Role in brief
Shakepay, a Canadian bitcoin platform, seeks a Senior Software Engineer to develop and maintain core production systems. This role involves driving high-impact projects from concept to deployment, collaborating with product and design teams, and ensuring system reliability. Ideal for experienced backend developers who are comfortable with Node.js, TypeScript, and Postgres, and who value ownership and continuous improvement in a remote setting.
About the role
This Senior Software Engineer position at Shakepay focuses on building and evolving production systems that serve millions of users. The role requires taking ownership of complex, high-impact problems, guiding them from initial idea through to deployment. A key aspect is balancing development speed with quality, making thoughtful trade-offs, and ensuring the reliability and maintainability of the software built.
The successful candidate will partner closely with product and design teams to define project scope and execution plans. This involves contributing to technical and product decisions that influence the team's direction. Responsibilities also include sharing ownership of deployed systems, which covers on-call duties and incident response, highlighting a commitment to the full lifecycle of the software.
Success in this role means consistently delivering high-quality software that meets user needs, while also improving team standards and processes. It requires a pragmatic approach to development, a desire to refine one's craft, and the ability to navigate ambiguity. The company values individuals who are curious, proactive, and adept at using AI tools to enhance their daily workflow.
The annual salary for this position ranges from $126,000 to $165,000 USD.
Skills that matter here
- Node.js: This role requires backend development experience using Node.js to build and maintain production systems.
- TypeScript: Experience with TypeScript is necessary for backend development within the company's stack.
- Postgres: The position involves working with relational databases, specifically Postgres, for data management.
- AI tools: Candidates are expected to actively use AI tools to accelerate development, debugging, and learning.
Who this role suits
- You are a developer who prioritizes the 'why' behind what is being built, demonstrating strong product and customer judgment.
- You thrive in environments where you can take full ownership of features or systems, including their reliability and on-call responsibilities.
- You are comfortable navigating ambiguous situations and making informed decisions with incomplete information.
- You possess a continuous drive to improve your technical skills and the systems you work with, coupled with a pragmatic, action-oriented mindset.
From the employer
In this role, you will:
- Take ambiguous, high-impact problems and drive them from idea to production.
- Partner closely with Product and Design to define scope, trade-offs, and execution plans.
- Design, build, and evolve production systems with a strong focus on reliability, correctness, and maintainability.
- Balance speed and quality, knowing when to move fast and when to slow down.
- Share ownership of the systems you build, including on-call responsibilities and incident response.
- Contribute to technical and product decisions that shape the direction of your team.
- Help raise the bar for how the team builds by improving standards, tooling, and processes.
You likely bring:
- Strong product and customer judgment. You care about what is being built and why.
- Proven ownership of features or systems running in production, including reliability and on-call responsibility.
- Comfort working through ambiguity and making thoughtful trade-offs with incomplete information.
- A steady desire to improve your craft and the systems around you.
- Curiosity, pragmatism, and a bias for action.
- Active use of AI tools in your day-to-day workflow to accelerate development, debugging, and learning.
- Comfort reading legacy code and not immediately rewriting it all.
Technical experience
You likely have experience with several of the following:
- Backend development using Node.js and TypeScript.
- Relational databases such as Postgres.
- Operating production systems with observability and monitoring (eg. Datadog).
- Working in containerized or cloud-based environments.
- Comfort reviewing AI-generated PRs with the same skepticism you’d apply to a human PR.
Nice to have, but not required
- Mobile development with React Native.
- Experience building financial, payments, or crypto-related systems.
- Experience in high-growth or fast-moving product environments.
Perks And Benefits:
- 🤖 Generous AI token budget (currently unlimited).
- 🤝 Stock options as part of their total compensation.
- 🦷 Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget to take care of your mental health.
- 🌎 Remote-friendly: Work from anywhere in Canada, with optional access to our office spaces in Montreal and Toronto.
- 🆙 A $2,000 annual budget for courses, certifications, and training to support your career growth.
- 🌴 20 days of vacation per year. And if you use all your vacation, we give you a $1,000 bonus.
- 🐣 Parental leave top up to 100% of your salary for 18 weeks.
- 🙌 Quarterly team-specific or company-wide offsite to connect with each other.
Questions about this role
What is the remote work policy for this role?
This is a fully remote position, allowing candidates to work from anywhere in Canada. There are optional office spaces available in Montreal and Toronto.
What is the seniority level for this position?
This is a senior-level software engineering role.
What technical skills are required?
Required technical experience includes backend development with Node.js and TypeScript, working with relational databases like Postgres, and operating production systems with observability and monitoring tools. Active use of AI tools is also expected.