Product Engineer - Backend

Company Overview

Promise modernizes how government agencies and utilities support people in financial difficulty. We build technology that makes it simple for residents to receive benefits, engage with assistance programs, set up flexible payment plans, and stay on track—while helping agencies increase efficiency, recover revenue, and deliver services with dignity. Our mission is to transform public systems so they work better for everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

Our team includes experts from companies like Palantir, Google, Stripe , and esteemed government leaders. We work hard and believe deeply in what we do. We're looking for excellent people to build innovative, resilient technology.

Backed by over $50 million in funding from top investors – such as Reid Hoffman, Howard Schultz, Michael Seibel, Y Combinator, 8VC, The General Partnership, First Round Capital, Kapor Capital, XYZ Ventures, and Bronze Investments – Promise has been recognized as one of Fast Company's "World's Most Innovative Companies of 2022,” “Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2024,” and Y Combinator’s #1 GovTech startup.

About the Role

At Promise, we’re building technology that helps families stay afloat—offering flexible, affordable payment solutions that replace financial stress with stability. As a Product Engineer, you’ll design and scale the systems that make this mission possible.

You’ll spend most of your time hands-on with code, working on microservices and distributed systems, while growing alongside teammates and shaping our engineering culture. This is a role for someone who loves to solve complex problems at scale, thrives in collaborative environments, and wants their work to have real-world impact.

What You’ll Do

• Build with impact: Architect and implement scalable backend services that power our payments and financial products.

• Collaborate deeply: Work with infrastructure, product, and forward-deployed teams to deliver reliable end-to-end solutions.

• Code forward: Write and ship clean, maintainable, production-ready code.

• Keep systems strong: Monitor, debug, and optimize distributed systems to ensure reliability and high availability.

• Level up the team: Mentor engineers and contribute to a culture of learning, ownership, and engineering excellence.

What Will Help You Succeed

• Experience: 3+ years developing production software with a focus on backend systems.

• Systems expertise: Passion for building and debugging large-scale distributed systems.

• Cloud fluency: Familiarity with AWS, GCP, or similar cloud platforms.

• Mindset: Curious, autonomous, and accountable—with a drive to own problems end-to-end.

• Bonus: Experience in fintech, payments, or government technology environments.

Who Thrives at Promise

You’ll love it here if:

• You are energized by big, complex challenges and the opportunity to solve them.

• You want your work to have a real, measurable impact on people’s lives.

• You take ownership and run toward problems, not away from them.

• You value clear, candid, and constructive communication.

Promise is not for you if:

• You prefer hierarchy and rigid structures. We operate with freedom and responsibility.

• You are uncomfortable with change. We move fast, adapt often, and expect agility.

• You want a typical corporate culture. We are mission-driven, ambitious, and direct.

• You believe efficiency means “doing less.” We believe efficiency means doing better.

How We Support Our People

At Promise, we invest in our team’s well-being, growth, and sense of ownership.

• Equity for All: All full-time employees receive stock options to share in our company’s success.

• 100% Paid Health Coverage: We cover 100% of base medical, dental, and vision insurance plans for employees and their dependents.

• Hybrid Work: We collaborate in the office at least four days a week to stay connected and aligned as a team.

• Flexible Time Off: Self-managed FTO and 12 paid holidays — we trust you to prioritize your time.

Please note: Benefits are reviewed periodically and may be updated at the sole discretion of Promise.

Promise is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any applicant or employee because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or military or veteran status. Additionally, the Company complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every jurisdiction in which it operates. Promise is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We also provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities, pregnant individuals, and those with sincerely held religious beliefs, in accordance with applicable laws. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email [email protected].

Promise engages in US government contracts and restricts hiring to US persons, which includes US citizens and permanent residents (e.g., Green Card holders). Additionally, candidates must reside in the US.

Promise participates in E-Verify. To learn more, view E-Verify Participation Notice and Right to Work Notice.