Backend Software Engineer Jobs at Whatnot with Visa Sponsorship
Whatnot's backend engineering teams build the real-time infrastructure behind live shopping at scale. The company has an established track record of sponsoring work visas for Backend Software Engineers, supporting candidates through the full process across multiple visa categories.
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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
See all 72+ Backend Software Engineer at Whatnot jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Backend Software Engineer at Whatnot roles.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Backend Software Engineer Jobs at Whatnot Jobs
Tailor your portfolio to live commerce
Whatnot's backend runs real-time auction and streaming systems, so highlight experience with event-driven architecture, low-latency APIs, or distributed systems. Generic CRUD portfolios won't differentiate you in their engineering review.
Align your offer timing with H-1B cap deadlines
If you need cap-subject H-1B sponsorship, USCIS registration opens in March for an October 1 start date. Build backward from that window when negotiating your target start date with your Whatnot recruiter.
Prepare a specialty occupation justification for your role
Backend Software Engineer roles at Whatnot require a theoretical and practical application of highly specialized knowledge. Document how your degree field directly maps to your job duties before USCIS asks, not after your I-129 is filed.
Use Migrate Mate to filter Whatnot backend roles by visa type
Not every open Backend Software Engineer position at Whatnot will have identical sponsorship scope. Use Migrate Mate to filter roles by the specific visa category you need before applying, so you target the right openings from the start.
Request your LCA wage level details before signing
Your employer files a Labor Condition Application with the DOL before submitting your H-1B petition. The wage level assigned directly affects your offer, so ask your Whatnot recruiter which prevailing wage level they plan to certify at before you accept.
Backend Software Engineer at Whatnot jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find Backend Software Engineer at Whatnot JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Does Whatnot sponsor H-1B visas for Backend Software Engineers?
Yes, Whatnot sponsors H-1B visas for Backend Software Engineers. Backend engineering roles at Whatnot typically qualify as specialty occupations under USCIS standards because they require a bachelor's degree or higher in computer science, software engineering, or a closely related field. If you need cap-subject H-1B sponsorship, your start date will be tied to the October 1 fiscal year, so align your offer and interview timeline accordingly.
How do I apply for Backend Software Engineer jobs at Whatnot?
You can browse and apply for Backend Software Engineer roles at Whatnot directly through their careers page, or use Migrate Mate to filter open positions by the visa type you need before applying. When you apply, be upfront about your work authorization status in the application or recruiter screen so Whatnot can assess sponsorship fit early in the process rather than at the offer stage.
Which visa types does Whatnot commonly sponsor for Backend Software Engineers?
Whatnot sponsors several visa categories for Backend Software Engineers, including H-1B, E-3 for Australian citizens, TN for Canadian and Mexican nationals, and immigrant pathways including EB-2 and EB-3 Green Cards. They also support F-1 OPT and CPT for students in qualifying STEM programs. The right category depends on your nationality, degree field, and where you are in your immigration journey.
What qualifications does Whatnot expect for Backend Software Engineer roles?
Whatnot's backend engineering roles support real-time commerce infrastructure, so they generally look for proficiency in distributed systems, scalable APIs, and high-throughput data pipelines. A bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field is standard, and it directly supports the specialty occupation requirement for H-1B or E-3 sponsorship. Experience with live-streaming technology, payments, or marketplace platforms is a meaningful differentiator.
How long does the visa sponsorship process take for a Backend Software Engineer at Whatnot?
Timeline depends on visa category. H-1B sponsorship tied to the annual cap requires USCIS registration in March, with work authorization starting October 1 at the earliest. Premium processing can reduce USCIS adjudication to around 15 business days. E-3 and TN visas move faster since they're not cap-subject and can be processed at a U.S. consulate or port of entry, sometimes within weeks of an offer.
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