Staff Software Engineer

Staff Software EngineerSpark is looking to bring on a Staff Software Engineer that will drive progress in the Medicare industry's evolution. As a staff-level member of our engineering team, you'll own meaningful pieces of our technical roadmap and set a high bar for how we build. This will involve delivering impactful feature sets to our industry-leading web-based broker platform, making architectural decisions to support its long-term health and stability, and shaping the technical direction of your product domain.Your day-to-day responsibilities will be diverse: you'll engage in both frontend and backend development, partner with product and design leadership on scope and tradeoffs, mentor engineers around you, and own the long-term technical health of the systems you work in - including knowing when a system needs to be replaced, not just improved. This is a hybrid opportunity, that will require a one week onboarding period in our NYC office in the Flatiron district, followed by an expectation of 2-3 days in office.What You'll DoDeliver impactful full-stack features that benefit Medicare brokers and beneficiaries, while setting the quality bar for how the team buildsPartner closely with product and design leadership to shape scope, surface tradeoffs, and influence roadmap decisionsOwn system-level decisions within your product domain, drive key system and architectural decisions that ensure our platform is set up for elegant solutions to our customers' problemsIdentify systemic sources of technical debt and own their resolution, balancing short-term velocity with long-term platform healthEstablish and evolve engineering standards - from code review practices to system design principles - leading by example and mentoring engineers around youBuild with modern AI-powered developer tools that remove friction and let you focus on meaningful problems, and help us continue to grow how we use them across the teamWhat We're Looking For8+ years of professional experience with either modern JS (Vue, React) or Python/backend web development, with meaningful hands-on experience in bothComfort with ambiguity; ability to thrive in fast-paced environmentsProduct intuition and a track record of connecting technical investments to business outcomes and influencing roadmap decisions upstream of executionFluency with AI-powered development tools as part of your everyday workflowExceptional communication skills - able to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders and vice versaDemonstrated track record of leading architectural decisions at the domain level and shipping customer-facing products with technical excellenceCommitment to a growth-oriented team culture focused on learning, continuous improvement, and winning togetherNice To HavesExperience working directly with cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred)Expertise in Django or similarTrack record of defining technical strategy at the domain or team levelHistory of raising engineering standards through mentorship and code review cultureOur salary ranges are based on paying competitively for our company's size and industry, and are one part of the total compensation package that also includes equity, benefits, and other opportunities at Spark. In accordance with New York City, Colorado, California, and other applicable laws, Spark is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. Individual pay decisions are ultimately based on a number of factors, including qualifications for the role, experience level, skillset, geography, and balancing internal equity. A reasonable estimate of the current salary range is listed below. We expect most candidates to fall in the middle of the range. We also believe that your personal needs and preferences should be taken into consideration, so we allow some choice between equity and cash.Base Salary$195,000 - $225,000 USDBy joining Spark, you will get in on the ground floor of a fast-moving, well-funded, and mission-driven startup where you will have a profound impact on the brokers and beneficiaries we serve. And you'll learn, grow, be challenged, and have fun with your team while doing it.We strive to help you and your family thrive. We're committed to supporting your happiness, healthiness, and overall well-being by providing a comprehensive benefits program. In addition to your base salary, we also offer:Equity compensationHealth care, including dental and vision through our PEO SequoiaFlexible work location; co-working available401kPaid Time OffMonthly Remote Work Stipend (help cover costs of home-office needs)Paid Parental LeaveUp to 14 weeks for birthing parentsUp to 8 weeks for non-birth parents11 paid holidays2 week sabbatical at 5 years of employmentWellbeing Perks through SpringHealth, OneMedical, PerkSpot, and SoFiSpark is a proud participant in E-Verify. As part of our commitment to compliance, we use the E-Verify program to confirm the employment eligibility of all employees working in the United States. For more information about E-Verify, please visit for security and compliance requirements, we're unable to accommodate international remote work. While we fully support travel and time off, all work must be conducted from an approved location within the U.S.At Spark, we are committed to hiring the best team to serve our clients regardless of their background. We need diverse perspectives to reflect the diversity of our problems and the population we serve. We look to hire people from a variety of backgrounds, including, but not limited to, race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, religion, disability, and veteran status.AI Notice: We may use AI-enabled tools to assist with certain aspects of our hiring process. These tools do not replace human decision-making, and all employment decisions are made by qualified team members in compliance with applicable laws.