Senior Software Engineer
At a glance
Senior Software Engineering role at Variance. San Francisco · full-time · $200,000–$300,000 base.
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Take product work from system design through implementation, launch and follow-up improvements
- Set technical direction across the stack while weighing delivery speed against quality and long-term upkeep
- Build real-time AI interfaces and decision systems where accuracy and user confidence matter
- Run quick pilots and live demos, using feedback to adapt the product for new industries and workflows
- Develop internal tools and engineering standards that help the team ship more effectively
What you bring
- At least four years of professional software engineering experience, or equivalent experience
- Strong engineering fundamentals and the ability to get productive quickly with React/Next.js, TypeScript, MySQL and ClickHouse
- Experience creating dependable systems at scale and diagnosing production problems
- You bring technical leadership, mentor teammates and hold a high bar for engineering quality
Who this fits
This role suits a senior engineer who wants end-to-end ownership, from backend architecture through polished UI and production. You’ll work closely with the founders and collaborate with product, design and leadership. The job is fully in person in San Francisco.
From the employer
Role
At Variance, we are teaching machines to make the hardest judgement calls at scale. That means building AI agents for the high-precision gray-area of risk investigations, fraud, and identity reviews.
We’re a small, talent-dense team in San Francisco tackling problems that touch billions of events and entities. Our customers include Fortune 500 companies and global marketplaces, and we’re scaling systems that free millions of hours of human effort.
We’re looking for a Senior Software Engineer who wants to own product and technical decisions end-to-end. You’ll work directly with the founders to build and scale AI-powered systems where precision, speed, and trust matter deeply.
You’re a fit if you:
Have 4+ years of professional software engineering experience or equivalent
Care deeply about craftsmanship and have strong opinions about product quality, system design, and code quality
Thrive in high-ownership environments and want to drive projects end-to-end, from backend architecture to polished UI to production
Have strong fundamentals and can ramp quickly in our stack: React/Next.js, TypeScript, MySQL, and ClickHouse
Are comfortable making pragmatic technical tradeoffs in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
Have experience building reliable systems at scale and debugging issues in production
Enjoy collaborating closely with product, design, and leadership to turn fuzzy problems into shipped systems
Raise the bar for the team through technical leadership, mentorship, and high standards
What you’ll do
Own product features and systems end-to-end, from architecture and implementation to launch and iteration
Lead technical decisions across the stack, balancing speed, quality, maintainability, and scale
Build AI-powered interfaces and decision systems that operate in real time with high precision and user trust
Work directly with the founders on frontier problems in fraud, abuse, and risk
Scale our product into new industries and workflows through rapid pilots, live demos, and fast feedback loops
Improve engineering velocity by shaping internal tools, patterns, and standards
Help define the technical foundation of the company as we grow
Our culture
We believe in ownership, urgency, and craft. We enjoy spirited debate, wild ideas, and building things we're proud of. We're fully in-person in San Francisco.
What we offer
Competitive salary and meaningful equity
Health care: we offer platinum-level medical, dental, and vision insurance
Unlimited PTO, sick leave, and parental leave
Up to $100 in reimbursement for personal health & wellness expenses each month
401(k) plan
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Software Engineering$200k+
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