Staff Software Engineer, Payments (San Francisco)

About Quizlet:

At Quizlet, our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. Were a $1B+ learning platform used by two-thirds of U.S. high school students and half of college students, powering over 1 billion learning interactions each week.

We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike. Were energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.

Lets Build the Future of Learning

Join us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential.

About the Team:

Quizlets Payments team plays a critical role in ensuring seamless financial transactions, subscription lifecycles, and payment flows for our users globally. With millions of users interacting with our platform, we focus on building reliable, scalable, and secure infrastructure that supports our high volume of payments and subscription services. This is a high-impact area, with a lot of opportunities to innovate, optimize, and expand the scope of payments at Quizlet. We are at the intersection of engineering, business, and compliance, which means youll have the chance to shape the future of payments and drive key business outcomes.

About the Role:

As a Staff Software Engineer on the Payments team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and executing the technical vision for Quizlets payments infrastructure. This role offers a unique opportunity to drive innovation across both backend systems and user-facing payment flows. You will be instrumental in defining the overall payments strategy, working closely with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment with business goals. With significant opportunities for growth and innovation in the payments space, your contributions will have a direct impact on the expansion of Quizlets subscription business.

While primarily focused on backend development, you will also contribute to building and optimizing user-facing features related to payment flows and subscription management, ensuring seamless, intuitive, and performant experiences. You will lead technical projects, mentor engineers, and ensure that our services are reliable, scalable, and performant.

Were happy to share that this is an onsite position in our San Francisco office. To help foster team collaboration, we require that employees be in the office at a minimum of three days a week : Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and as needed by your manager or the company. We believe that this working environment facilitates increased work efficiency, team partnership, and supports growth as an employee and organization.

• Design, build, and maintain large-scale backend services that handle payments and subscriptions for millions of users
• Play an active role in defining Quizlets overall payments strategy, driving innovation and ensuring scalability
• Develop user-facing components and UI features that provide intuitive payment and subscription experiences, using modern front-end technologies such as React
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product managers, UX/UI designers, and frontend engineers, to ensure a seamless user experience in all payment flows
• Build reusable UI components and abstractions to improve development speed and consistency in payment-related user interfaces
• Ensure the system's reliability and uptime through robust architecture, system design, and incident response
• Provide mentorship to junior and mid-level engineers and contribute to the technical growth of the team
• Implement monitoring and alerting solutions to ensure operational excellence and resiliency
• Stay ahead of industry trends in payments technology and incorporate new solutions to improve efficiency and reduce costs

• 8+ years of experience in backend development with a strong emphasis on building large-scale distributed systems
• Familiarity with modern front-end technologies (e.g., React, NextJS) and the ability to build and maintain user-facing components, though deep UI expertise is not required
• Experience with modern backend frameworks (e.g., Go, Node.js , Python) and relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL)
• Expertise in building and scaling APIs, especially in the payments and subscription space
• Strong system architecture and design skills with a focus on scalability, reliability, and performance optimization
• Proven ability to lead technical projects from inception to completion and mentor other engineers
• Strong interest in solving complex engineering problems, with a focus on payments, financial systems, and transactional workflows

• Experience in working with global payment providers and handling multi-currency, multi-jurisdictional payments
• Experience in both backend and frontend development, with a particular emphasis on seamless integration between the two
• Familiarity with tax engines, financial reconciliation processes, or billing systems
• Strong DevOps skills, including experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP) and containerization tools like Kubernetes
• Experience working in a subscription-based or SaaS company
• Passion for learning and growing in the fintech/payments space

• Quizlet is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Total compensation for this role is market competitive, including a starting base salary of $190,000 - $225,000, depending on location and experience, as well as company stock options
• Collaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance
• 20 vacation days that we expect you to take!
• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, Dental, VSP Choice)
• Employer-sponsored 401k plan with company match
• Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth
• Paid Family Leave, FSA, HSA, Commuter benefits, Wellness benefits
• 40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of your choice

Why Join Quizlet?

Massive reach: 60M+ users, 1B+ interactions per week

Cutting-edge tech: Generative AI, adaptive learning, cognitive science

Strong momentum: Top-tier investors, sustainable business, real traction

Mission-first: Work that makes a difference in peoples lives

Inclusive culture: Committed to equity, diversity, and belonging

We strive to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome!

We work to create a holistic interview process, where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together, in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership.

We provide a transparent setting that gives a comprehensive view of who we are!

In Closing:

At Quizlet, were excited about passionate people joining our teameven if you dont check every box on the requirements list. We value unique perspectives and believe everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our culture is all about taking initiative, learning through challenges, and striving for high-quality work while staying curious and open to new ideas. We believe in honest, respectful communication, thoughtful collaboration, and creating a supportive space where everyone can grow and succeed together.

Quizlets success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us!

To All Recruiters and Placement Agencies:

At this time, Quizlet does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and/or profiles.

Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our website or to any Quizlet employee. Quizlet will not pay fees to any third-party agency or firm nor will it be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of Quizlet.