Software Engineer

**January** Software Engineer; $176.5K – $204K + Equity; NYC

**About Company** At January, we're rebuilding one of the most broken parts of consumer finance: what happens after someone falls behind on debt. Our autonomous, compliant collections platform works directly for creditors, using data and AI to personalize outreach and offer consumers clearer, more compassionate ways to resolve what they owe. Creditors recover more effectively with less risk; consumers get dignity and control during a distressing situation.

January has serviced $20B+ in debt and engaged 20M+ consumers. We outperform traditional agencies by 30%+ for 80%+ of our clients, consumer satisfaction is ~50% higher than at the largest banks, and the product is roughly 300x more efficient than traditional collection agencies. Customers like Affirm and LendingClub stay and expand. We're now growing beyond late-stage debt collection into a multi-product platform, backed by Series B funding, with ~100+ people working out of Nolita, NYC.

**About the Role** January's engineering teams are scaling rapidly to meet ambitious technical challenges across borrower experience, client operations, and compliance infrastructure. As a Software Engineer, you'll own end-to-end delivery of meaningful features that directly impact how millions of people interact with debt resolution. Every feature you ship — whether it's personalizing payment options, streamlining compliance workflows, or building AI-powered support tools — translates into real people finding pathways out of debt with dignity rather than harassment. You'll work independently on complex technical problems while collaborating effectively across engineering, product, and operations teams. This role requires engineers who thrive in ambiguity, communicate trade-offs clearly, and take initiative to solve problems before they become blockers. You'll contribute to a culture where AI-powered innovation transforms consumer finance, with opportunities to tackle challenges that stretch your capabilities and accelerate your growth into senior-level technical leadership. Current teams hiring include: - Borrower Support (BSUP) – Supports borrowers when they need help most, resolving issues, explaining their options, and guiding them through our products across channels like our call center and Voice AI. - Borrower Acquisition (BACQ) – Grows our borrower base by running campaigns, testing new channels, and refining our funnel so more of the right people discover and choose our solutions. - Borrower Activation (BACT) – Owns the end-to-end borrower onboarding journey and operational processes that move borrowers from initial interest through application, verification, and enrollment into settlement, payment plan, or payment experiences. - Client Experience (CX) – Owns relationships with our clients, making sure they see clear value through strong outcomes, transparent reporting, and fast, thoughtful communication. - Compliance and Money Ops (CMO) – Runs the financial and compliance backbone of the business, managing controls, monitoring, and payment processing so money moves safely and we stay fully compliant.

**Responsibilities** - Own Feature Delivery End-to-End - Independently scope, design, and ship features across the stack — from targeted enhancements to multi-system integrations - Make architectural decisions within your scope that balance long-term maintainability with immediate delivery pressure - Identify and resolve technical blockers proactively, escalating strategically when you've exhausted reasonable options - Drive Technical Excellence with Business Context - Translate product requirements into technical solutions, probing for edge cases and constraints that partners may not have considered - Articulate trade-offs between technical approaches using concrete examples: performance implications, development time, operational complexity, and user impact - Contribute meaningfully to technical discussions with data-driven recommendations, pushing back constructively when proposals create technical debt - Navigate Ambiguity and Accelerate Team Velocity - Work effectively when requirements are unclear or changing, asking clarifying questions that expose hidden assumptions and unblock progress - Reduce coordination overhead by anticipating dependencies — notifying other teams before your work affects them - Take ownership of problems outside your immediate scope when they block team progress - Elevate Code Quality and Engineering Standards - Write maintainable, well-tested code that other engineers can build upon without extensive context - Provide thoughtful code review feedback that catches not just bugs but architectural issues before they compound - Contribute to technical documentation and knowledge sharing that reduces onboarding friction and scales team effectiveness - Embrace AI-Driven Innovation - Actively use AI tools (Cursor, Copilot, ChatGPT) to accelerate your development velocity and code quality - Identify opportunities where AI capabilities can improve product features or internal workflows - Share learnings about effective AI usage patterns with your team

**Required Skills** A. 3-5 years of backend software engineering experience B. Strong proficiency in at least one backend language (Python, Java, Go, or similar) with ability to write clean, testable code C. Solid understanding of APIs, databases, and web technologies D. Experience providing constructive code review feedback that improves team standards E. Computer Science Degree (flexible; non-CS degrees considered)

**Bonus Skills** - Interest in fintech, consumer finance, or mission-driven companies - Track record of working effectively with product managers and cross-functional partners to deliver business outcomes - Experience making technical decisions that balance delivery speed with long-term system health - Proven ability to work on complex problems without constant direction - Track record of fixing issues outside assigned scope when they block progress - Experience turning ambiguous requirements into concrete solutions through clarifying questions and proposals - Demonstrates self-starting behavior — seeks out problems to solve rather than waiting for assignment - Clear written and verbal communication across technical and non-technical audiences - Comfortable with both documentation and real-time collaboration - Track record of building trust through follow-through and transparent communication about blockers - Active experimentation with AI development tools to improve productivity - Openness to feedback and commitment to continuous learning - Enthusiasm for emerging technologies and their practical application

**Ideal Background** 1. Engineering Cheat Sheet: link here 2. Eng Overview Snapshot: january.com/eng-overview - Background from **top‑pedigree schools** (e.g., Harvard, Berkeley, NYU, Brown, Purdue) - Prior experience at **high‑caliber engineering/big-tech/mid-size (Meta, Google, Asana, Scala, Drive) companies** + startup/founding experience is the right combination - Clear **"spike" signals** in the resume: entrepreneurial ventures (even failed), founding side projects, starting clubs, or other forms of hustle and ambition. - Rapid rise through ranks at previous companies and evidence of high‑ceiling potential.

**Logistical Info** - Location: NYC only (3+ days in office) - Compensation: $176.5K – $204K + Equity - **Other:** Open to relocation for strong non-NYC candidates (must relocate within 60 days); visa transfers by default (not new visas), case-by-case discussion

**Green Flags** - Full-stack range — January hires mostly full-stack; a pure-backend profile is a downgrade. - Concrete AI/LLM work shipped in production (LLM core to a feature or workflow, not IDE assistance). - Individual ownership with quantified, durable outcomes. - Startup / scrappy-stage pedigree with a standout ("spike"); a specific, personal reason for January. **Red Flags** - Pure-backend-only profile. - "Cog in the machine" — big-tech / incumbent with no standout impact or initiative. - Below the tenure/level bar; no startup or scrappy-stage experience. - Employment gap of roughly a year or more (historically underperforms here). - AI usage only at the tool-name level with nothing concretely built.

**Interview Process** 1. Recruiter Screen 2. Hiring Manager Screen 3. Case Study/Panel 4. Onsite Interviews 5. Culture/CEO Interview