Backend Engineer, Community

Whatnot

Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. We’re building the future of ecommerce, bringing together community, shopping and entertainment. We are committed to our values , and as a remote co-located team, we operate out of hubs within the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, and Germany today.

We’re innovating in the fast-paced world of live auctions from fashion, beauty, electronics to collectibles like trading cards, comic books, and even live plants. Whatnot has something for everyone.

And, we’re growing. Whatnot has been one of the fastest growing marketplaces and we’re hiring forward-thinking problem solvers across all functional areas.

Role

• As part of the Community team, you will build the social aspects of Whatnot that foster lasting connections between sellers and buyers. Meaningful connections are crucial for buyer retention and are a primary driver for Whatnot’s business.
• We are a fullstack team that owns end-to-end product experiences including live shows, chatting, messaging, user profiles, tipping, and social sharing. You will drive building new strategic initiatives, scaling our existing experiences, and prototyping ideas to inform our roadmap.
• As a foundational member of our backend team, you will strike the right balance between building with speed, product impact, and technical excellence. Our products include real-time user interactions and critical monetization flows, so you will design with high concurrency, low latency, and stability in mind.

Team members in this role are required to be within commuting distance of our San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City or Seattle hub.

You

Curious about who thrives at Whatnot? We’ve found that low ego, a growth mindset, and leaning into action and high impact goes a long way here.

As our next backend engineer, you should have 5+ years of full-time software engineering experience in high growth startups, plus:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Backend Expertise: Proven track record of designing and building highly scalable, maintainable systems in multiple languages (we use Python, Elixir, JavaScript, but no specific language is required). Experience with performant, real-time systems such as chat, auctions, and multiplayer games is preferred.
• Product Instinct: Excel at translating user needs to effective technical solutions.
• Problem Solving: Thrive in ambiguity and tackle challenging problems with autonomy.
• Team Leadership: Mentor others and foster inclusive, supportive team culture.
• Ownership Mindset: Own projects holistically from inception to production and beyond. You are known for shipping products and features lightning-fast.

Compensation

For US-based applicants: $185,000/year to $245,000/year + benefits + equity

The salary range may be inclusive of several levels that would be applicable to the position. Final salary will be based on a number of factors including, level, relevant prior experience, skills and expertise. This range is only inclusive of base salary, not benefits (more details below) or equity.

Benefits

• Flexible Time off Policy and Company-wide Holidays (including a spring and winter break)
• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision
• Work From Home Support
  • $1,000 home office setup allowance
  • $150 monthly allowance for cell phone and internet
• Care benefits
  • $450 monthly allowance on food
  • $500 monthly allowance for wellness
  • $5,000 annual allowance towards Childcare
  • $20,000 lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses
• Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
• Parental Leave
  • 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work *company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

EOE

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.