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Staff Software Engineer, Backend - Education

Brightwheel

Brightwheel

Software Engineering
United States
USD 154k-237k / year + Equity
Posted on Jan 5, 2026

Location

United States

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Remote

Department

Engineering

Compensation

  • $154K – $237K • Offers Equity

Compensation & Benefits
At brightwheel, we reward people who make things happen. Our compensation is benchmarked against similar-stage growth companies, with ranges set by function, level, and location. Final offers reflect experience and expertise, and your recruiter can walk you through the range for your region.

Equity & Ownership
Many roles include equity, giving you the chance to share in the long-term success you help create.

Benefits & Well-Being
We design our benefits to help you (and your family) live well, stay healthy, and keep growing. While specifics vary by region, we typically offer:

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage

  • Generous paid parental leave

  • Flexible PTO so you can recharge when you need it

  • Local retirement or savings plans (e.g., 401(k) in the U.S.)

We’re committed to pay equity and to building a diverse, inclusive workplace where everyone can do their best work and feel supported along the way.

Our Mission and Opportunity

Early education is one of the greatest determinants of childhood outcomes, is a must for working families, and has lasting social and economic impact. Brightwheel’s vision is high quality early education for every child. We pursue this by directly supporting teachers in the classroom, engaging parents in the development of their kids, and enabling the small businesses that make up the backbone of the $175 billion early education industry. Brightwheel is the most loved technology brand in early education, trusted by tens of thousands of providers and millions of educators and families.

Our Team

Our team is passionate, talented, and customer-focused. We embody our Leadership Principles in our work and culture. We are a distributed team with remote employees across every US time zone, as well as select offices in the US and internationally. Our exceptional investor group includes Addition, Bessemer, Emerson Collective, Lowercase Capital, Mark Cuban, Notable Capital, and others.

Who You Are

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer who is technically well-rounded and motivated by the positive impact their work can have in people’s lives. Our Education team is building a best-in-class learning platform used by administrators, teachers, and parents to support the growth and development of their students and children. In this role, you’ll launch brand-new features and products that empower educators to plan and deliver engaging activities, track student development, and share progress with families.

You are:

  • A builder with a growth mindset. You thrive in ambiguity, seek continuous improvement, and embrace learning from wins and misses.

  • A true owner. You see things through end-to-end, and take accountability for delivering high-quality solutions that last.

  • Customer-focused. You work backwards from the educator and student experience, measuring success by outcomes, not just activity.

  • A collaborative partner. You work closely with Product, Design, and stakeholders, engaging with differing perspectives to arrive at the best solution.

  • A mentor and multiplier. You share your knowledge, elevate team practices, and help others succeed alongside you.

What You'll Do

  • Partner with Product and Design to scope, design, and deliver impactful new features in the Education product line.

  • Architect, refine, and scale backend systems, introducing new technologies and patterns that strengthen the foundation of our backend architecture

  • Own and evolve brightwheel’s eCommerce systems and integrations- everything we need to get brightwheel’s curriculum into the hands of teachers and students.

  • Collaborate across functions to ensure technology decisions align with business goals and customer needs.

  • Contribute to technical direction for the team, leading by example with high-quality code and thoughtful reviews.

What You've Done

  • Delivered large-scale backend systems that improved customer-facing experiences and business-critical operations. 5+ years of professional experience, preferably in fast-paced early- or mid-stage startups.

  • Designed and implemented distributed systems for scalability and reliability, with proficiency in languages such as Ruby on Rails, Python, or Go.

  • Worked with Stripe or similar billing systems, building and maintaining integrations that supported growth and operational excellence.

  • Contributed to or led migration efforts in evolving codebases, improving architecture while supporting ongoing product delivery.

  • Partnered with cross-functional teams to take features from concept to launch, balancing speed with long-term value.

  • Mentored other engineers, established best practices, and helped teams improve velocity and execution.

  • Bonus: experience with microservices/service-oriented architectures and full-stack development using React.js.

Candidates with varying backgrounds are encouraged to apply. We do not require prior knowledge of technologies in our stack, only a desire to learn them.

At Brightwheel you will encounter:

  1. Ruby on Rails

  2. PostgreSQL

  3. Redis

  4. React.js

  5. CircleCI

  6. GitHub Actions

  7. Kubernetes

  8. AWS managed services, like Redshift and ECS

Brightwheel is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment and is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

Protecting Our Applicants: Please be aware of recruiting scams impersonating Brightwheel. All legitimate communications come from @mybrightwheel.com addresses, and we never ask for payment or sensitive personal data as part of our hiring process. If you suspect fraudulent contact, reach out to security@mybrightwheel.com. Thank you for helping us keep our applicant community safe.

Compensation Range: $154K - $237K