Staff Backend Engineer, Hinge
Growth
$223-268k
3 days a week in office
Dating app for meaningful relationships
Be an early applicant
Dating app for meaningful relationships
201-500 employees
Be an early applicant
$223-268k
3 days a week in office
201-500 employees
Company mission
To create a less lonely world by inspiring intimate, in-person connections.
Role
Who you are
- 8+ years of industry experience as a backend/service engineer
- 6+ years of experience working in a cloud environment such as GCP, AWS, or Azure
- Strong programming skills: Proficiency in Go; Python is a bonus
- System Design & Architecture: Expert-level understanding of distributed systems, event-driven architecture, cloud design patterns, and cross-cutting architectural concerns spanning multiple teams and services
- Technical Leadership & Influence: Demonstrated ability to define and drive technical direction across teams — not just within a single product area. Able to identify and close gaps that don't fit neatly into any one team's remit
- Collaboration and Communication skills: Exceptional written and verbal communication; able to synthesize complex technical tradeoffs for both engineering peers and non-technical stakeholders including senior leadership
- Cloud Technologies: Expert proficiency with Kubernetes, OpenTelemetry, gRPC/Protobuf, Argo, Kafka, and related infrastructure; able to reason about and improve org-wide platform decisions
- Mentorship & Engineering Culture: Track record of raising the technical bar for others — through code review, design feedback, documentation, or informal mentorship
What the job involves
- Backend engineers design, build, operate, and maintain the various cloud services that power Hinge. You’ll solve complex technical challenges and own a significant portion of the software stack that allows millions of users to find meaningful connections
- You’ll write high-quality code, design reliable systems, and operate the software that you build by taking part in on-call
- As a backend engineer, you’ll also be part of a diverse cross-functional team that includes partners in Product, Data Science, ML, iOS, Android, and Data Engineering
- You’ll have a hand in defining and implementing the technical strategy for how we approach User Growth and Monetization
- Design and build RESTful APIs for mobile clients
- Taking part in the backend On-Call rotation (1 whole week, every 8-11 weeks)
- Design and build microservices that run on Kubernetes
- Design and build distributed systems in Go, using cloud infrastructure and platform service components
- Own the technical design, implementation, and success of their projects
- Collaborate across teams, promoting a culture of inclusivity, growth, and strong cross-functional communication
Our take
Hinge is a dating app that stands out by prioritizing meaningful relationships over casual hookups. Designed for people seeking long-term commitments, it moves away from the typical "swipe" approach popularized by apps like Tinder. Instead, Hinge emphasized detailed profiles and compatibility-based recommendations so used can make deeper, more genuine connections.
Back in 2019, half of single people in the US had never tried a dating app. Fast forward to today, and online dating is just part of the norm. Hinge has carved out its place in this market by focusing on long-term meaningful relationships, and is certainly meeting the growing demand for companionship while riding the wave of the online dating trend.
The "dating app designed to be deleted" is the fastest-growing dating app on the market and with online dating becoming the mainstream, Hinge looks pretty set to stay at the top.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
48% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)
Dec 2014
$12m
SERIES A
Jul 2014
$4.5m
CONVERTIBLE
Total funding: $20.6m
Company benefits
- Hybrid and Remote Work: If you're hybrid, you'll come in three times a week. We host our biweekly All-Hands meetings on Wednesdays (often with sweet treats).
- Dating: Experience what our users experience. All US-based Hinge employees receive a $100 monthly stipend for epic dates. Hinge Premium is also free for all employees and their loved ones.
- Retirement Benefits: We match 100% of the first 10% of pre-tax 401(k) contributions you make, up to a maximum of $10,000 per year.
- Health Insurance: high-quality medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family.
- Paid Time Off: 20 accruable vacation days annually. Plus 1 floating holiday, 10 wellness days, 1 community service day, and a generous company holiday calendar. PTO increases with tenure after 2 years with the company.
- Parental Leave & Planning: When you become a new parent, you’re eligible for 100% paid parental leave (20 paid weeks for both birth and non-birth parents). We also subsidize fertility care and preservation services.
- Wellness: We subsidize OneMedical, ClassPass, and CitiBike memberships. You and your dependents also have access to individual therapy, group therapy, and coaching services through Modern Health.
- Professional Growth: receive a $3,000 annual Learning & Development stipend after three months, along with free access to Udemy, an online marketplace with over 6,000 courses, starting on your first day.
- Meals: Receive a $30 weekly Seamless credit. In the NYC office, we offer plenty of options for snacks and drinks. Plus, free catered lunches in the office Tuesday through Thursday. In-office lunch varies by location.
- Community Service: We match charitable donations dollar for dollar to a maximum of $15,000 per employee, and give every US-based employee 1 day off for community service annually.
- Commuting: Every US-based hybrid employee gets a $125 monthly commuter subsidy to use for public transportation, parking, bike maintenance and storage, and more.
- Pets: Feel free to bring your best friend to work with you to the NYC office. For US-based employees, we’ll provide pet insurance for your furry family members, too.
- Legal Coverage: You’ll receive low cost access to legal coverage that covers custody and support matters, divorce, real estate and home ownership, tenancy issues, tax issues, wills and estate planning, and more.
- Fertility Support: You’ll get easy access to fertility care through Carrot, from basic treatments to fertility preservation. We also provide $10,000 toward fertility preservation. You and your spouse/domestic partner are both eligible.
Company HQ
West Village, New York, NY
Leadership
Justin McLeod
(Founder & CEO)Having studied at Colgate University and Harvard Business School, Justin founded Hinge in February 2011. He has served as CEO since.
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