Job description

ABOUT QUIZLET: At Quizlet, our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. We’re a $1B+ learning platform used by two-thirds of U.S. high school students and half of college students, powering over 1 billion learning interactions each week. We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike. We’re energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools. Let’s Build the Future of Learning Join us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential. WHY JOIN QUIZLET? 🌎 Massive reach: 60M+ users, 1B+ interactions per week 🧠 Cutting-edge tech: Generative AI, adaptive learning, cognitive science 📈 Strong momentum: Top-tier investors, sustainable business, real traction 🎯 Mission-first: Work that makes a difference in people’s lives 🤝 Inclusive culture: Committed to equity, diversity, and belonging ABOUT THE TEAM: Quizlet's Product Engineering organization builds the core experiences that help millions of students and teachers achieve their learning goals. We collaborate across teams to achieve user-centric outcomes, focusing on developing intuitive interfaces, engaging learning tools, and robust, scalable systems. You’ll be joining a passionate group of engineers, designers, product managers, and data scientists dedicated to solving real-world educational challenges. Our teams operate with autonomy, embrace experimentation, and are deeply committed to user-centric design. We value transparency, inclusivity, and collaboration at all levels. Our (non-exhaustive) Tech Stack: - Languages: Go, PHP, Typescript - Frameworks: React, Next.js, UIKit, SwiftUI, Jetpack Compose - Data: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Spanner, BigQuery - Misc: GCP, Datadog, Growthbook, Rollbar, Pub/Sub, Redis/Valkey, Docker/Colima, Kubernetes About the Role: We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer to design, build, and deliver the architecture that supports Quizlet's users, authentication, and engineering teams. You'll work closely with other engineers, product managers, and partners in Security, Privacy, and Product to turn complex requirements into secure, reliable, and well-designed systems that serve millions of learners globally. As a senior individual contributor, you'll take ownership of complex projects from concept through deployment, applying sound technical judgment and balancing trade-offs between security, reliability, performance, and maintainability. You'll play a key role in shaping architecture, driving best practices, and mentoring teammates through code reviews, design discussions, and technical guidance. This role involves careful, incremental change to systems that cannot go down: planning migrations, rolling out safely, and leaving behind clear designs and documentation that other teams can build on. To help foster team collaboration, we require that employees be in the office a minimum of three days per week: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and as needed by your manager or the company. We believe that this working environment facilitates increased work efficiency, team partnership, and supports growth as an employee and organization. IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL: - Deliver end-to-end projects that directly contribute to Quizlet's platform and business priorities, from planning and design through implementation, testing, and rollout - Design, build, and operate authentication and account systems (login, signup, SSO, sessions, and account security) used by millions of learners and teachers - Lead incremental migrations from legacy systems to new services, using feature flags, ramped rollouts, backfills, and rollback plans so users see no disruption - Define service boundaries, APIs, data models, and event contracts for shared platform services such as the User Service - Build privacy and compliance foundations into the platform, including account deletion, data requests, age and consent requirements, and data separation for school district agreements - Strengthen security and reliability through rate limiting and bot protection on login and signup, observability, and incident response, and lead postmortems that drive lasting fixes - Write design docs and lead architecture reviews, helping align engineers across teams on the best path forward - Break down complex projects into actionable, well-scoped tasks and execute them efficiently with minimal oversight - Partner with Security, Privacy, Product, and other platform teams to turn requirements into practical technical plans - Mentor and support other engineers through code reviews, pairing sessions, and sharing domain knowledge - Improve engineering practices that platform teams rely on, from configuration as code and deployment pipelines to development environments and observability tools WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE: - 5+ years of experience in software engineering, with a strong backend or full-stack foundation - Proven ability to deliver complex projects end-to-end, from design and implementation through testing and deployment - Hands-on experience building or operating authentication and identity systems, such as OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect, sessions and tokens, SSO, or account security - Experience migrating or re-architecting live systems incrementally, without downtime or data loss - Strong skills in API design, data modeling, and relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) - Experience with distributed and event-driven systems (e.g., Pub/Sub) and modern CI/CD practices - A security mindset and an understanding of privacy-by-design principles - Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make thoughtful, well-reasoned technical decisions and document them clearly - Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams and with non-engineering partners - Experience mentoring or guiding peers and contributing to a culture of learning BONUS POINTS IF YOU HAVE: - Experience with managed identity platforms (e.g., Auth0, Okta, Amazon Cognito, Firebase Authentication) - Familiarity with student and child privacy requirements (e.g., COPPA, FERPA, GDPR, or state student data privacy laws) - Experience breaking up a large monolith (PHP or similar) into services - Experience with account security features such as multi-factor authentication, passkeys, or account recovery - Infrastructure as code (Terraform), Kubernetes, or Google Cloud experience - Experience using feature-flagging or experimentation platforms (e.g., GrowthBook, LaunchDarkly) to roll out changes safely - Worked in environments with high data, security, or performance requirements - Hands-on involvement in incident response or operational engineering practices COMPENSATION, BENEFITS & PERKS: - Collaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance - 20 vacation days that we expect you to take! - Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, Dental, VSP Choice) - Employer-sponsored 401k plan with company match - Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth - Paid Family Leave, FSA, HSA, Commuter benefits, and Wellness benefits - 40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choice We strive to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome! We work to create a holistic interview process, where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together, in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership. We provide a transparent setting that gives a comprehensive view of who we are! IN CLOSING: At Quizlet, we’re excited about passionate people joining our team—even if you don’t check every box on the requirements list. We value unique perspectives and believe everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our culture is all about taking initiative, learning through challenges, and striving for high-quality work while staying curious and open to new ideas. We believe in honest, respectful communication, thoughtful collaboration, and creating a supportive space where everyone can grow and succeed together.” Quizlet’s success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us! #LI-Onsite TO ALL RECRUITERS AND PLACEMENT AGENCIES: AT THIS TIME QUIZLET DOES NOT ACCEPT UNSOLICITED AGENCY RESUMES AND/OR PROFILES. PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD UNSOLICITED AGENCY RESUMES TO OUR WEBSITE OR TO ANY QUIZLET EMPLOYEE. QUIZLET WILL NOT PAY FEES TO ANY THIRD-PARTY AGENCY OR FIRM NOR WILL IT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AGENCY FEES ASSOCIATED WITH UNSOLICITED RESUMES. ALL UNSOLICITED RESUMES RECEIVED WILL BE CONSIDERED THE PROPERTY OF QUIZLET.

Requirements

Must-haves

Languages: Go, PHP, Typescript
Frameworks: React, Next.js, UIKit, SwiftUI, Jetpack Compose
Data: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Spanner, BigQuery
Misc: GCP, Datadog, Growthbook, Rollbar, Pub/Sub, Redis/Valkey, Docker/Colima, Kubernetes
This role involves careful, incremental change to systems that cannot go down: planning migrations, rolling out safely, and leaving behind clear designs and documentation that other teams can build on.
Deliver end-to-end projects that directly contribute to Quizlet's platform and business priorities, from planning and design through implementation, testing, and rollout
Design, build, and operate authentication and account systems (login, signup, SSO, sessions, and account security) used by millions of learners and teachers
Lead incremental migrations from legacy systems to new services, using feature flags, ramped rollouts, backfills, and rollback plans so users see no disruption
Define service boundaries, APIs, data models, and event contracts for shared platform services such as the User Service
Build privacy and compliance foundations into the platform, including account deletion, data requests, age and consent requirements, and data separation for school district agreements
Strengthen security and reliability through rate limiting and bot protection on login and signup, observability, and incident response, and lead postmortems that drive lasting fixes
Write design docs and lead architecture reviews, helping align engineers across teams on the best path forward
Break down complex projects into actionable, well-scoped tasks and execute them efficiently with minimal oversight
Partner with Security, Privacy, Product, and other platform teams to turn requirements into practical technical plans
Mentor and support other engineers through code reviews, pairing sessions, and sharing domain knowledge
Improve engineering practices that platform teams rely on, from configuration as code and deployment pipelines to development environments and observability tools
5+ years of experience in software engineering, with a strong backend or full-stack foundation
Proven ability to deliver complex projects end-to-end, from design and implementation through testing and deployment
Hands-on experience building or operating authentication and identity systems, such as OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect, sessions and tokens, SSO, or account security
Experience migrating or re-architecting live systems incrementally, without downtime or data loss
Strong skills in API design, data modeling, and relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL)
Experience with distributed and event-driven systems (e.g., Pub/Sub) and modern CI/CD practices
A security mindset and an understanding of privacy-by-design principles
Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make thoughtful, well-reasoned technical decisions and document them clearly

Nice-to-haves

None flagged.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

machine learningaigotypescriptreactnext.jsgcpdockerkubernetesapici/cd

Platform: ashby
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401k

Paid Time Off

Wellness