Senior Software Engineer, Payments (I) - Remote

Overview

Kickstarter is the go-to crowdfunding platform for creative projects across everything from film, games and music to art, design, and technology. Fueled by the support of our team, our mission to help bring creative projects to life has been a core tenet since our inception in 2009.

To date, we have helped more than 282,000 creative projects reach their funding goal with pledges totalling more than $8.9 billion dollars. We continue to be committed to the growth and success of not only our community, but our team as well. Rooted in shared values, Kickstarter sees team members as whole people, giving every individual the autonomy and space to participate in decisions that impact them.

In Short

• Write well-tested software that meets product, design, and operational criteria to enable the success of Kickstarter users.
• Design, implement, and maintain payment flows and services that are tax-aware, compliant, and auditable, handling VAT, HST, and GST requirements across jurisdictions.
• Collaborate with Payments, Finance, Product & Tech, and other teams to ensure tax data is captured and exposed properly for accounting and auditability.
• Identify and address regulatory and compliance risks within payments flows, ensuring tax management aligns with platform service tax collection and marketplace facilitator requirements.
• Build and maintain automated systems for correct tax calculation, refund handling, and reconciliation with payment service providers.
• Estimate task complexity and guide team execution of large projects, ensuring committed work is delivered on-time.
• Work with non-technical stakeholders to understand business challenges and then design, implement, and communicate about corresponding technical solutions.
• Identify and propose technical project opportunities and suggest process improvements to help the team perform and deliver better.
• Participate in group code reviews to ensure a high standard of quality for all changes to Kickstarter systems.
• Participate in the on-call rotation to ensure continuous availability of services to Kickstarter users.
• Pair with and provide growth feedback and mentorship to more junior teammates.

Requirements

• You have practical experience designing or maintaining payments systems with VAT, HST, or GST compliance, settlements, and accounting/ledger data flows.
• You understand multi-jurisdictional tax rules, marketplace facilitator requirements, and tax reporting obligations.
• You can design robust, auditable payment flows that handle refunds, partial refunds, and fee routing correctly.
• You write well-tested, maintainable software and can break down complex or ambiguous problems into actionable work.
• You have the knowledge of, or willingness to learn, core Kickstarter technologies (Ruby on Rails, JavaScript/TypeScript, React, MySQL, GraphQL).
• You can communicate effectively with non-technical stakeholders to translate regulatory, product, and business requirements into technical solutions.
• You have prior experience in a payments, fintech, or marketplace environment and can navigate complex compliance scenarios confidently.

Benefits

• A fully remote workforce with plenty of opportunities to get to know your colleagues.
• 16 paid vacation days, 10 sick days, and a company-wide winter break between Christmas and New Years.
• 25 volunteer hours each year to give back to your community.
• 16 weeks of parental leave plus fertility/family planning resources.
• Annual stipends including a Remote Working & Wellness Stipend of £2,349 (prorated) each calendar year for expenses related to remote working, wellness, health, and fitness, and a £392 Role Development Stipend.
• Kickstarter currently operates with a 4-day workweek, a model that aligns our belief in a healthy work-life balance and gives staff the space to be more than their work.
• Incredibly talented and inspiring colleagues who know how to blend their creative endeavors into their work.