[Hiring] Staff Software Engineer @NerdWallet

Role Description

NerdWallet is looking for a hands-on Staff Software Engineer to lead the technical direction for bringing NerdWallet's financial guidance into the AI assistants consumers already use. More and more people start their financial decisions with a conversation instead of a search. We want NerdWallet's trusted guidance to be there when they do.

• Architect and build NerdWallet's apps and integrations on leading third-party AI platforms.
• Ensure production LLM-backed systems remain accurate, grounded in trusted content, and compliant in a highly regulated domain.
• Be the senior technical voice across the platform integration teams.
• Partner closely with the team that owns the shared services these integrations run on.
• Write a lot of code, set the architectural bar, and make the engineers around you better.
• Turn ambiguous product bets into clear technical plans and build critical parts yourself.
• Define how NerdWallet shows up across multiple AI platforms.
• Raise the quality bar through design and code review.
• Mentor engineers on building reliable systems on top of non-deterministic models.
• Stay close to the rapidly changing AI ecosystem and help NerdWallet decide where to invest.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering, with at least 3+ years at the Staff level.
• Deep hands-on experience building and operating production backend systems.
• A track record of technical leadership: architecting complex systems end to end, leading a team through hard technical problems, establishing best practices, and mentoring other engineers.
• Hands-on experience building production features on LLMs: tool use/function calling, MCP or similar protocols, prompt and context design, retrieval (RAG), evals, and handling non-deterministic output.
• Advanced knowledge of a modern TypeScript stack (e.g., Node.js, React, GraphQL, Postgres, Redis).
• Experience designing APIs and shared services that other teams build on.
• Experience building on third-party platforms or ecosystems.
• Strong understanding of authentication and authorization patterns (e.g., OAuth).
• Comfort with early-stage, zero-to-one work.
• Strong communication skills.

Requirements

• Lead the technical direction for AI platform integrations.
• Own the architecture for how NerdWallet's guidance is packaged, exposed, and rendered inside third-party AI assistants.
• Build production code for new integrations and prototype new platform capabilities.
• Design for reuse across platforms.
• Adapt as platforms change and track evolving platform protocols.
• Help define eval and testing strategy for platform integrations.
• Partner with Security, Legal, and Compliance.
• Set standards for monitoring, latency, cost, and incident response.
• Lead design reviews and conduct code reviews.
• Coach engineers across FTE and contractor teams.
• Work with Engineering Managers and Product to shape priorities.
• Use data to guide decisions.

Benefits

• Industry-leading medical, dental, and vision health care plans for employees and their dependents.
• Rejuvenation Policy – Flexible Vacation Time Off + 11 holidays + holiday company shutdown.
• New Parent Leave for employees with a newborn child or a child placed with them for adoption or foster care.
• Mental health support.
• Paid sabbatical after 5 years for Nerds to recharge, gain knowledge, and pursue their interests.
• Health and Dependent Care FSA and HSA Plan with monthly NerdWallet contribution.
• Monthly Wellness Stipend, Cell Phone Stipend, and Wifi Stipend (Only remote Nerds are eligible for the Wifi Stipend).
• Work from home equipment stipend and co-working space subsidy (Only remote Nerds are eligible for these stipends).
• Nerd-led group initiatives – Employee Resource Groups for Parents, Diversity, and Inclusion, Women, LGBTQIA, and other communities.
• Hackathons and team events across all teams and departments.
• Company-wide events like NerdLove (employee appreciation) and our annual Charity Auction.
• Take 8 hours of volunteer time off per quarter and donate to your favorite causes with a company match.
• 401K with 4% company match.
• Financial wellness, guidance, and unlimited access to a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) through Northstar.
• Disability and Life Insurance with employer-paid premiums.