Software Engineer, Product

Overview Who Are We? Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services. Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we're building toward something much larger — the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service. Our platform already reaches 40 million residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states. Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We\'re builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn’t be a luxury in government. It’s how you earn trust back. Location This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ. Candidates must reside in New York or be able to commute to New York City to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays). What You'll Own Full-stack features from zero to shipped - scoping, architecture, build, iteration AI-powered product surfaces: intelligent intake flows, real-time constituent assistants, automated case routing, agency operator dashboards Direct engagement with federal agency stakeholders - translating messy real-world requirements into clean, shippable product Platform reliability and performance at government scale - real users, real SLAs, no hiding Code quality that the next engineer will respect: clean, tested, maintainable What You'll Bring 2–4 years of professional engineering experience - or work that makes the years irrelevant Deep fluency in React / Next.js and Node.js / TypeScript / Postgres - not just comfortable, but fast AI coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, Claude) are already baked into how you work - you're not planning to explore them someday, you've shipped with them Something real you've built - a product, an open source project, a thing you couldn't stop working on You operate well with ambiguity. You don't wait to be handed the answer. You actually care whether the person on the other end of the screen has a good experience Strong Candidates May Also... You've touched federal, state, or local government tech - or you understand the constraints of building for regulated, high-stakes environments Cloud deployment experience (AWS, Vercel, GitHub Actions, ECS/Fargate) Exposure to design systems and component libraries - you know the difference between a component that\'s functional and one that\'s right You've worked in an early-stage environment where figuring it out was the job What Kaizen Offers Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United, including Gold and Platinum PPO plans, with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents $100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA. 401(k) access through Guideline 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents Unlimited PTO and closed for all federal holidays Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas One-time home office or desk setup stipend up to $750 $50/month commuter benefit $100/month for wellness or productivity; your call on how you use it $500/year for professional development $250/year for recreation Company-provided laptop Expensed lunch while in the office Kaizen is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you need an accommodation during the interview process, email us at View email address on click.appcast.io. Why Now The government technology modernization wave is happening. Agencies are being pushed to change, and they need partners who can move fast and build well. We have the contracts. We have the agency relationships. We have the platform. We need the engineers. Don\'t Apply If... You need a detailed ticket to know what to build next. You think AI tools are a crutch. You want to own one layer of the stack and never leave it. You\'re more comfortable in a 500-person organization than a small team where everyone\'s accountable. You need the problem fully defined before you start moving. Or if you\'re looking for low-stakes work — because what we build touches real people in real moments that matter: accessing benefits, families navigating public services, constituents interacting with their government at its most critical touchpoints. This work is serious. The people we serve deserve serious teams. #J-18808-Ljbffr