Staff Software Developer Jobs in San Francisco, CA
Staff Software Developer jobs in San Francisco are heavily concentrated in SoMa, Mission Bay, and the Financial District, driven by demand from cloud infrastructure, fintech, and enterprise AI companies. Employers hiring right now include Anthropic, Rippling, and Uber. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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At Affirm, we exist for the moments that matter—giving people a clear, predictable way to pay over time, with no hidden fees, no surprises, and no tradeoffs on what matters most.
The Auth Experiences team is looking for a passionate Staff Software Engineer to help set technical direction and build the next generation of web and mobile experiences for Affirm customers.
Auth Experiences owns key moments in Affirm's checkout flow, allowing customers to access Affirm's services, while ensuring that fraud is kept to a minimum. Our systems power critical consumer journeys across thousands of merchants and multiple countries. We manage web and mobile experiences, building User Interfaces, as well as backend orchestration layers. We focus heavily on ensuring a great customer experience with high conversion and security. As a staff engineer, you will lead significant technical initiatives, drive the architecture and evolution of the product, and mentor the team to build highly reliable software.
What You'll Do
- You will be responsible for setting technical strategy for your team on a year-long time scale, and help your team tie it together with critical, business-impacting projects.
- You will collaborate across teams in the product development lifecycle by collaborating with product management, design & analytics to ensure technical sustainability, risks and trade-offs are well understood and managed.
- You will act as a force-multiplier for your team through your definition and advocacy of technical solutions and operational processes.
- You take ownership of your team's operations and availability by ensuring you have the right monitoring, triage rotations, playbooks, polcities, testing and alerting in place to support "keep the lights on" & on-call efforts.
- You will foster a culture of quality and ownership on your team by setting code review and design standards for your team, and advocating for them beyond your team through your writing and tech talks.
- You will help develop talent on your team by providing feedback and guidance, and leading by example.
What We Look For
- You have 8+ years of experience of developing and architecting web applications using declarative UI frameworks like React or Vue.
- You are proficient in working with Javascript/Typescript.
- You have experience delivering major features, system components or deprecating existing functionality in a system through the definition of a technical and execution plan. You write high quality code that is easily understood and used by others.
- You thrive in ambiguity, and are comfortable moving from low level language idioms all the way to the architecture of large systems to understand how they work.
- Your growth and impact trajectory demonstrates that you have mastered gathering and iterating on feedback from your engineering and cross-functional peers.
- You have strong verbal and written communication skills that support effective collaboration with our global engineering team.
- This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor's degree in a related field.
Base Pay Grade - P
Equity Grade - 13
Employees new to Affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job-related skills.
Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include equity rewards, monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents.)
USA Pacific base pay range (CA, WA, NY, NJ, CT): $230,000 - $290,000
USA Sapphire base pay range (all other U.S. states): $204,00 - $264,000
Remote-first with flexibility built in
Affirm is proud to be a remote-first company. Most roles can be done from almost anywhere within the country of employment. Some positions may occasionally require in-person work at an Affirm office, and a few are office-based due to the nature of the work. All new hires will be invited to attend an in-person onboarding experience.
Benefits designed for you
Our benefits reflect our commitment to care, transparency, and flexibility. Here are a few highlights:
- Health coverage at no cost: We cover 100% of premiums for employees and their dependents.
- Spending stipends: Monthly stipends support your tech setup, and the ability to choose health and wellness options that are right for you.
- Time off to recharge: Flexible time off and generous holiday calendars help you rest when you need to.
- Own a piece of what you build: Our employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets you buy Affirm stock at a discount.
We're committed to providing an inclusive interview process, including accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need support, we're happy to help.
For positions based in San Francisco or Los Angeles: Affirm considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.
By clicking "Submit Application," you acknowledge that you have read Affirm's Global Candidate Privacy Notice and consent to the use of your personal information as described.
At Affirm, we exist for the moments that matter—giving people a clear, predictable way to pay over time, with no hidden fees, no surprises, and no tradeoffs on what matters most.
The Auth Experiences team is looking for a passionate Staff Software Engineer to help set technical direction and build the next generation of web and mobile experiences for Affirm customers.
Auth Experiences owns key moments in Affirm's checkout flow, allowing customers to access Affirm's services, while ensuring that fraud is kept to a minimum. Our systems power critical consumer journeys across thousands of merchants and multiple countries. We manage web and mobile experiences, building User Interfaces, as well as backend orchestration layers. We focus heavily on ensuring a great customer experience with high conversion and security. As a staff engineer, you will lead significant technical initiatives, drive the architecture and evolution of the product, and mentor the team to build highly reliable software.
What You'll Do
- You will be responsible for setting technical strategy for your team on a year-long time scale, and help your team tie it together with critical, business-impacting projects.
- You will collaborate across teams in the product development lifecycle by collaborating with product management, design & analytics to ensure technical sustainability, risks and trade-offs are well understood and managed.
- You will act as a force-multiplier for your team through your definition and advocacy of technical solutions and operational processes.
- You take ownership of your team's operations and availability by ensuring you have the right monitoring, triage rotations, playbooks, polcities, testing and alerting in place to support "keep the lights on" & on-call efforts.
- You will foster a culture of quality and ownership on your team by setting code review and design standards for your team, and advocating for them beyond your team through your writing and tech talks.
- You will help develop talent on your team by providing feedback and guidance, and leading by example.
What We Look For
- You have 8+ years of experience of developing and architecting web applications using declarative UI frameworks like React or Vue.
- You are proficient in working with Javascript/Typescript.
- You have experience delivering major features, system components or deprecating existing functionality in a system through the definition of a technical and execution plan. You write high quality code that is easily understood and used by others.
- You thrive in ambiguity, and are comfortable moving from low level language idioms all the way to the architecture of large systems to understand how they work.
- Your growth and impact trajectory demonstrates that you have mastered gathering and iterating on feedback from your engineering and cross-functional peers.
- You have strong verbal and written communication skills that support effective collaboration with our global engineering team.
- This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor's degree in a related field.
Base Pay Grade - P
Equity Grade - 13
Employees new to Affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job-related skills.
Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include equity rewards, monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents.)
USA Pacific base pay range (CA, WA, NY, NJ, CT): $230,000 - $290,000
USA Sapphire base pay range (all other U.S. states): $204,00 - $264,000
Remote-first with flexibility built in
Affirm is proud to be a remote-first company. Most roles can be done from almost anywhere within the country of employment. Some positions may occasionally require in-person work at an Affirm office, and a few are office-based due to the nature of the work. All new hires will be invited to attend an in-person onboarding experience.
Benefits designed for you
Our benefits reflect our commitment to care, transparency, and flexibility. Here are a few highlights:
- Health coverage at no cost: We cover 100% of premiums for employees and their dependents.
- Spending stipends: Monthly stipends support your tech setup, and the ability to choose health and wellness options that are right for you.
- Time off to recharge: Flexible time off and generous holiday calendars help you rest when you need to.
- Own a piece of what you build: Our employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets you buy Affirm stock at a discount.
We're committed to providing an inclusive interview process, including accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need support, we're happy to help.
For positions based in San Francisco or Los Angeles: Affirm considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.
By clicking "Submit Application," you acknowledge that you have read Affirm's Global Candidate Privacy Notice and consent to the use of your personal information as described.
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Find Staff Software Developer JobsStaff Software Developer Job Market in San Francisco
Who's Hiring
- Anthropic44
- Rippling39
- Uber15
- HARVEY11
- Affirm10
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software77
- Banking & Financial Services9
- Consulting & Professional Services9
- Healthcare & Medical Services5
- Fintech4
Staff Software Developer Jobs in San Francisco: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a staff software developer job in San Francisco?
Targeting companies in San Francisco's SoMa, Mission Bay, and Civic Center corridors gives you the best concentration of openings. Cloud platforms, fintech firms, and AI-focused startups hire the most at this level. Candidates who can demonstrate distributed systems experience, cross-functional leadership, and a history of shipping at scale consistently stand out in San Francisco's competitive senior engineering market.
Which companies hire staff software developers in San Francisco?
San Francisco staff software developer roles are posted by Anthropic, Rippling, and Uber and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. The local employer base skews toward high-growth tech companies, fintech platforms, and cloud-native enterprises that tend to maintain dedicated senior engineering headcount year-round.
Are there remote staff software developer jobs in San Francisco?
Yes, staff software developer roles are well-suited to remote and hybrid arrangements given the largely desk-based, collaborative nature of the work. About 72% of staff software developer openings tied to San Francisco are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting the tech industry's ongoing flexibility at the senior level. Backend infrastructure, platform engineering, and developer tooling roles tend to offer the most remote options locally.
How can I get a staff software developer job in San Francisco with little or no experience?
The most realistic path is breaking in through a senior engineer or tech lead role at a smaller San Francisco startup before moving into a staff-level position at a larger company. Early-stage companies in SoMa and the Castro often promote from within quickly. Building a visible open-source portfolio and contributing to projects used by local companies gives San Francisco hiring managers a concrete signal when your formal experience is still developing.
Which industries hire the most staff software developers in San Francisco?
San Francisco staff software developer roles concentrate in Technology & Software, Banking & Financial Services, and Consulting & Professional Services, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. San Francisco's density of venture-backed technology companies, major fintech platforms, and health tech firms creates sustained demand for senior individual contributors who can architect systems and mentor engineering teams at scale.
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