Senior Software Engineer

About the role

The will own the architecture and delivery of core backend platforms that directly impact the reliability and scalability of our services. This role requires leading the design of foundational capabilities that enable high performance and developer velocity across engineering teams. The hire will act as a technical owner, driving initiatives from conception through implementation while ensuring alignment with broader product and business goals. Success will be measured by the ability to balance ambitious feature delivery with long-term maintainability and operational excellence. Collaboration will be central, as this role works closely with cross-functional partners to translate requirements into robust technical solutions. The position demands comfort with ambiguity and the ability to guide technical direction through influence and expertise.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead design and implementation of foundational backend capabilities to improve scalability, reliability, and developer productivity.
• Drive technical planning for complex initiatives by defining scope, sequencing work, identifying risks, and communicating technical tradeoffs.
• Deliver high-impact platform capabilities while balancing technical quality, business priorities, and data-informed engineering decisions.
• Establish and evolve backend engineering standards through architecture discussions, code reviews, documentation, and technical leadership.
• Mentor engineers and grow team technical capabilities through coaching, feedback, and knowledge sharing.
• Lead design and implementation of foundational backend capabilities to improve scalability, reliability, and developer productivity.
• Drive technical planning for complex initiatives by defining scope, sequencing work, identifying risks, and communicating technical tradeoffs.
• Deliver high-impact platform capabilities while balancing technical quality, business priorities, and data-informed engineering decisions.
• Design and implement event-driven architectures using tools such as Kafka or SQS to enable resilient and scalable system interactions.
• Champion observability practices by instrumenting systems to provide insight into performance, reliability, and user impact.
• Partner with product and data teams to translate business requirements into technical specifications that can be executed effectively.
• Refine development workflows by building internal tools and platforms that reduce friction and improve engineering efficiency.
• Ensure backend services are designed for testability, maintainability, and operational simplicity across distributed environments.
• Contribute to the evolution of API contracts and data models that underpin critical integrations with mobile applications and external services.

Requirements

• You need Lead complex technical initiatives and influence engineering direction.
• Deep expertise in backend development including Java, API design, distributed systems, and relational databases such as Postgres.
• Design scalable, reliable, and observable systems using cloud-native and event-driven architectures such as Kafka or SQS.
• Strong engineering judgment balancing technical quality, business priorities, and long-term maintainability.
• Write well-tested, maintainable software and establish engineering best practices through technical leadership.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills with technical and non-technical partners.
• Enthusiasm for leveraging AI tools while maintaining high standards for quality and engineering excellence.
• Must be prepared to relocate to Boston, MA office.
• Must have experience delivering high-impact platform capabilities in a fast-paced environment.
• Must demonstrate ownership of technical decisions and accountability for system outcomes.
• Must have a proven track record of writing clean, maintainable, and well-tested code.
• Must be comfortable working with distributed systems and understanding the implications of network latency and failure modes.
• Must be able to communicate technical concepts clearly to both engineering and business stakeholders.

Nice to have

• Experience building shared platform capabilities or contributing across mobile and backend.

Skills & tools

You will use Java. You will use Postgres. You will use API design. You will use distributed systems. You will use Kafka. You will use SQS. You will use observability. You will use backend engineering standards. You will use code reviews. You will use technical leadership. You will use mentoring. You will use AI tools.

Relevant systems

The work touches WHOOP App. The work touches V-BAT.

Practical notes

Note: Must be prepared to relocate to Boston, MA office.

Note: $150K - $215K salary; Offers Equity.

Note: About the company

WHOOP is seeking a Senior Business Planner

Apparel & Accessories to serve as the strategic owner of financial planning, performance management, and long-range growth for the Apparel & Accessories business. This individual will operate as a senior thought partner to the Director of Business Planning & Supply Chain and key leaders across Finance, Inventory Planning, Supply Chain, Product, Marketing, and E-commerce. This role involves owning financial models, go-to-market analysis, and scenario planning to support critical business decisions. The position requires close collaboration with cross-functional partners to align assumptions, validate forecasts, and drive coherent strategy across the business unit. Success in this role depends on the ability to synthesize data, communicate insights, and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.