EMPOWER OVERVIEW
Empower is shaking up an outdated financial system by providing real opportunity for our customers: the opportunity to get the cash they need, to access fair credit, and to change their financial story. Today, we’re helping millions of people find financial security through machine learning models that evaluate creditworthiness using a more inclusive lens and mobile-first products: Cash Advance, Thrive line of credit, and Petal credit cards. Tomorrow? Creating even more financial paths for our customers (and their wallets) to succeed.
This year, Empower ranked #65 on Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies list — our third year in a row cracking the top 100 — and was named by Forbes as one of the 25 Next Billion-Dollar Startups for 2024. Empower was also featured by Forbes on America’s Best Startup Employers list in 2023, and our Thrive line of credit product was named by Fast Company as one of 2022’s Next Big Things in Tech.
Empower is backed by Sequoia Capital, Blisce, and Icon Ventures. Ready to grow your impact and accelerate your career? Take a look at our open roles — we can’t wait to meet you.
The Opportunity: Staff Backend Engineer - CashaloAs a Staff Backend Engineer at Cashalo, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the technical direction of our products and platform. You’ll think and operate like a Product Engineer, collaborating cross-functionally to deeply understand our customers, anticipate risks and trade-offs, and design secure, scalable solutions that power financial access for millions.
You’ll lead large-scale, complex initiatives with full accountability for outcomes — from solution design to execution. As a multiplier, you’ll mentor engineers, lead incident responses, guide best practices, and set the standard for engineering excellence. You’ll also effectively leverage AI-powered development tools (like Cursor, Augment, or Factory) to boost productivity, code quality, and collaboration.
This role is remote-first within Australia, New Zealand, or Singapore. You’ll work closely with your team virtually and travel is expected at least twice a year for global Empower offsites, plus occasional Cashalo team offsites in the Philippines to connect, plan, and build for the future.
How You’ll Make an ImpactLead the design, development, and deployment of secure, high-quality server-side applications that deliver real customer and business value.
Own technical initiatives end-to-end: identify opportunities, shape solutions, manage execution, and report progress.
Proactively collaborate with Product, Design, Data, and business stakeholders to drive optimal product direction, simplify designs, and balance trade-offs.
Take full responsibility for high-impact projects, anticipating and resolving issues before they become blockers.
Serve as a technical leader and multiplier: mentor engineers up to and including Senior level, lead incident responses, and provide thoughtful code and architecture reviews.
Act as a lead technical interviewer and reviewer for technical content such as Empower Engineering blog posts.
Leverage AI-powered developer tools to improve your workflow, enhance code quality, and share best practices across the team.
Monitor server performance and reliability, participate in on-call rotations as needed, and work continuously to minimize defects.
Model our ownership culture by acting with initiative, accountability, and a problem-solving mindset in everything you do.
Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.
10+ years of experience developing and deploying web APIs using .NET (C#), with deep knowledge of backend architecture and scalable system design.
Hands-on experience with ORMs (e.g., Entity Framework) and strong skills in constructing and optimizing RDMS queries.
Proficiency with asynchronous programming models, messaging queues (e.g., AMQP), and cloud PaaS environments (e.g., Azure).
Proven ability to lead large-scale, complex technical initiatives with full ownership of outcomes.
A recognized mentor who builds up peers, shares knowledge generously, and sets a high bar for technical excellence.
Strong problem-solving skills — you see around corners and facilitate solving complex technical challenges.
Able to effectively use AI-powered development tools (e.g., Cursor, Augment, Factory) to boost productivity and collaboration.
Thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and enjoy challenging assumptions to build better solutions for customers.
Initial Recruiter Call: Let’s get to know each other and ensure there’s a great fit.
Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper discussion of your experience and approach to solving challenges.
Skills Panel: Meet Cashalo team members and demonstrate your technical and product-thinking approach through real-world scenarios.
Leadership Conversation: A final chat with our leadership team to align on our mission, your goals, and how we can succeed together.
Don't meet every qualification? If you're excited about this challenge and driven to innovate, we still want to hear from you!
What You'll Get at EmpowerMeaningful Ownership: Competitive salary and generous equity in a profitable, fast growing company.
Complete Support: 100% coverage for medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, plus a generous WFH reimbursement.
High-Impact Teams: The chance to thrive in a small, focused team where your contributions directly shape outcomes for our business and customers.
Remote First: A virtual first environment built on trust and outcomes.
Team Connection: Twice-yearly company onsites where we come together to connect, learn, and build for the future (our last few have been in San Diego, Vail, and Flagstaff)!
Growth Path: Ongoing opportunities for development in a dynamic, supportive, and creative environment.
The Empower Way is one where bold ambition meets an owner mindset, where open dialogue and spirited debate are encouraged, and where everyone works together to put our customers first. We believe diverse voices lead to the best ideas, and we foster an environment where every individual is valued, heard, and supported as part of one unified team working to change lives and build a more inclusive future.
If that sounds like you, join us and be part of a team that's helping millions of people reshape their financial futures.
