Staff Software Engineer, Whatnot
Payments
More information about location
Live stream platform & marketplace
Job no longer available
Live stream platform & marketplace
1001+ employees
Job no longer available
More information about location
1001+ employees
Company mission
To enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.
Role
Who you are
- As our next Staff Software Engineer, you should have 8+ years of software development experience building scalable systems that can handle millions of users, plus:
- Excellent product instincts. You first think about users and long term objectives when designing a technical solution
- You have designed complex distributed systems that power products used by millions of users
- You’re seasoned in defining the technical roadmap for team, identifying areas that need improvement and leading cross-team solutions
- You can identify, architect, and build the right systems or products to improve the business
- You deeply understand and can explain the various trade offs made in decisions
- You enable collaboration across multiple teams to deliver on cross-team initiatives, while delegating ownership and uplifting those around you
- You can mentor others, and prioritize building inclusive, supportive teams
- You’re a project owner - you have strong ownership instincts and can own projects from inception to production to maintenance
- You’re known for shipping high quality products and features quickly and iteratively towards the ultimate goal
- You’re an excellent problem solver and don’t need to be told exactly what to do
- You’re open to doing frontend work when required
- Have the ability to quickly become effective in new technologies
- Have experience working with payment systems, infrastructure, and international commerce (nice to have)
- Have startup experience at a high-growth company (nice to have)
- Knowledge of multiple programming languages (we primarily use Python, Elixir, JavaScript - direct experience is nice to have for a well balanced candidate)
What the job involves
- The Payments - Treasury team at Whatnot are globally responsible for how our business moves and records the money in every customer transaction; and how taxes, customs, returns, refunds and more just work no matter where our customers are in the world
- We are deeply connected with the foundations of our business and unlock tremendous growth within and across international territories, while creating exciting new ways for our users to transact
- You’ll collaborate closely with our sister Payments - Experience team, and with other teams and senior leaders across Whatnot while doing so
- To achieve these goals, we’re looking to make a number of substantial improvements to our systems including critical areas of the business like payment scale & reliability, increased payment options, fraud mitigation, and advanced shipping options and improved delivery times with a focus on providing a seamless international marketplace
- Each member of the team has a lot of individual responsibility and many more freedoms, so we need to hire people we can trust
Our take
Live shopping is changing the way people engage with eCommerce and Whatnot is one of the key platforms driving this shift. The company operates across the US, UK, and Europe, where millions of people connect each day to buy, sell, and build communities around shared interests.
Founded in 2019, Whatnot allows real-time auctions where buyers can watch sellers showcase products and share their expertise, creating a more interactive and personal shopper experience. Sellers include individual creators and small businesses who use live shows to reach audiences and grow their online presence.
As of 2025, the company reports over $6B in sales, with sellers earning significantly more on average than other major marketplaces. And with a range of investor support, Whatnot is committed to developing new ways to make online shopping more social and community-driven.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
54% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 8 rounds)
Oct 2025
$225m
SERIES F
Jan 2025
$265m
SERIES E
Total funding: $974.2m
Company benefits
- Wellness: Health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans. We also cover some of the cost for your dependents as well.
- Compensation: Generous compensation, including a competitive base salary and equity. Whatnot offers monthly reimbursement for internet and phone costs, along with a one-time home office set-up allowance. Whatnot offers a pension plan and matches employee contributions of up to 4% of the employee’s base salary.
- Recharge: Whatnot gives you the freedom to take time off as you see fit. And, we take company-wide Winter and Summer breaks so we can recharge. Whatnot provides a monthly allowance for wellness expenses. We know that to take care of our customers, we have to take care of ourselves. Supplemental health and life insurance coverage comes standard at Whatnot. 16 weeks of paid parental leave, and an additional one-month gradual return-to-work period.* Plus an additional childcare allowance, and a lifetime allowance for family planning, including adoption and fertility expenses. *The leave allowances provided by Whatnot may be dictated / informed by your country’s legal requirements,
- Flexibility: As a remote co-located team, we’re inspired by innovation and anchored in our values. With hubs in the US, UK, Germany, Ireland, and Poland, we’re building the future of online marketplaces –together.
Company values
- Always listen to customers
- Move uncomfortably fast
- Prioritize impact ruthlessly
- Own everything and nothing
- Set crazy goals
- Provide extreme transparency
- Optimize for the upside
- Team over ego
- Figure it out
- Deeply understand why
- Have fun & be kind
Company HQ
Venice, Los Angeles, CA
Articles
Leadership
Grant LaFontaine
(Co-Founder & CEO)Former Product Marketing Manager at Google, Project Manager at Facebook. Also co-founded Kit.
Logan Head
(Co-Founder & CTO)Experience in Engineering, including at Maker's Row, Factr, and Flight Club. Former Senior Product Manager at GOAT.
Salary benchmarks
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