Senior Software Engineer - Ads and Commerce

Kit is an email-first operating system for creators who mean business. We help creators grow and monetize their audience with ease. For coaches, YouTubers, authors, podcasters, and other creatives, there isn't a better marketing hub to rely on to grow audiences, automate email marketing, and sell digital products — all within one platform.
More importantly, there isn't a team more committed to helping creators earn a living. We're on a mission to help creators earn $1 billion using our creator marketing platform. We have always been 100% independent and 100% remote.
We are proud to have built a product that our customers love, and we look for people who have enthusiasm and belief in our mission, vision, and values to join our team. We're also embracing AI thoughtfully — both in how we build and how we hire to ensure our team is adaptable, innovative, and ready for what's next.

We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer to build the products that help creators grow their audience and monetize their work at scale.

You'll be joining the Network Squad, which owns Creator Growth through recommendation products and Creator Monetization via our Ads and Commerce platforms. We build products where network effects drive value—as more creators participate, everyone benefits. Your work directly impacts how thousands of creators find their audience and earn a living, with measurable outcomes like 2x faster audience growth for creators using our recommendation network.

This is a hands-on role for a product-minded engineer with strong front-end expertise. You'll work across the full stack—from React frontends to our Rails backend and analytics systems—but your strength lies in creating exceptional user experiences. You excel at partnering with Design and Product throughout the design process, shaping early concepts, refining rough ideas, and breaking down ambitious features into iterative deliverables that ship value to creators sooner. You understand when to push back on scope, how to identify the MVP, and how to sequence releases so creators benefit throughout the development process, not just at the end.

You're proficient with AI-assisted development tools and leverage them to broaden your impact. You'll collaborate closely with Product and Design to turn ambiguous growth and monetization challenges into clear, actionable solutions. You'll architect scalable frontend systems, work with analytical data, and help evolve our products while bringing modern approaches to performance and user experience.

You'll report to the Engineering Manager who leads the Network Squad, a cross-functional product team at Kit. You'll collaborate closely with a Product Manager, Product Designer, and peer Software Engineers.

You'll also have access to a group of Engineers across Kit for support and mentorship, and will start with a peer onboarding buddy who will help you navigate our systems and codebase.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will:

• First Week: Dive into our codebase and learn how our growth and monetization products work. Set up your local environment and merge your first production code. Take part in Get To Know You's (GTKYs) to meet our distributed team.

• First Month: Drive your own ramp-up by learning our product and codebase with the goal of delivering something meaningful to creators by month's end. Understand how our recommendation and monetization products support creators, and how our systems—from Rails backend to React frontend, and soon our ClickHouse analytics layer—work together. Join team activities for planning, building, and measuring. Actively participate in code reviews, and contribute to PRs weekly.

• First Six Months: Own and deliver multiple complex feature from concept to launch. Improve our codebase through thoughtful refactoring while maintaining quality standards. Ensure service reliability by participating in on-call rotations. Present at least one Lunch & Learn session. Proactively identify and act on opportunities to improve our product and development processes.

Skills

• Expertise developing rich, performant web applications using React, JavaScript, and modern CSS frameworks like Tailwind

• Strong ability to scope ambitious designs into iterative releases. Identifying MVPs, sequencing deliverables, and shipping value incrementally rather than waiting for "done"

• Proficiency with Ruby on Rails. While frontend is your strength, you're comfortable and capable working in our Rails backend

• Proficiency using AI-assisted development tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude, etc.) to accelerate development and improve code quality

• Ability to plan, estimate, and execute complex ambiguous projects independently while keeping stakeholders informed

• Ability to write high-quality, well-tested, maintainable, and accessible code with minimal guidance

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills for driving clarity and alignment across Engineering, Product, and Design

Experiences

• Breaking down complex, polished designs into shipping increments. Pushing back and shaping scope constructively and partnering with Product and Design to define iterative release plans

• Working with large-scale data systems to power user experiences, analytics, or optimization

• Working across a legacy codebase and evolving it safely through migrations, refactors, and modernization of frontend components

• Planning, estimating, and executing complex projects independently while keeping stakeholders informed

• Diagnosing root causes of problems and proposing solutions with clear trade-offs and business impact

• Sharing knowledge and context through code reviews, documentation, and mentorship to strengthen the team's technical standards

Traits

• High agency and ownership. Comfortable working independently while collaborating closely with teammates

• Demonstrate growth mindset through continuous learning and rapid skill development

• Adapt flexibly to dynamic environments while maintaining proactive ownership of outcomes

• Create momentum by bringing ideas to life without waiting for perfect conditions

• Strong interest in AI and eagerness to experiment with the evolving landscape to make our work more efficient and effective

• Integrate feedback naturally into workflow, both giving actionable input and iterating based on feedback received

• Shape and champion solutions that deeply align with user needs, balancing technical excellence with product impact

• Experience with machine learning concepts, recommendation systems, or personalization algorithms

• Experience with OLAP systems like ClickHouse, Druid, or similar data stores

• Experience building advertising platforms, commerce products, or marketplace systems

• Worked directly in the creator economy space

• Thriving only in highly structured environments with detailed specifications. Our work often involves ambiguity and evolving requirements

• Preferring to work in isolation. Our collaborative approach means regular interaction with cross-functional teams

• Needing full consensus or permission before moving forward

• Uncomfortable with direct feedback culture (both giving and receiving)

• Wanting to avoid legacy code. We value our codebase history and need engineers who can respectfully evolve rather than rewrite everything

• Reluctant to adopt AI development tools. We expect engineers to actively leverage A

We're 100% remote with team members across the globe. We concentrate meetings in a core 4-hour overlap window (10am-2pm Eastern) to balance collaboration with individual focus time. Depending on your location, this may mean early mornings or late afternoons, but we're intentional about keeping meetings contained to this window.

Kit has standardized salaries based on position, no matter where you live. For this role, we’re hiring at a level 3 ($153,000), out of five levels. Level is determined based on experience and our interview process.

• Profit Sharing

• Kit equity

• 401k with a 5% match

• We cover up to $1,950 per month toward medical premiums, with dental and vision premiums fully covered. We offer Health Insurance plans through Aetna.

• $4,000 equipment allowance for your first two years, $3,000 budget every following two years

• Individual learning + development budget ($3,500/year)

• Gender affirming benefits

• Childcare benefit up to $3,000 annually

• Twenty (20) days of paid time off during each year of employment

• Paid paid vacation: An after-tax bonus of $1,000 for taking five consecutive days of vacation where you’re fully unplugged from work

• Ten (10) paid holidays a year

• Two weeks of paid sick time each year, including mental health + well being days

• Twelve (12) weeks paid parental leave and flexible scheduling in your child’s first year

• Up to six weeks of paid bereavement leave, medical leave, and disaster after six months of employment, two weeks of each paid leave in your first six months

• Winter Break Closure: Kit closes for a week at the end of December, giving everyone a collective break to enjoy the holiday season. Essential support services remain available, with teams coordinating to ensure coverage during this period

• Four-week, paid sabbatical after five years with the team

• Fantastic in-person or virtual retreats with the team twice a year

We know that most people hate interviewing (we relate!). We aim to make it as good of an experience as we can, and part of that includes keeping you informed during the process.

Here’s what you can expect from the process:

1. A phone screen with our recruiter

2. Hiring manager interview

3. Take-home assignment

4. A technical interview

5. Technical execution & collaboration interview

To get started, complete this application, including answers to the questions on the next page. We read every single application, and your responses to our application questions help put your experience into context. We’ll keep you informed through every step

Kit is an equal opportunity employer

We value diversity in all of its forms. Research tells us that applicants who are female or non-binary, as well as applicants who are people of color, are less likely to apply for roles they do not feel 100% qualified for. If you think you meet more than 50% of our requirements but fewer than 100% of them, please apply.

We’re imperfect communicators, so think of our job postings as the starting point for discussion rather than proof that you shouldn’t apply.

Kit does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.