Senior Fullstack Engineer; San Francisco Onsite

Senior Full Stack Engineer

Sphere is looking for a versatile full stack engineer who can jump on different mission critical areas to help accelerate its production - e.g. filing infrastructure, tax engine and new product areas (input tax, withholding tax, e-invoicing). These areas are key levers towards scaling Sphere and growing ARR, meaning that your work will have a direct impact on the growth of the business.

Sphere has built the world’s first AI-native tax engine that helps companies like Lovable, Eleven Labs, Replit, Runway AI, Windsurf (+ many more) automate their sales tax, VAT and GST obligations.

• We're growing rapidly (34%+ MoM revenue growth) and helping the fastest growing tech companies around the world including Lovable, Eleven Labs, Replit, Windsurf, Fathom, Linktree, Photoroom, Sierra AI, Zed etc
• We’ve spent the last 1.5 years building local rails into tax authorities in both the US and internationally to properly automate compliance processes (no other vendor has done this)
• We're building the world's first AI-native tax engine (which will be the foundation for a broader cross border compliance platform; think Deel for international billing)
• We're well funded by a16z, Felicis Ventures and YC

🌍 The market is enormous:
This is a ‘need to have’ solution for every business around the world. It’s becoming increasingly hard to ignore (see below) and if businesses don’t collect and remit indirect tax, they end up paying for it out of pocket later.

🌬️ Strong macro tailwinds:
Businesses are going global earlier and earlier and they’re not equipped to deal with cross border compliance. Additionally, tax authorities are clamping down on cross border tax compliance which means demand for this solution will continue to grow (e.g. EU forcing payment processors to hand over tax evaders).

✨ AI has changed the game: a lot of processes related to tax compliance / research have been extremely manual and cumbersome to date. That’s why incumbents like Avalara, Vertex, Anrok haven’t been able to move outside the US. LLMs have changed that and can automate a lot of what tax researchers do.

🔮 Product vision:
We believe that our AI-native tax engine will be the foundation of a broader cross border compliance platform that help businesses go global from day 1 (think input tax, withholding tax, customs). We want to be the Deel for international billing.

• Ship features related to a key component of Sphere’s platform - e.g. filing infrastructure
• Own and manage this key component, driving measurable outcomes
• Work directly with customers like Eleven Labs, Replit and Windsurf to improve / optimize that key component of the platform (e.g. improve filing generation and submission speed [x]%)

• Develop expertise across other key components of Sphere’s platform - e.g. tax engine, new products - to manage and execute improvements in this area
• Lead / mentor additional engineers in component areas that you have worked in

• The Dog:
  We place a lot of importance on how much you hustle vs which school / fancy company you went to - a trait we commonly refer to as the ‘Dog’. The person backed into a corner with something to prove will always beat the trust fund baby no matter what credentials they have.
• Shipping Fast:
  Our culture is characterized by intensity and speed. What has got us to where we are is a mentality of ‘if it can be done today, why wait for tomorrow’. If you’re looking for work life balance, this isn’t the role for you.
• In person:
  All roles are in person in SF only. Not only do we find that we can move 10x quicker with this model but it’s 10x more fun.
• Accountability:
  Everyone is responsible for something on the platform and your performance will be measured objectively against it. That is sometimes daunting (especially in engineering) but that pressure brings out the best work in people
• Self-starter:
  We don’t have time to hold hands. You will be moving across different areas of the platform and context switching on a regular basis. You must know how to figure things out for yourself and keep on task.

• Strong experience in Python . Our core application backend and data pipeline services are built with Python and Django
• While frontend / React may not be your primary focus, you’re not afraid to dive in when needed
• Very strong attention to detail. When you work with numbers this is a non-negotiable - it’s not enough to be 99% right.

• Experience working with large volumes of transaction data. You’ll be getting very familiar with it!
• Experience with Django or Python ORM