Staff Software Engineer will focus on a new and exciting vertical supporting NerdWallet Mortgage Experts. The is a full-stack position responsible for driving and scaling innovative technology solutions.
As a Staff Engineer, you’ll collaborate closely with engineering leadership to influence the engineering roadmap, contribute to best practices, and drive architectural projects that balance speed, scalability, and long-term maintainability. This isn’t just a strategy role — you’ll be hands-on, writing production-quality code, mentoring engineers, and driving technical excellence across the team. You’ll set the pace, ensuring both high-quality execution and fast iteration, acting as a multiplier to help the entire team deliver impact. The Staff Software Engineer brings a deep technical background, a commitment to software engineering excellence, and experience in consumer credit, lending, loans, or insurance.

Required Skills and Qualifications (Your Experience):

• Experience: Minimum of 8+ years in software engineering, with a strong background in backend development and distributed systems.
• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Core Languages: Advanced proficiency in JavaScript and TypeScript (including Node.js, React.js, and Next.js).
• Backend Expertise: Deep experience with microservices architecture, RESTful APIs, and event-driven systems.
• Full-Stack Capability: Strong familiarity with Next.js for building modern full-stack applications, including server-side rendering, API routes, and integration with backend services.
• Databases: Strong understanding of both SQL and NoSQL systems, with proven experience in high-volume, low-latency data processing.
• Cloud Infrastructure: Hands-on experience with at least one major provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure) for deploying and scaling applications.
• Security: Knowledge of security best practices, especially within regulated industries like financial services.
• DevOps & Tooling: Familiar with CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and orchestration

Preferred Qualifications (Bonus Points):

• Experience in performance marketing - including lead funnels, conversion metrics, performance tracking, and ping-post systems.
• Experience Implementing a new CRM technology (i.e. Salesforce, Relcu etc.)
• Experience in consumer credit, lending, loans, or insurance, with a solid understanding of industry regulations, underwriting processes, and risk assessment.
• Familiarity with financial modeling, scoring algorithms, or credit risk analysis

Beyond coding, Staff Software Engineers are responsible for architecting scalable systems, ensuring data security, and building the technical foundation for financial products that handle sensitive and complex financial data. They collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product managers, data scientists, and business stakeholders to translate business requirements into reliable, efficient, and user-friendly applications. As senior engineers, they provide technical mentorship, establish coding best practices, and often lead teams through complex problem-solving. Their work ensures the company’s products remain competitive, compliant with regulatory standards, and capable of meeting users’ needs in a secure, efficient, and innovative manner.

Essential Functions (Impact You Can Make at NW):

• Lead the design, development, and maintenance of our core financial services platform, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and security.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Product, Design, and Operations, to translate business requirements into technical solutions that meet high standards for quality and functionality.
• Architect, build, and implement APIs and microservices that power our fintech products, focusing on system performance, security, and data integrity.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to engineering team members, promoting best practices in coding, testing, and architecture.
• Conduct code reviews to ensure code quality, performance, and adherence to standards, fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the engineering team.
• Act as a subject matter expert in consumer credit, lending, loans, or insurance, providing insights that help shape the product roadmap and ensure compliance with industry standards.
• Contribute to platform stability and resilience through effective monitoring, troubleshooting, and incident management.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in the fintech industry, particularly around payments, lending, credit, and insurance, to drive innovation within the team.

Required Skills and Qualifications (Your Experience):

• Experience: Minimum of 8+ years in software engineering, with a strong background in backend development and distributed systems.
• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Core Languages: Advanced proficiency in JavaScript and TypeScript (including Node.js, React.js, and Next.js).
• Backend Expertise: Deep experience with microservices architecture, RESTful APIs, and event-driven systems.
• Full-Stack Capability: Strong familiarity with Next.js for building modern full-stack applications, including server-side rendering, API routes, and integration with backend services.
• Databases: Strong understanding of both SQL and NoSQL systems, with proven experience in high-volume, low-latency data processing.
• Cloud Infrastructure: Hands-on experience with at least one major provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure) for deploying and scaling applications.
• Security: Knowledge of security best practices, especially within regulated industries like financial services.
• DevOps & Tooling: Familiar with CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and orchestration.

Preferred Qualifications (Bonus Points):

• Experience in performance marketing - including lead funnels, conversion metrics, performance tracking, and ping-post systems.
• Experience Implementing a new CRM technology (i.e. Salesforce, Relcu etc.)
• Experience in consumer credit, lending, loans, or insurance, with a solid understanding of industry regulations, underwriting processes, and risk assessment.
• Familiarity with financial modeling, scoring algorithms, or credit risk analysis.