Fast Facts

Handshake is seeking an experienced Staff Software Engineer to enhance consumer-facing features and improve connections between students and employers on a rapidly growing AI-driven platform.

Responsibilities: Lead the design and development of features that enhance user engagement, architect and scale distributed systems, influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and champion engineering best practices.

Skills: Expertise in building and scaling distributed systems, proficiency in Go, Python, or JavaScript, and solid understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).

Qualifications: 8+ years of experience in software engineering with a focus on large-scale systems, mentorship experience, and strong communication skills. Extra credit for backgrounds in AI systems and personalization.

Location: San Francisco, California, United States

Compensation: $235000 - $275000 / Annually

About Handshake

Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 20 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale.

Why join Handshake now:

• Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
• Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world’s top educational institutions
• Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others
• Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

About the Role

As a Staff Software Engineer on the Consumer Experience team, you'll build the products that connect millions of students with employers. You'll drive meaningful technical initiatives, shape the technical direction of the team, and deliver high-quality, scalable solutions that directly impact one of the fastest-growing career platforms in the world.

Your Role

• Lead the design and development of consumer-facing features that enhance user engagement and streamline the student-employer connection process
• Architect and scale distributed systems to support millions of users, ensuring high availability and performance
• Influence technical direction by collaborating with cross-functional teams to align engineering efforts with business goals
• Mentor and elevate engineers across the team, fostering a culture of growth and technical excellence
• Champion engineering best practices that raise the bar on product quality and team efficiency

Desired Capabilities

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with a proven track record of owning and delivering large-scale, complex systems
• Demonstrated experience operating at a staff-level scope, influencing technical direction across multiple teams
• Expertise in building and scaling distributed systems, preferably within consumer platforms or social products
• Strong proficiency in Go, Python, or JavaScript with a focus on maintainable, high-quality production systems
• Solid understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and modern system design principles
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and elevating engineering culture

Extra Credit

• Background in search, recommendations, ranking systems, or personalization at scale
• Experience with user identity knowledge graphs, including entity resolution and real-time inference
• Experience building AI-powered systems, including LLM-based applications
• Prior experience in high-growth or rapidly scaling environments

Perks

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported—and thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company

💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching

🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching

💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, wellness stipend

📚 Growth: Learning stipend, ongoing development

💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office

🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days

🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.