Senior Software Engineer II

Senior Software Engineer II

The Senior Software Engineer II helps lead the platform development by making architecture decisions to ensure we're building clean, maintainable, and beautiful applications. This person is responsible for maintaining, expanding, and scaling our APIs that power our web applications. They develop specifications for moderately complex software programming applications and modify/maintain the existing software. This position participates in design and coding activities with other staff members. The Senior Software Engineer will work closely with management and other leads to design and implement new systems, maintain operations of the production systems and to coordinate work across all the initiatives of the Engineering team. They will operate in a distributed architecture, building the infrastructure to manage Big Data and solve complex algorithmic problems.

What you'll do:

• Architect and develop highly scalable web applications, including AI-powered features
• Build RESTful APIs and integrate with LLM services and AI capabilities
• Design and implement streaming responses and real-time UI patterns for AI-driven experiences
• Build tools, services, and automation to extend platform capabilities
• Run critical operational portions of our ingestion, analytics, and storage infrastructure
• Collaborate with product managers and AI engineers to define strategic solutions and participate in the agile refinement process
• Assist with server-side code and database architecture on the back-end in NodeJS
• Develop clean UI/UX with the collaboration of our design teams, with attention to AI interaction patterns
• Work with management and other architects to ensure quality in solutions and software design
• Participate in development lifecycle activities like design, coding, testing, and production release
• Write reusable, testable, and efficient code
• Deliver code in an agile team environment
• Research and train on technologies you think may be appropriate for current or future projects, including emerging AI/LLM capabilities

What you'll bring:

• 7+ years of experience as a software engineer
• 3+ years of experience with NodeJS
• 1+ years experience in NestJS preferred
• 3+ years of experience with React
• Strong skills needed in: Javascript, ES6, NodeJS, TypeORM, MySQL, Git, and REST principles
• Knowledge in Jest and Redis
• Proficiency in object-oriented programming
• Good understanding of algorithms, network protocols, and web services
• Experience with one of the major cloud hosting systems (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Self-directed, independent, and has experience owning complete features/products
• Experience developing real-world web applications
• Outstanding ability to negotiate difficult tradeoffs (e.g., quality vs. speed, collaboration vs. get-it-done)
• Agile development experience
• Previous startup or scaling experience is a plus
• Self-motivated and adaptable to changing technologies and requirements
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science or related field
• Strong communication ability - we want to know your thoughts and input!
• Nice to have: Terraform, ElasticSearch, & Snowflake
• Nice to have: Experience with compliance frameworks like SOC2, ISO27017, NIST etc.
• Bilingual in English & Spanish is a plus

AI Experience (required - at least one of the following):

• Hands-on experience building features that integrate with LLMs or AI services
• Demonstrated passion for AI through personal projects, contributions, or continuous learning
• Experience with prompt engineering and understanding of LLM capabilities and limitations
• Familiarity with streaming responses and real-time UI patterns for AI applications
• Experience building conversational interfaces, chatbots, or chat-based user experiences
• Understanding of conversation state management, context windows, and multi-turn dialogue patterns

How we support you:

At Drata, our people are our strongest advantage—and we prove it with support that exceeds industry standards. Our total rewards package is designed to power your well-being, accelerate your growth, and keep your work-life balance thriving.

Explore how we invest in your Life at Drata.

• Shared Success: We provide stock equity to ensure that as the company grows, you share directly in that success. Equity gives every employee a sense of ownership and the opportunity to celebrate our wins together—because your contributions don't just support our progress; they help drive our collective success.
• Health & Wellness: Up to 100% employer-paid premiums for medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their dependents, along with comprehensive wellness benefits and healthcare concierge services designed to support your needs beyond traditional insurance.
• Financial Well-being: A comprehensive suite of financial benefits, including a 401(k) plan, company-paid life and disability insurance, tax-advantaged spending accounts, and a range of discounted voluntary offerings to help you customize and strengthen your overall financial position.
• Family Support: We want to support you in life's most important moments, so we offer a paid Parental Leave policy, after six months of employment. Employees also receive access to Kindbody fertility and family-building benefits and dedicated leave specialists who help guide you through the entire process.
• Growth & Development: Generous annual stipends for both professional and personal development, empowering you to invest in your continued growth. You'll also have access to a wide range of internal learning opportunities, ensuring you can build new skills, deepen your expertise, and advance your career with confidence.
• Time Off & Flexibility: We believe that to do your best work, you should get the time you need for rest, rejuvenation and recovery. Drata offers a flexible vacation policy, paid holidays, and other perks to recharge.

This role will receive a competitive base salary, benefits, and stock, typically in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The applicable salary range for this role is: $174,500-$236,100, subject to change.

A variety of factors are considered when determining someone's leveling and compensation–including a candidate's professional background and experience. This range may be modified in the future and final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed above.