Software Engineer 1

The Platform Team owns the shared foundations - developer productivity, core services and infrastructure, release and test automation, and security - that lets all of engineering ship safer, faster, and at scale. We’re a multiplier: we build paved roads and enable product teams, not product features.

The Opportunity

As a Software Engineer 1 on the Platform Team, you’ll help build the systems and tooling that raise the floor for every engineer at Sydecar. You’ll join a collaborative, high-trust team that values ownership, thoughtful execution, and a sustainable pace. Your work - faster pipelines, reliable infrastructure, safer releases, and a stronger security posture - will be felt across the entire engineering organization. This is a great role for an early-career engineer who wants to grow quickly alongside experienced platform engineers.

This is a hybrid role based in San Francisco or New York City with in-office attendance of two to three days per week.

What You’ll Do

• Build and improve the internal developer platform - CI/CD pipelines, build/deploy automation, and local and preview environments - creating a “golden path” that helps every engineer ship quickly and safely.
• Design, operate, and scale core shared services and cloud infrastructure as code (Terraform), with strong reliability, observability, and cost efficiency.
• Advance release automation and test automation so shipping to production is routine and low-risk, with safe rollout patterns and easy rollbacks.
• Strengthen the platform’s security posture and help build a distributed security practice across the engineering org.
• Partner with product teams as an enabler - help build standards and interfaces, and co-build where teams share an interest or have a timely dependency - while keeping the platform focused on general-purpose foundations rather than product-specific work.
• Contribute to projects from concept through deployment, learning to balance speed with scalability.
• Grow through pairing, code review, and mentorship from senior engineers, and take part in architecture discussions.
• Collaborate closely with engineering, product, design, and operations.

• A strong computer science foundation - data structures, algorithms, and systems fundamentals (degree in CS/related field or equivalent practical experience).
• AI-native: fluent and comfortable using agentic / AI-assisted development tools as part of your everyday workflow.
• Curious, a fast learner, and a self-starter who takes ownership and figures things out.
• A collaborative team player with clear communication skills.
• 0-2 years of professional work experience (internships, co-ops, and substantial personal or academic projects count).

Bonus Qualifications

• Fintech experience (payments, compliance, or regulated environments).
• Exposure to internal developer platforms or developer-experience tooling.
• Terraform and GCP familiarity; observability tooling (logging, metrics, tracing).
• Security interest - OWASP-style practices, secrets management, or dependency/vulnerability scanning.
• Exposure to TypeScript/Node.js, NestJS, Prisma, PostgreSQL, and Playwright / React Testing Library.

Our Tech Stack

• Frontend: TypeScript and React (mono-repo)
• Backend: TypeScript, NestJS, Prisma
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Testing: Jest, React Testing Library, Playwright
• Design: Figma
• Infrastructure: Terraform (IaC)