Senior Software Engineer

About Esper

Esper was founded in 2018 with the mission to empower dynamic and responsive policy making in Government. Esper’s goal is to align existing data, stakeholders and public policy goals to streamline the policy making process at all levels of Government. We imagine a world where policy making is driven by data and insights from all stakeholders and we are transforming traditional bureaucracy into a dynamic and flexible system that encourages innovation and collaboration.

Esper is looking for an experienced Senior Software Engineer to help drive this mission forward, based in either Austin TX, or Denver/Boulder CO.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will be responsible for building and maintaining features and business logic for our applications. In this role, you will collaborate closely with designers, product managers, and frontend engineers to deliver high-quality and well-designed user experiences. You should be comfortable working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, and able to quickly adapt to changing requirements and priorities.

• Design, build, and maintain features for our applications
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-documented code
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality products
• Work closely with frontend developers to develop clean API contracts
• Continuously improve the performance, reliability, and security of our applications
• Stay up-to-date with the latest backend technologies and best practices

• Backend applications built using Micronaut with Java 21
• Distributed systems technologies including Kafka, gRPC, Temporal.io, Redis
• AI inference with Anthropic's Claude models
• Docker and Kubernetes for orchestration
• Build tooling including Gradle, Git Hub, and CircleCI

• 5+ years of experience
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent work experience
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong attention to detail and ability to deliver high-quality work under tight deadlines
• Nice to have experience building products with AI capabilities

• Being a part of an innovative and collaborative team that will both support and challenge you
• Significant opportunity for growth and ownership and to shape Esper for the long‑term
• Competitive salary and equity at a growing early‑stage company
• Paid holidays & unlimited PTO
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous parental & sick leave
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Short/Long term disability & life insurance
• Flexible spending account (FSA)
• Work anniversary equity grants
• Monthly stipend to offset remote work expenses
• Office equipment allowance
• Paid Time Off to participate in volunteer/community events

Annual salary: $160,000 - $173,000