Senior Software Engineer- Payroll Data

5+ years of professional software engineering experience with a strong focus on data modeling, data pipelines, or data platform work.

Deep experience designing data models for complex, real-world domains — you think carefully about normalization, temporal state, schema evolution, and the trade-offs between flexibility and query performance.

Strong backend engineering fundamentals, with experience in Python, Django, or similar stacks.

Experience building and operating materialization or ETL pipelines — transforming event-driven or transactional data into consistent, queryable datasets at scale.

Proven ability to design clean data contracts and interfaces consumed by multiple teams, with attention to backwards compatibility, versioning, and documentation.

Strong debugging and problem-solving skills, particularly in systems where data correctness issues surface downstream and require tracing back through multiple layers.

Comfort working in ambiguous, cross-functional environments where data model decisions require understanding both technical constraints and business domain nuance.

Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to articulate modeling trade-offs, align partner teams on schema changes, and document data semantics clearly.

Experience with payroll, fintech, HR tech, or regulated financial systems is a plus.

Familiarity with bitemporal data patterns, event sourcing, or analytical query engines (e.g., Trino, Iceberg) is a plus.

Foundational leverage: Every payroll feature — runs, filings, reporting, analytics — is built on top of the data layer you own.

Hard modeling problems: Temporal state, retroactive corrections, multi-country variation, and strict correctness requirements make this genuinely challenging data work.

Platform impact: Your data model decisions shape what's possible for dozens of teams across the Global Payroll organization.

Communication matters: This role sits at the intersection of many teams — your ability to define clear abstractions and align stakeholders is as important as your code. Additional Information

Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics. Rippling is dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email accommodations@rippling.com.

We highly value in-office collaboration to foster a cohesive work environment and company culture. For employees residing within a defined radius of a Rippling office, working on-site at least three days a week is considered an essential function of the role.

This position offers a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and equity opportunities. The exact salary will be determined based on factors such as exp e rience, skills, and location.

Join us at Rippling and be a part of transforming how businesses manage performance-based compensation.