Senior Software Engineer

Overview

Cybercrime is rising, reaching record highs in 2024. According to the FBIs IC3 report, total losses exceeded $16 billion. With investment fraud and BEC scams at the forefront, the real estate sector remains a lucrative target for cybercriminals. At CertifID, we provide a secure platform that verifies identities, authenticates wire transfer instructions, and detects potential fraud attempts to mitigate risk and ensure confidence in transactions.
We are recognized as one of the Best Startups to Work in Austin, listed on the Inc. 5000, and noted for Best Culture. We are guided by our core values and a vision of a world without wire fraud. We offer a dynamic work environment where you can contribute to meaningful impact and be part of a team dedicated to enhancing security and fighting fraud.
Our payments volume is growing faster than our architecture was designed for. We are adding rails (FedNow went live this year, RTP volume is climbing, same-day ACH is more common), sponsor bank partners, and new product surfaces. The next 24 months require a redesign of our ledger, a durable abstraction over banking partners, and a first-class compliance engineering layer that scales with the business.
The Opportunity

Senior Software Engineer to lead that work. This is the senior-most IC seat in the payments domain and the person who will set the technical direction for how money moves through CertifID for the next three years.
The Problems Youll Lead

Ledger redesign.

Design a double-entry, multi-partner sub-ledger architecture that supports new rails, new products, and international counterparties while preserving current invariants.

Bank partner abstraction.

Design an integration layer to add, swap, or route across partners without rewriting product code, including NACHA file generation/parsing, Fedwire MT, RTP and FedNow ISO 20022, positive pay, returns, and exception workflows.

Real-time risk in the settlement path.

Inline OFAC screening, BSA/AML signals, and in-house fraud models with sub-second latency and correctness.

Reconciliation as a service.

Move from nightly batch reconciliation to continuous reconciliation with automated break detection, classification, and resolution workflows.

Exactly-once disbursements.

Rebuild the disbursement engine on a ledger-backed, idempotent, rail-agnostic platform handling originations, returns, reversals, refunds, and recoveries as first-class events.

What Youll Own

Payments architecture.

Platform that originates, settles, reconciles, and recovers funds across ACH (standard and same-day), RTP, FedNow, domestic and international wire, and check; the ledger, state machines, idempotency guarantees, and reconciliation layer.

Rail expertise.

Knowledge of R01 vs R10 returns, RTP vs FedNow liquidity management, NACHA risk rules, ISO 20022, and U.S. rails, translating rail mechanics into durable system design.

Correctness as a practice, not a slogan.

Establish standards for ledger invariants, document failure modes before coding, simulation frameworks for multi-party settlement, and continuously-executing reconciliation.

Bank partner integration.

Own engineering relationship with sponsor banks, including file formats, cutoffs, outage handling, exception processing, and onboarding new partners quickly.

Compliance engineering.

Design how sanctions screening fits into settlement, how dollars are traceable for auditors, how BSA/AML signals flow in real-time decisions, and how Reg E/Reg CC and NACHA risk rules are implemented.

Fraud and risk integration.

Collaborate with data science and trust teams to embed real-time risk signals into money movement decisions.

Technical strategy.

Define the three-year payments roadmap, assess build vs. buy, and guide ledger evolution and platform investments.

Operational excellence.

Ensure observability, incident response, and production readiness for financial systems; own critical incidents and postmortems.

What Were Looking For

Experience building production payments or financial systems at scale.

Deep, hands-on expertise across U.S. payment rails (ACH, RTP, FedNow, wire, or check) with understanding of cutoffs, returns, reversals, exceptions, reconciliation, and settlement.

Experience designing systems with international counterparties on U.S. rails, including OFAC screening and beneficiary data considerations.

Proven command of double-entry ledgers, idempotency, exactly-once processing, distributed state machines, eventual consistency, and reconciliation architectures.

Strong system design for high-volume, fault-tolerant transaction processing, including failure-mode consideration.

Production-grade skills in Python, Java, Go, C#, or equivalent, with experience on AWS or Azure.

Track record of leading technical direction for a team or domain without formal authority, guided by clarity, evidence, and shipped systems.

Exceptional written communication; ability to explain ledger invariants, settle outages, and rail migrations to different stakeholders.

Pragmatism about shipping simple solutions vs investing in platform and scope management.

Bonus points

Experience integrating with sponsor banks, BaaS providers, or payment processors.

Familiarity with NACHA rules, Reg E, Reg CC, OFAC screening, and BSA/AML controls in software design.

Experience with ISO 20022, Fedwire, SWIFT, or cross-border payments.

Experience with real estate, title, escrow, or closing workflows.

Experience building against SOC 2, PCI, or similar regimes.

Background in fraud prevention, identity verification, or trust and safety platforms.

What We Offer

Flexible vacation
12 company-paid holidays
10 paid sick days
No work on your birthday
Health, dental, and vision insurance (including a $0 option)
401(k) with matching, and no waiting period
Equity
Life insurance
Generous parental paid leave
Wellness reimbursement of $300/year
Remote worker reimbursement of $300/year
Professional development reimbursement
Competitive pay
An award-winning culture
Not sure if you check all the boxes? Apply anyway!
We know that great talent comes in many forms, and we value potential just as much as experience. If youre excited about this role and believe you can grow into it, we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking for people who are eager to learn, adapt, and solve challenges—so if that sounds like you, don’t let a checklist hold you back!
Change doesnt happen overnight, and the same goes for us here at CertifID. We evolve collectively and individually as we grow by leaning into the core values that define us. As we grow, we embody

GRIT —collectively and individually—to raise the bar and influence outcomes in everything we do.

Guard the Customer - Raise the Bar - Influence Outcomes - Teamwork Wins

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