Staff Software Engineer

About the role

Join the Donate team to lead technical strategy for the checkout experiences powering GoFundMe Pro. You will guide the architecture of our donation platform while setting high standards for code quality and system reliability. In this role, you will own the technical vision for the donation flow and ensure that frontend systems meet the highest standards of robustness and maintainability. You will act as a key technical leader, influencing how the donation platform evolves to serve millions of users during critical moments. Your work will directly impact the reliability and user experience of the core donation journey. You will collaborate closely with product, design, and backend teams to align technology with business goals. This is an opportunity to define best practices and mentor other engineers on how to build world-class frontend systems.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Manage multiple concurrent projects and define the frontend technical roadmap for the Donate team.
• Design scalable, maintainable frontend systems and drive initiatives to reduce technical debt across the codebase.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards for code reviews and development patterns to ensure consistency.
• Direct the testing strategy across unit, integration, and end-to-end layers with a strong focus on payment flows.
• Build and maintain frontend observability, including monitoring, alerting, and incident management for donation systems.
• Implement AI-assisted development workflows to improve team velocity, code quality, and overall output.
• Mentor engineering staff and provide technical guidance to cross-functional partners including product and design.
• Collaborate with backend and platform teams to ensure seamless integration between frontend and API services.
• Advocate for accessibility, performance, and security best practices throughout the donation funnel.
• Analyze production data and user behavior to inform improvements in the donation experience.
• Partner with stakeholders to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Lead the adoption of modern frontend tooling and practices to future-proof the platform.
• Own the end-to-end delivery of critical features from conception through production deployment.
• Drive innovation by exploring new technologies and techniques to enhance donor experience and conversion.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in building and shipping complex web applications in a professional environment.
• 2+ years of experience in a Staff, Lead, or equivalent technical leadership role guiding engineering decisions.
• Hands-on proficiency with React, Next.js, and TypeScript demonstrated through shipped products.
• Demonstrated ability to own frontend architecture and establish standards for large, complex codebases.
• Expertise in frontend testing, including unit, integration, and e2e testing strategies for critical user flows.
• Deep knowledge of client-side performance optimization and web vitals for high-traffic applications.
• Experience with frontend observability tools, monitoring, and production diagnostics to troubleshoot issues.
• Ability to build responsive, accessible interfaces using modern CSS and established design systems.
• Strong understanding of secure development practices, especially around handling sensitive payment data.
• Proficiency with Git, CI/CD pipelines, and agile development cycles to support fast iteration.
• Experience managing cross-functional dependencies and aligning engineering with business objectives.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift based on user needs and business goals.
• Commitment to writing clean, maintainable code that scales and is easy for others to understand.
• Willingness to participate in on-call rotations and respond to production incidents when needed.

Nice to have

• Experience with payment processing or high-traffic checkout systems and the associated compliance considerations.
• Practical use of AI-assisted coding tools in a production environment to augment development workflows.
• Background in defining shared monitoring or observability frameworks for cross-team impact.
• Familiarity with backend integration patterns, specifically GraphQL or REST APIs and their frontend consumption.
• Experience with infrastructure, containerization, and cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or similar environments.
• Contributions to open source or public projects that demonstrate technical leadership and craftsmanship.
• Experience mentoring junior and mid-level engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and career growth.

Practical notes

• This is a full-time position with a hybrid work model requiring 3 days per week in the San Francisco office.
• The role is open to candidates who can commit to the specified in-office schedule.
• Employment is contingent on successful completion of background checks and compliance requirements.
• The company provides a formal accommodation form for applicants requiring assistance during the hiring process.
• Applicants are subject to the company privacy notice for job candidates as part of the recruitment process.
• Benefits include competitive pay, healthcare, hybrid work support, family planning, parental leave, and mental health resources.
• This position requires the employee to be located in a position supported by the assigned work location.
• Travel is not expected as part of the standard duties for this role.
• No specific visa sponsorship information is provided in this listing.
• Deadlines for application review may apply, so early submission is encouraged.
• The role is focused on frontend engineering with responsibilities that span the entire donation lifecycle.
• Success in this role requires strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with distributed teams.
• You will be expected to contribute to technical documentation and share knowledge across the organization.
• The day-to-day work will involve close collaboration with engineers, product managers, and designers in the Donate team.
• This position is critical to the continued evolution of GoFundMe's platform for charitable giving and fundraising.