Staff Software Engineer, Government Products

Robinhood; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation package

Equity ownership

401(k) matching

100% paid health insurance

Lifestyle wallet

Job summary

Robinhood in New York, NY is seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to lead the technical design of a brand-new, secure, scalable backend architecture for a high-visibility government contract.

You will build robust data pipelines and APIs, mentor engineers, and partner with Product, Security, Legal, and external partners to deliver a compliant, high-performance platform. This role emphasizes distributed systems and API design for millions of users.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with principal or staff-level leadership.
• Proficiency in Python or Go for high-throughput systems.
• Expertise in domain modeling, microservices, and reliable APIs.
• Experience in zero-to-one product space, navigating ambiguity and blocking issues.
• Experience as primary technical contact and mentoring senior engineers.
• Excellent collaboration with Product, Security, Compliance, and external partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical design, architecture, and implementation of a brand-new, standalone backend infrastructure optimized for security, reliability, and scale.
• Design secure data pipelines and robust APIs to integrate government-backed registries, employer contribution frameworks, and institutional banking systems.
• Guide engineering teams across Robinhood's brokerage ecosystem, setting high code standards and mentoring engineers.
• Partner with Product, Security, Legal, and external stakeholders to meet regulatory protections and compliance requirements.
• Own backend stability and performance ahead of initial high-volume user rollouts and launch.

Skills

Principal/Staff Engineer

Python

Go

Distributed systems

APIs

Microservices

Domain modeling

Zero-to-one product

Technical leadership

Tools

Backend tooling

Data pipelines

Job description

Join us in building the future of finance.

Our mission is to democratize finance for all. An estimated $124 trillion of assets will be inherited by younger generations in the next two decades. The largest transfer of wealth in human history. If you're ready to be at the epicenter of this historic cultural and financial shift, keep reading.

About the Team & Role

We are building an elite team, applying frontier technologies to the world's biggest financial problems. We're looking for bold thinkers.

Sharp problem-solvers. Builders who are wired to make an impact. Robinhood isn't a place for complacency, it's where ambitious people do the best work of their careers. We're a high-performing, fast-moving team with ethics at the center of everything we do. Expectations are high, and so are the rewards.

Robinhood has been tapped as the brokerage and initial trustee for Trump Accounts, and is working alongside BNY and The U.S. Department of Treasury to develop and operate the program, which aims to expand market access for the next generation of Americans. In this role, you will help build a world-class, intuitive platform, leveraging Robinhood's industry-leading financial technology to deliver a standalone web and app experience for this historic national initiative.

The Government Products team focuses on building and scaling systems that support long-term investing and account management for millions of customers. This team works closely with product, data, and infrastructure partners to deliver reliable, secure, and intuitive experiences. You will help shape systems that enable customers to plan for their financial future with confidence!

As a Staff Backend Engineer , you will serve as a foundational technical leader for this 0-to-1 initiative. You will be responsible for designing and building the critical backend architecture, pipelines, and complex cross-functional integrations required to interface securely with government systems. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role where you will directly shape a platform built to serve millions of future customers

This role is based in our New York, NY office(s), with in-person attendance expected 3 days per week.

At Robinhood, we believe in the power of in-person work to accelerate progress, spark innovation, and strengthen community. Our office experience is intentional, energizing, and designed to fully support high-performing teams.

What You'll Do

• Lead the technical design, architectural strategy, and implementation of a brand-new, standalone backend infrastructure optimized for security, reliability, and scale.
• Design secure data pipelines and robust APIs to integrate government-backed registries, employer contribution frameworks, and institutional banking systems.
• Guide engineering teams across Robinhood's broader brokerage ecosystem, fostering technical excellence, setting high bar code standards, and mentoring senior engineers.
• Partner closely with Product, Security, Legal, and external stakeholders to navigate the unique protections and technical compliance protocols of a highly regulated government contract.
• Own backend stability and performance tuning ahead of initial high-volume user rollouts and the general public launch.

What You Bring

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with a proven track record of operating as a principal or staff-level engineer, driving multi-year technical vision, long-term architecture, and strategic direction for large-scale distributed systems.
• Advanced mastery-level proficiency in designing, building, and maintaining high-throughput, low-latency distributed infrastructure and secure data pipelines using Python or Go.
• Deep expertise in domain modeling, microservices architecture, and building highly reliable APIs capable of orchestrating complex cross-functional data flows across multiple engineering domains.
• Demonstrable execution in a zero-to-one product space, navigating high levels of technical ambiguity, setting foundational engineering patterns, and systematically de-risking complex technical blockers.
• Experience serving as a primary technical point of contact across an entire organization, with a strong commitment to raising the engineering bar by sponsoring and mentoring senior engineers.
• Exceptional communication skills with a proven capability to partner closely with Product, Security, Compliance, and external institutional partners to translate highly complex legal or regulatory constraints into clean, maintainable backend infrastructure.

What we offer

• Challenging, high-impact work to grow your career
• Performance driven compensation with multipliers for outsized impact, bonus programs, equity ownership, and 401(k) matching
• Best in class benefits to fuel your work, including 100% paid health insurance for employees with 90% coverage for dependents
• Lifestyle wallet - a highly flexible benefits spending account for wellness, learning, and more
• Employer-paid life & disability insuranc