Staff Engineer - Tech Lead

Breeze; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary + equity

Hybrid work environment

21 days PTO

Flexible benefits including medical allowance

Annual company retreat

Job summary

Breeze is seeking a Tech Lead in New York to serve as the technical anchor for our engineering team. In this hands-on role, you'll drive technical execution, mentor engineers, and help deliver high-quality software solutions.

The ideal candidate will have 7+ years of experience, strong software architecture skills, and a passion for building products. Join us and be part of a high-performing team shaping the future of payments.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering experience building and shipping production systems.
• Previous experience as a Tech Lead, Senior Engineer, or similar senior technical individual contributor.
• Strong software architecture and system design experience.
• Proven ability to guide technical decisions without formal management authority.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and ship high-quality software across Breeze’s products.
• Act as the technical point of contact for the US engineering team.
• Conduct thorough code reviews and provide actionable feedback.
• Help unblock engineers with architecture and implementation guidance.

Skills

Software architecture

System design

Code reviews

Mentoring engineers

Problem-solving

Communication skills

Job description

Are you passionate about solving complex challenges in the fintech space? We’re looking for talented individuals to join our dynamic startup, backed by Sequoia Capital. We’re building the universal payment layer to unify all currencies—fiat and crypto—so businesses and consumers can transact seamlessly. If you're passionate about creating innovative solutions in a dynamic, fast‑paced environment, we want to talk to you.

We are hiring a Tech Lead!

As our first Tech Lead in the US, you'll serve as the technical anchor for our New York engineering team. This is a hands‑on individual contributor role focused on technical execution, mentorship, and helping engineers deliver high‑quality software.

You’ll work alongside a growing team of engineers, providing technical guidance, conducting code reviews, helping unblock complex challenges, and driving sound engineering decisions. While this is not a people‑management role, you’ll play an important part in helping the team grow by raising the technical bar and supporting less experienced engineers through day‑to‑day collaboration.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building products, solving difficult technical problems, and helping a team move faster through strong technical leadership and execution.

What You’ll Do

• Design, build, and ship high‑quality software across Breeze’s products and platform.
• Act as the technical point of contact for the US engineering team, helping drive execution and technical decision‑making.
• Conduct thorough code reviews and provide actionable feedback that improves code quality and engineering standards.
• Help unblock engineers by providing guidance on architecture, implementation, debugging, and system design challenges.
• Partner closely with Product and Design to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
• Lead technical design discussions and help evaluate trade‑offs between speed, scalability, and maintainability.
• Mentor and support junior engineers through pairing, technical coaching, and knowledge sharing.
• Drive engineering best practices across testing, observability, reliability, and software development workflows.
• Collaborate closely with global engineering teams to ensure alignment and consistency across projects.
• Take ownership of complex technical initiatives from design through production deployment.

What We’re Looking For

• 7+ years of software engineering experience building and shipping production systems.
• Previous experience operating as a Tech Lead, Senior Engineer, Staff Engineer, or similar senior technical individual contributor.
• Strong software architecture and system design experience.
• Proven ability to guide technical decisions and influence engineering outcomes without formal management authority.
• Extensive experience conducting code reviews and mentoring engineers.
• Strong problem‑solving skills and ability to navigate ambiguity in fast‑moving startup environments.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Passion for building high‑quality products and helping teams succeed.

Nice to Have

• Experience in fintech, payments, crypto, or other highly regulated industries.
• Experience mentoring and supporting early‑career engineers.
• Experience working in startup or high‑growth environments.
• Experience working across distributed engineering organizations.
• Experience building scalable backend systems and developer infrastructure.

Our Culture

• Fast‑paced and dynamic – We move quickly and adapt as the business evolves.
• Builder’s mindset – We value ownership, initiative, and people who want to create impact.
• Highly collaborative – Engineering, Product, Operations, Compliance, and GTM teams work closely together.
• Continuous learning – We challenge assumptions, share knowledge, and continuously improve.

Why Join Us

• Competitive salary + equity
• Hybrid work environment based in New York City (3+ days per week in office)
• 21 days PTO
• Flexible benefits including medical allowance, productivity allowance, and wellness reimbursement
• Annual company retreat
• Opportunity to have significant technical impact at a rapidly growing company backed by Sequoia Capital
• Work alongside a high‑performing global team building the future of payments

Apply now and help us build the future of payments at a global scale!