Senior Staff Software Engineer - HRIS EngineeringSan Francisco, CA

Senior Staff Engineer

Rippling is rapidly expanding its global footprint and product ecosystem, and the HRIS (Human Resources Information System) is at the center of that growth. Every Rippling product—from Payroll and Benefits to Time and Identity—depends on HRIS as its source of truth.

As a Senior Staff Engineer spanning the entire HRIS org, you will serve as a technical leader responsible for both the foundational platform primitives and the complex product experiences built on top of them. You'll design and scale the systems that power HRIS globally while also owning the end-to-end engineering of mission-critical workflows relied on by millions of employees and administrators. This role requires broad technical vision, deep hands-on execution, and the ability to influence across multiple teams and functions.

What You Will Do

• Set and drive the technical strategy for the HRIS org, defining long-term direction for architecture, scalability, reliability, and usability across both platform and product surfaces.
• Design and deliver core data models, APIs, services, and abstractions that underpin HRIS and are adopted broadly across product teams.
• Own end-to-end engineering of critical HRIS product flows (e.g. hiring, onboarding, benefits, time, compliance), ensuring robustness, performance, and extensibility.
• Lead cross-org initiatives such as global scale-out, regulatory compliance, and high-availability architecture that cut across multiple teams.
• Raise the engineering bar by influencing design and execution across the org, mentoring senior engineers, and driving best practices in both system design and product engineering.
• Collaborate closely with engineering leadership across HRIS and adjacent domains to align technical vision and deliver cohesive solutions.

What You Will Need

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including technical leadership roles driving org-wide impact.
• Strong track record spanning both platform and product engineering: designing distributed systems and building complex, user-facing applications at scale.
• Expertise in system architecture, data modeling, and service design, with an ability to balance long-term vision with iterative delivery.
• Experience operating in high-growth, fast-paced environments where platform primitives and product requirements evolve rapidly.
• Strong technical leadership and mentorship skills, with proven influence across multiple teams and organizations.

Additional Information

Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics. Rippling is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email View email address on click.appcast.io

Rippling highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office-based employees (employees who live within a defined radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role.

This role will receive a competitive salary + benefits + equity. The salary for US-based employees will be aligned with one of the ranges below based on location; see which tier applies to your location here. A variety of factors are considered when determining someone's compensation–including a candidate's professional background, experience, and location. Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed below.