Staff Software Engineer, Merchant Platform

About the role

The role focuses on delivering scalable infrastructure that powers money movement for partner financial products. Platform-focused software engineers design and operate the systems that enable downstream product teams to build and iterate.

Software engineers turn product ideas into working code. Engineers work in small teams, review each other's work, and ship in small batches. Most teams follow agile practices such as sprints and daily standups. Engineers also write tests, fix bugs, and improve performance. The field values clear communication as much as technical skill. Engineers spend part of every week on planning, code review, and debugging, not just writing new code. The ability to explain a technical decision in plain words separates strong engineers from the rest.

Key facts

What you'll do

The team constructs scalable systems that move money for partner products and services. These systems are operated to support merchant-facing offerings and maintain end-user experiences. Product features are implemented to improve how merchants interact with and use the platform. Cross-functional teams integrate products seamlessly so that workflows move smoothly across boundaries. Infrastructure opportunities are identified, prioritized, and executed to remove bottlenecks for product development. Reliability is maintained through platform improvements that keep company-wide tools available and consistent.

Requirements

Six or more years of experience building and operating production backend or platform systems is required. A Bachelor's Degree or higher in Computer Science (or related field) must be completed as part of your background. You own and drive product and platform initiatives through every stage from initial concept to final delivery. You surface patterns across problem statements and design abstractions that address shared needs. A strong grasp of engineering fundamentals underpins effective decision-making in this role. Experience with asynchronous systems or data pipelines in production environments is mandatory. You set foundations for the company while operating within a small, high-impact team.

Practical notes

This role is based in San Francisco with work-from-home flexibility. Parafin is a Series C company with equity, medical coverage, commuter benefits, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, and retirement plans. Typical interview steps

Hiring for engineering roles usually starts with a recruiter screen, followed by one or two technical rounds. Candidates often solve a coding problem, discuss past projects, and answer system design questions. Some loops include a take-home task. Final rounds typically cover team fit and give candidates a chance to ask questions. Interviewers look for how you break down an unfamiliar problem, not just whether you reach the answer. Practicing a few problems aloud and reviewing your own past projects are the best preparation.

Good to know

Engineers build and operate backend systems that handle money movement at scale. Common tools in this space include distributed systems, asynchronous messaging, and data pipelines. High reliability and clear ownership are central to platform work in production environments. Collaboration across product and engineering teams is typical for cross-functional integrations.

Questions to ask

Useful questions for the interview: what a typical week looks like, how work is assigned, what tools the team uses, and how feedback works. Asking how the role has changed recently and what the team wishes it had known when joining is also reasonable. Questions about the manager's priorities are especially valued.

Career growth

Engineering careers usually progress from individual contributor to senior, staff, and principal levels. Some engineers move into management and lead teams of five to twenty people. Others stay on the technical track. Growth follows demonstrated impact, not tenure alone. A typical engineering ladder has clear levels with defined expectations for scope, quality, and mentorship. Moving up usually requires owning outcomes end to end rather than completing assigned tickets.