Backend Software Developer Jobs at Whatnot with Visa Sponsorship
Whatnot's backend engineering teams build the real-time infrastructure powering live commerce at scale. The company has a consistent track record of sponsoring work visas for Backend Software Developers, supporting candidates through the full sponsorship process from initial offer through filing.
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INTRODUCTION
🚀 Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot! Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether it's trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We're building live commerce at a scale that's never been done in the West, and there's no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops. As a remote co-located team, we're inspired by our values and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact. We're one of the fastest growing marketplaces and were recently named the #1 Best Startup Employer in America by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.
ROLE
The Data team at Whatnot creates services that improve our core product experience and unlock business value. As an engineer, you will play a critical role in defining the technical direction and leading the development of the retrieval platform to power next-gen systems at Whatnot. You will be responsible for driving innovation, ensuring the scalability and performance of our systems, and working with a team of engineers to deliver high-quality solutions. Working in a highly cross-functional role, you’ll also make key decisions about how we integrate data systems at Whatnot – and then make it happen. You’ll be positioned to align efforts to optimize other aspects of our company’s architecture, such as machine learning, real-time analytics, stream processing, and content understanding to name a few. We offer flexibility to work from home or from one of our global office hubs, and we value in-person time for planning, problem-solving, and connection. Team members in this role must live within commuting distance of our New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco hubs.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
Curious about who thrives at Whatnot? We’ve found that embodying a low ego, growth mindset, and high-impact drive goes a long way here. As our next Software Engineer of Data, you should have 3+ years of experience, plus:
- Ability to write well-tested, API-driven applications and services that run at scale in production.
- Track record of building scalable and performant distributed systems.
- Expertise in managing cloud data stores (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, etc.) for processing and serving data products.
- Expertise in streaming data systems such as Kafka, Flink, or Pulsar, and the ability to design and manage real-time processing pipelines at scale.
- Strong experience supporting operational systems to ensure uptime, reliability, and maintainability, including monitoring, alerting, and incident management.
In addition to these role-specific qualifications, all engineering team members are expected to have:
- Experience managing cloud technologies (AWS or Google Cloud) and comfort with infrastructure-as-code approaches (e.g. Terraform).
- Proficiency in at least one server-side programming language (preferably Python), common algorithms and data structures, and software design principles.
- Self-starter ethic, thriving under a high level of autonomy.
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.
COMPENSATION
For Full-Time (Salary) US based applicants: $230,000/year to $290,000/year + benefits + equity. The salary range may be inclusive of several levels that would be applicable to the position. Final salary will be based on a number of factors including, level, relevant prior experience, skills, and expertise. This range is only inclusive of base salary, not benefits (more details below) or equity.
BENEFITS
- Generous Holiday and Time off Policy
- Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision
- Work From Home Support + Home office setup allowance + Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet
- Care benefits + Monthly allowance for wellness + Annual allowance towards Childcare + Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses
- Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
- Monthly allowance to dogfood the app + All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We're passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).
- Parental Leave + 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work *company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.
EOE
Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.
Compensation Range: $230K - $290K

INTRODUCTION
🚀 Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot! Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether it's trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We're building live commerce at a scale that's never been done in the West, and there's no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops. As a remote co-located team, we're inspired by our values and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact. We're one of the fastest growing marketplaces and were recently named the #1 Best Startup Employer in America by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.
ROLE
The Data team at Whatnot creates services that improve our core product experience and unlock business value. As an engineer, you will play a critical role in defining the technical direction and leading the development of the retrieval platform to power next-gen systems at Whatnot. You will be responsible for driving innovation, ensuring the scalability and performance of our systems, and working with a team of engineers to deliver high-quality solutions. Working in a highly cross-functional role, you’ll also make key decisions about how we integrate data systems at Whatnot – and then make it happen. You’ll be positioned to align efforts to optimize other aspects of our company’s architecture, such as machine learning, real-time analytics, stream processing, and content understanding to name a few. We offer flexibility to work from home or from one of our global office hubs, and we value in-person time for planning, problem-solving, and connection. Team members in this role must live within commuting distance of our New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco hubs.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
Curious about who thrives at Whatnot? We’ve found that embodying a low ego, growth mindset, and high-impact drive goes a long way here. As our next Software Engineer of Data, you should have 3+ years of experience, plus:
- Ability to write well-tested, API-driven applications and services that run at scale in production.
- Track record of building scalable and performant distributed systems.
- Expertise in managing cloud data stores (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, etc.) for processing and serving data products.
- Expertise in streaming data systems such as Kafka, Flink, or Pulsar, and the ability to design and manage real-time processing pipelines at scale.
- Strong experience supporting operational systems to ensure uptime, reliability, and maintainability, including monitoring, alerting, and incident management.
In addition to these role-specific qualifications, all engineering team members are expected to have:
- Experience managing cloud technologies (AWS or Google Cloud) and comfort with infrastructure-as-code approaches (e.g. Terraform).
- Proficiency in at least one server-side programming language (preferably Python), common algorithms and data structures, and software design principles.
- Self-starter ethic, thriving under a high level of autonomy.
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills.
COMPENSATION
For Full-Time (Salary) US based applicants: $230,000/year to $290,000/year + benefits + equity. The salary range may be inclusive of several levels that would be applicable to the position. Final salary will be based on a number of factors including, level, relevant prior experience, skills, and expertise. This range is only inclusive of base salary, not benefits (more details below) or equity.
BENEFITS
- Generous Holiday and Time off Policy
- Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision
- Work From Home Support + Home office setup allowance + Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet
- Care benefits + Monthly allowance for wellness + Annual allowance towards Childcare + Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses
- Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
- Monthly allowance to dogfood the app + All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We're passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).
- Parental Leave + 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work *company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.
EOE
Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.
Compensation Range: $230K - $290K
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Backend Software Developer Jobs at Whatnot Jobs
Tailor your portfolio to live commerce systems
Whatnot's backend runs real-time auction and marketplace infrastructure. Before applying, document projects involving WebSockets, event-driven architecture, or high-throughput transaction processing. Generic CRUD app portfolios won't stand out against candidates with live-system experience.
Align your degree field to backend engineering requirements
For H-1B sponsorship, USCIS requires your degree to directly relate to the specialty occupation. A Computer Science or Software Engineering degree maps cleanly. If your degree is in a related field, prepare an evaluation from a credential assessment service before the filing stage.
Prepare for a distributed systems technical screen
Whatnot's backend interviews typically probe scalability, database architecture, and API design for high-concurrency environments. Practicing system design problems specific to marketplace and real-time bidding platforms directly increases your chances of clearing the technical rounds that precede any sponsorship discussion.
Track your OPT or grace period against Whatnot's hiring timeline
Whatnot's backend hiring process can run six to ten weeks from application to offer. If you're on F-1 OPT, map that timeline against your remaining work authorization. USCIS's 60-day grace period doesn't extend your employment eligibility, so starting early matters.
Use Migrate Mate to filter open roles by sponsorship type
Whatnot posts Backend Software Developer roles across multiple seniority levels at different points in the year. Use Migrate Mate to filter specifically for roles where your visa category is sponsored, so you're applying to positions that match your authorization without guessing from generic job listings.
Backend Software Developer at Whatnot jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find Backend Software Developer at Whatnot JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Does Whatnot sponsor H-1B visas for Backend Software Developers?
Yes, Whatnot sponsors H-1B visas for Backend Software Developer roles. The company has filed H-1B petitions for engineering positions and is a registered H-1B employer. Because the H-1B cap lottery runs once per year with an April 1 start date, timing your offer and petition relative to that window is critical. Employers must submit registrations in March, so align your job search accordingly.
How do I apply for Backend Software Developer jobs at Whatnot?
Applications go through Whatnot's careers page, where backend roles are listed by team and seniority. Before applying, review the job description for the specific technical stack mentioned, since Whatnot's backend spans Go, Python, and distributed systems work. Migrate Mate also surfaces Whatnot's open Backend Software Developer roles filtered by visa sponsorship type, which helps confirm the role you're targeting is open to your visa category.
Which visa types does Whatnot commonly sponsor for Backend Software Developer roles?
Whatnot sponsors H-1B, E-3, TN, EB-2, EB-3, F-1 OPT, F-1 CPT, and J-1 visas for engineering roles including backend development. Australian citizens are well-positioned to use the E-3 visa, which has no lottery and can be filed year-round. Canadian and Mexican nationals can use the TN visa, which is processed at the port of entry and doesn't require advance USCIS filing.
What qualifications does Whatnot expect from Backend Software Developer candidates?
Whatnot's backend roles typically require a bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a closely related field, plus experience building distributed systems or high-throughput APIs. Familiarity with real-time data pipelines, microservices architecture, and cloud infrastructure is frequently emphasized in their job descriptions. For H-1B or E-3 sponsorship, your degree must directly relate to the backend engineering specialty occupation as defined by USCIS.
How do I time my application to match Whatnot's sponsorship filing process?
If you need H-1B sponsorship, applications submitted between October and February give Whatnot enough runway to complete the hiring process and submit your registration during the March lottery window. For E-3 or TN visas, timing is more flexible since those categories aren't subject to annual caps. F-1 OPT candidates should factor in their authorization end date and the 60-day grace period when planning their start date negotiations with the recruiting team.
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