SOFTWARE ENGINEER, FOUNDATIONS
Remote (ET & CT time zones only; some travel required)
ABOUT US
Clasp is a venture-backed, mission-driven startup transforming access to education and career pathways. We are revolutionizing the way employers attract and retain critical talent and the way colleges and universities support their students through education financing, all while tackling the student debt crisis. (Yep, we think BIG.) We like to think of ourselves as more than a fintech; we're a catalyst for economic mobility.
A Forbes Fintech 50 company, portfolio company of SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management, the largest HR organization out there!) and recipient of "Startup of the Year" by StartUp Boston, Clasp is driven by our commitment to social impact and innovation.
Our work spans two business lines:
Clasp Talent helps healthcare employers attract and retain critical talent by connecting them with diverse candidates and using student loan repayment as a powerful recruiting and retention tool. We meaningfully connect employers, educational institutions, and learners to drive mutual benefit.
Clasp Finance equips colleges and universities with lending technology to launch and operate their own private student loan programs, enabling schools to step in and support their students directly with financial aid.
Join us on our journey to give power to learners and unlock fulfilling careers that drive positive change in their communities and beyond.
WHO WE NEED
We're looking for a Software Engineer to join the Foundations team in Clasp Talent. Foundations owns the core services and infrastructure that every Talent domain team builds on: user management and SSO, notifications, data exchange with employers, schools, and partners, and the shared platform patterns underneath them.
You will report to the Tech Lead, Foundations for day-to-day operations and work directly with teammates, product partners, and engineers on other domain teams. You'll own pieces of shared services from design through production, and grow into owning larger systems. You use AI tools deliberately to move faster, you care about clean APIs and reliable systems, and you ask good questions when the path is unclear.
At Clasp we run a DevOps culture where engineers have full ownership of the code they write and the infrastructure it runs on. We want someone who is excited to build things other engineers depend on, and to grow quickly alongside us.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Build and maintain features in Talent's shared services, including user management, authentication and SSO, role-based access control, and notification systems (email, in-app, and other channels).
- Implement and maintain data exchange integrations and APIs with employers, schools, and partner systems, with clear contracts, error handling, and monitoring.
- Write reusable services, libraries, and documentation that other engineering teams can adopt with minimal friction, and respond to their feedback and questions.
- Write clean, tested, maintainable code across the front end and back end, and take part in code reviews and technical design discussions.
- Apply AI-assisted development techniques (code generation, test writing, refactoring, documentation) to ship higher-quality software faster.
- Work with Product, QA, Security, and Compliance to turn requirements for identity, access, and data handling into working software.
- Improve CI/CD pipelines, test coverage, and observability for the services Foundations owns, and take part in the on-call rotation.
- Contribute to a culture of continuous learning, high standards, and direct, low-ego feedback.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- 3+ years of professional software engineering experience, ideally at a SaaS startup or similar environment, with experience owning features end to end.
- Strong fluency in Python (Django, Flask, FastAPI, or similar) and TypeScript/JavaScript (React, Next.js), with working knowledge of PostgreSQL.
- Experience building and consuming APIs, and an understanding of authentication and authorization basics (sessions, tokens, OAuth, role-based permissions).
- Experience with CI/CD (GitHub Actions or similar) and cloud infrastructure (AWS or Google Cloud), and comfort debugging in production with logs and monitoring.
- AI-native in your workflow: you use coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, Claude, etc.) as a real force multiplier, not just for autocomplete.
- Strong written and verbal communication, including documentation that other engineers want to read.
- A genuine interest in technology that expands access to education and economic mobility.
NICE TO HAVE
- Experience with SSO (SAML, OIDC) or user provisioning (e.g., SCIM).
- Experience building notification or messaging systems (transactional email, templating, delivery tracking) or other event-driven systems.
- Experience with integrations to HRIS, ATS, or other partner systems.
- Experience working in a regulated environment such as fintech or financial services.
- Experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform or similar).
WHAT WE GIVE IN RETURN
- Competitive cash and equity compensation
- Health benefits (health, dental, & vision)
- Student loan repayment benefits
- 401k + match
- Flexible PTO policy
- Opportunities to grow and perform in a fast-paced environment alongside a stellar team
SALARY
The salary range for this position is competitive and will be commensurate with the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and industry knowledge, ranging between $95,000 to $120,000 annually. In addition to the base salary, we offer an attractive equity component as part of our compensation package, providing an opportunity for eligible employees to share in the success and growth of our company. We are committed to offering competitive compensation and benefits packages to attract and retain top talent.
Work authorization
This role is not eligible for immigration sponsorship, now or in the future. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for any employer.
How we use AI in hiring
Clasp uses AI-assisted tools in parts of our hiring process, such as AI notetakers transcribing or summarizing interviews, scheduling, and supporting evaluation in technical assessments. Humans review applications and make every hiring decision. AI tools don't make final decisions about any candidate. You're welcome to use AI to research Clasp and prepare, but during live interviews and assessments we want to hear your own thinking, so please don't use AI tools that generate or feed you responses in real time. If you'd like to be evaluated without AI tools, need an accommodation, or have questions about how we use these tools, email recruiting@clasp.com and we'll arrange another process where we can.
Equal opportunity
Clasp is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We don't discriminate based on race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran or military status, citizenship status (except as required by law), or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in line with applicable fair chance laws. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the hiring process, email recruiting@clasp.com.