Staff Engineer
At a glance
Senior Engineering Leadership role at Range. McLean · full-time · $200,000–$300,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Take user problems from architecture through production, shipping working software quickly and iterating on what you learn
- Set technical direction beyond one team, shaping roadmaps, platform choices and engineering practices
- Lead cross-team technical efforts that make a material difference to the business
- Use AI development tools to build, debug and ship, checking their output and correcting it when needed
- Grow other engineers through mentorship, project ownership and, where applicable, people management
What you bring
- Deep knowledge of several programming languages and paradigms, with sound judgment about technology choices
- Extensive experience designing and evolving reliable, cost-conscious production systems on AWS or a comparable cloud
- A record of leading organization-wide technical initiatives and aligning engineering and business leaders on consequential decisions
- Hands-on ability to build and troubleshoot software with AI coding tools, beyond writing prompts
- A strong record of helping other engineers advance their careers
Who this fits
This senior role suits a full-stack engineer who can turn loosely defined problems into shipped software and make sound technical calls. You’ll lead through technical ownership and mentorship, with people management also described as a possible path. The role is onsite in McLean, Virginia.
From the employer
At Range, we’re building towards a world where anyone can live the financial life they imagine for themselves. If that sounds like a mission you want to be a part of, let’s create it together.
We’re building AI-powered wealth management. Investments, taxes, retirement, estate planning, all in one platform instead of scattered across different advisors and apps. We're backed by Google's Gradient Ventures, Cathay Innovation, Scale Venture Partners, and more. We’re growing fast while still small enough that everyone's work is visible and impactful.
About the Role
We're looking for a software engineer who understands the user's problem, architects a solution, and ships it. Sometimes the same day. Your work lives in production, not in a design doc.
At this stage, every IC engineer at Range can operate as a 10x IC. There is very little stopping you from building.
You'll use AI workflows to move faster alongside the team and customers, bringing the best solutions to life. We think really big and ship fast, without lowering the bar on quality. You'll define how engineering operates here by figuring out what's actually possible when a great engineer leans all the way into AI.
Your architecture and your code will be how this company scales. When you build something that works, we move. Engineers at Range are catalysts, turning ideas into real products and creating momentum. That's how we lead. Ship fast, learn, iterate.
Who you are
A builder. You go from problem to prototype to production. You don't wait for a perfectly scoped ticket or a sprint planning meeting. You see the gap and you close it.
Craft-obsessed. You've studied how the best companies build software and have real opinions about what makes it great. Your standards are high. What you ship is clean, secure, and considered, even when you ship it fast.
Intuition-driven. You've done enough reps to trust your gut on architecture decisions, move quickly, and be right far more often than you're wrong. When the requirements aren't clear, you use judgement to evaluate tradeoffs. Always finding a way to move.
AI-native. You're already using AI every day as core infrastructure. You see it as the thing that turns one engineer into ten.
Full-stack by instinct. Frontend, backend, infrastructure. You go wherever the problem is. React, TypeScript, Node, AWS are your tools, not your identity. You pick up whatever's needed.
You care about outcomes. Every endpoint, every interaction, every system is built around how your customers will actually experience the product.
Where you lead at this level
You demonstrate leadership through ownership of impactful projects, mentorship, or managing others. You encourage calculated risks across the team — fostering a culture of bold thinking and innovation while staying open to learning from failures. You model resilience and optimism, helping the team see challenges as opportunities and stay solutions-focused under pressure. You use good judgment to balance team needs, individual growth, and company objectives. As a manager, you promote radical transparency by setting clear expectations and offering constructive, actionable feedback.
Not for you if
You need a fully scoped PRD before you can start working
You're offended by the idea that AI changes everything about this job
You'd rather debate architecture than ship and iterate
You optimize for consensus over conviction
You think "move fast" means lower the bar
What we’re looking for
Deep expertise across multiple languages (TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, etc) and paradigms, with strong opinions loosely held on technology choices
Extensive experience architecting and evolving production systems on AWS or similar cloud platforms, with a focus on reliability, cost efficiency, and operational excellence
Proven ability to work across the entire stack and make strategic decisions about where to invest engineering effort
Track record of leading cross-team technical initiatives that materially impact the business
Experience setting technical vision and strategy beyond a single team — influencing roadmaps, platform direction, and organizational engineering practices
Ability to navigate organizational complexity, build consensus across engineering and business leadership, and drive alignment on high-stakes technical decisions
Proven ability to architect, debug, and ship using AI development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) — not just prompting, but knowing when the output is wrong, why, and how to fix it
Strong mentorship track record — you've meaningfully grown the careers of other engineers
What will set you apart
Experience designing systems that scale with the business over years, not just the current quarter
Experience building and evolving frontend platforms and design systems used across multiple product surfaces
Deep product sense — you identify the highest-leverage technical investments and connect engineering work to business outcomes
Ability to take broad, ambiguous company-level challenges and translate them into concrete engineering strategies
Track record of introducing new technologies, practices, or architectural patterns that transformed how a team or organization operates
Security engineering experience, especially in building secure-by-default platforms
Fintech experience, especially navigating regulatory and compliance constraints at the systems level
Startup experience, especially as a technical leader who shaped engineering culture from early stages
Compensation
Base salary range: $200,000 – $300,000
This is the base salary range we expect in good faith to pay for this role at the time of posting. Where an offer lands within the range depends on the scope and complexity of work the candidate can own independently and demonstrated depth at this level.
Other compensation and benefits
The range above reflects base salary only. Our offer packages also include equity in the form of stock options, so total compensation for this role will exceed the base salary range.
We do not ask for or consider salary history. You are welcome to ask questions about compensation at any point in the process.
Benefits
Health & Wellness: 100% employer-covered medical insurance for employees (75% for dependents), plus dental and vision coverage
401(k): Retirement savings program to support your future
Paid Time Off: time to reset and recharge + most federal holidays
Parental Leave: Comprehensive leave policy for growing families
Meals: Select meals covered throughout the week
Fitness: Monthly movement stipend
Equity & Career Growth: Early exercise eligibility and a strong focus on professional development
Annual Compensation Reviews: Salary and equity refreshes based on performance
Boomerang Program: After two years at Range, you can take time away to start your own company. We’ll hold your spot for 6 months - and pause your equity vesting, which resumes if you return
Range is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. As a company, we are committed to designing products, building a culture, and supporting a team that reflects the diverse population we serve.