Senior Software Engineer

People who do well at Whatnot tend to be comfortable figuring things out as they go, biased toward action, and genuinely curious about what they're building. They care more about outcomes than credit and stay close to the product and the people using it.

As our next Senior Software Engineer, you likely have:

5+ years of full-time software engineering experience, ideally in high-growth technology companies.

Experience building and operating scalable backend or full-stack systems in production.

A track record of independently owning complex technical projects from design through launch.

Experience breaking down ambiguous product or platform problems into practical technical solutions.

Strong system design skills and experience building reliable, maintainable distributed systems.

The ability to lead engineering execution for initiatives involving multiple engineers while partnering effectively with Product, Design, Data Science, and other cross-functional teams.

A strong bias toward action—you move with urgency, make thoughtful trade-offs, and consistently deliver high-impact work.

Excellent product instincts. You prioritize customer and business impact and can clearly articulate why the work you're doing matters.

The ability to solve new and unfamiliar technical challenges with a high degree of autonomy.

A track record of mentoring teammates and contributing to a collaborative, high-performing engineering culture.

Technical Environment: We primarily use Python, Elixir, and JavaScript across backend and frontend systems, with infrastructure powered by modern cloud and data platforms. Experience with these technologies is a plus, but we care most about strong engineering fundamentals and the ability to learn quickly.

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.