scale distributed systems.
• Experience designing, building, scaling, and maintaining core backend software components.
• Proven ability to lead and manage projects that span one or more teams, considering tradeoffs to ensuring on‑time delivery while maintaining high standards of quality, performance and security.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage; life and AD&D insurance; short- and long-term disability; infertility support and WPATH‑aligned transgender health benefits; an Employee Assistance Program (EAP); transit benefits and FSA and HSA options.
• Ownership: Equity for all employees, including new hire and refresher grants.
• Time: Flexible paid time off, paid parental leave, and a fully paid four-week sabbatical in your sixth year.
• Growth: Company‑paid professional coaching for all employees.
• Wealth: Day‑one 401(k) match plus matching on qualified student loan payments.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We’re an equal‑opportunity employer and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. We strictly prohibit and do not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants, or any other covered persons because of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex, gender (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current or prospective service in the uniformed services, predisposing genetic characteristic, domestic violence victim status, arrest records, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.