Lead Software Engineer, Kafene
$150-190k
More information about location
Lease-to-own options for furniture, appliances, electronics, and more
Be an early applicant
Lease-to-own options for furniture, appliances, electronics, and more
101-200 employees
Be an early applicant
$150-190k
More information about location
101-200 employees
Company mission
To empower flexible ownership solutions.
Role
Who you are
- We’re looking for a Lead Software Engineer who thrives at the intersection of hands-on execution and strategic thinking
- This is an opportunity for someone who loves to build but also has the ability to zoom out, see the bigger picture, and guide strategic initiatives. You’ll play a critical role in scaling our core platform and shaping the future of our technology
- 10+ years of full-stack experience with Node.js, TypeScript, and Vue
- Experience working on complex backend systems and with RESTful APIs
- A strategic mindset with the ability to advocate for impactful engineering work
- An ability to break down large solutions into smaller working MVPs focused on moving fast, learning quickly, and driving value every release
- Strong communication skills with the confidence to speak up and engage with business stakeholders
- Able to work with distributed teams across time zones, overlapping with EST and some European hours, and participate in on-call support
- Experience with agile methodologies and continuous delivery practices
Desirable
- Prior experience scaling systems for high-growth or consumer-facing products
- Prior experience at a start-up or in the Fintech space
- Interest in growing into a formal leadership role
What the job involves
- In this role, you’ll operate as a highly skilled full-stack developer while also helping to shape our engineering practices, architecture, and technical direction
- You’ll collaborate closely with our US-based product team and Europe-based engineers—actively contributing to the codebase, influencing architectural decisions, and driving high-impact initiatives. You’ll report directly to the CTO
- While this is not a formal people management role, you’ll take on additional leadership responsibilities, serving as a technical mentor and force multiplier within the team
- Own and deliver critical features and services across the stack (TypeScript, Node.js, Vue)
- Lead technical decision-making and architecture improvements to support business growth and scalability
- Collaborate daily with offshore developers—reviewing code, unblocking teammates, and providing technical guidance
- Provide on-call coverage to ensure system reliability and fast response times
- Champion agile practices, continuous delivery, and strong testing practices
- Identify and advocate for technical priorities to increase team velocity and product quality
- Partner with product and business stakeholders to shape technical solutions aligned with business goals
- Drive a culture of excellence by modeling proactive communication, ownership, and accountability
- Serve as an advocate for the broader engineering team—amplifying their voices, surfacing feedback, and ensuring their perspectives help shape technical and product decisions
Our take
Historically, bad credit and poor purchasing power have excluded many consumers from buying higher-priced household items. Classic lenders are reluctant to offer plans to those with poor or absent credit pasts, and it can be hard for low-income households to save enough money for upfront purchasing. Kafene, founded in 2019, integrates lease-to-own agreements at point-of-purchase; opening up furniture, appliance, and electronics businesses to underserved consumers.
Lease-to-own is no new concept, but bringing this type of agreement to furniture and similar markets is relatively novel by comparison. Kafene’s toolbox – driven by custom-built technology – underwrites, approves, and enables payment in less than five minutes. Its point-of-sale nature means it does not interrupt the shopping experience and, additionally, consumers can manage existing leases through the website which encourages a positive consumer-lender relationship.
Kafene has seen substantial investment which is set to increase headcount to meet demand from merchants and consumers. Although it is only one of many buy-now-pay-later startups, the market for these platforms is huge and there is certainly room within it for Kafene to continue to grow.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 6 rounds)
Oct 2023
$12.6m
SERIES B
Sep 2022
$18m
SERIES B
Total funding: $77.1m
Company benefits
- Comprehensive healthcare coverage, including dental, vision, and dependent care benefits
- 401(k) plan and options for medical HSA and FSA
- Generous paid time off and parental leave
- Hybrid workplace setup with home office equipment provided
Company HQ
Midtown East, New York, NY
Leadership
Neal Desai
(Co-Founder & CEO)Former CFO at Octane Lending. Prior experience as a Portfolio Manager. Has worked at Summit Securities Group, Hard Eight Holdings, and Merrill Lynch.
James Schuler
(Co-Founder & CTO)Co-founded Atlas Holdings Group, FundElevator and Eligible Inc, and was CTO at all three.
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