Job description

ABOUT US Propel builds technology that strengthens the social safety net in America. We envision a future where every American has the tools and resources they need to thrive. The safety net’s strength depends not just on funding, but delivery. Propel exists to dramatically improve how government benefits are delivered. Managing SNAP benefits, picking a D-SNP plan, or protecting against EBT theft should feel as seamless as Apple Pay or Netflix. Governments struggle to build modern, scalable user experiences. We don’t. Over 5.5 million Americans trust Propel today. We’ve grown revenue 35% YoY and are reinventing entire benefit categories, including Medicare, around the real needs of low-income Americans. We’re building a high-growth, high-ceiling, sustainable for-profit company where impact drives revenue. ABOUT THE ROLE We’re hiring a Senior Fullstack Engineer who wants to build consumer products at meaningful scale with real ownership. This is not a ticket-taking role. You’ll work across mobile apps, backend systems, internal tools, and new product lines. You’ll help identify problems, shape solutions, and ship iteratively in a space shaped by policy changes, evolving technology, and real-world constraints. The technology landscape is evolving quickly, including the growing role of AI in how products are built and how users interact with technology. We don’t adopt trends blindly, but we do expect engineers to stay curious, experiment thoughtfully, and continuously evolve their craft as the world changes. We are not meeting-heavy. Engineers have meaningful heads-down time. Product, Design, and Engineering operate with shared values, curious, empathetic, user-first, which reduces friction and accelerates execution. Comfort with ambiguity, strong product instincts, and a bias toward action are essential. WHAT YOU’LL DO - Build and ship features across our mobile apps (Vue + TypeScript + Capacitor) - Develop scalable backend systems (Python, Flask, Postgres, Redis, AWS) - Contribute to architecture and technical direction - Partner closely with Product and Design to scope and execute solutions - Break ambiguous problems into iterative, shippable components - Balance speed with long-term maintainability - Participate in on-call rotation - Contribute through design reviews, code reviews, and mentorship You will build systems used daily by millions of Americans to access food, healthcare, and financial stability. WHAT YOU HAVE Experience - 5+ years building and maintaining complex full-stack systems - Experience in startup or high-ambiguity environments - Strong system design and product engineering fundamentals - Fluency in Python and JavaScript (or willingness to ramp quickly) - Clear written and verbal communication skills Mindset - Ownership: You take responsibility for outcomes - Product Sense: You focus on solving the right problems - Grit: You persist through ambiguity and setbacks - Curiosity: You think from first principles - Urgency & Accountability: You ask “why not now?” - Low Ego: You step in where needed - Strong Judgment: You prioritize effectively - Iterative Mindset: You ship, learn, and improve Nice to have: - Experience building consumer-scale applications - Familiarity with safety net programs (SNAP, WIC, TANF, SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, Section 8) WHAT WE OFFER - Fair, equitable, and competitive salaries. Propel believes that everyone should be compensated fairly and equitably. We set our salary ranges using compensation data from hundreds of NYC based startups at our stage. Additionally, pay is not determined based on location. The salary range for this position is $190,000 - $230,000 depending on experience and interview performance. Equity and excellent benefits come with this position as well! - 20 Days PTO - 4% 401K match - $10k lifetime Carrot Fertility benefit - Excellent Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage - Remote-first culture (NYC HQ) - Monthly co-working stipend outside NYC MORE ABOUT PROPEL AND OUR ENGINEERING TEAM Technology is not a support function at Propel - it is the company. We believe great tech companies: - Solve user problems first - Build for scale and iteration - Invest in quality and infrastructure - Stay curious about new technologies while exercising strong judgment We operate lean and transparently. You’ll understand our revenue drivers and big bets. Millions of users trust us and that responsibility is earned through consistently strong judgment. We’ve backed our mission with action: - Seeded emergency funds during government shutdowns - Committed 1% of company equity into a user trust - Partnered carefully when sunsetting products to protect users WHY THIS ROLE MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU We’re building in the complex intersection of people, policy, and government systems. That work requires strong partnerships and comes with unique challenges. - We operate lean, and priorities can shift as policy, partners, or user needs evolve. Our environment isn’t highly structured with rigid swimlanes or long, predictable planning cycles. - Engineers move across product surfaces and problem spaces. This isn’t a narrowly scoped role focused on a single technical domain. - We’re building in an era where AI is reshaping team boundaries. Engineers here are comfortable contributing to product and design conversations, not just writing code. - We ship quickly while holding a high bar for quality and user trust. Balancing speed with thoughtful tradeoffs is part of the job. - Our roadmap is influenced by legislation, regulatory changes, and evolving government systems. A certain level of external uncertainty is inherent to the space. - Career growth tends to come through ownership, impact, and stepping into stretch work rather than predefined ladders or timelines. - Technology evolves quickly, including AI. Staying curious and continuously evolving your craft is part of building a modern tech company. - We value low-ego teammates who step in to help when something needs fixing, even if it falls outside a traditional lane. - We are building a category-defining company in a complex space. That requires resilience, urgency, strong judgment, and a genuine desire to serve our users well. If that energizes you - you’ll likely thrive here. Additional Considerations: - We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team, and welcome applicants from all backgrounds and abilities. - We're currently accepting applications from the states we have an established entity in, which includes California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Learn more about our impact from the press - Fintech Company Propel Announces $10 Million Fund For Food Stamp forbes.com - Late Show With Stephen Colbert linkedin.com - How to Propel the Fight Against Poverty in America youtube.com - How Tech is Helping Poor People Get Government Aid nytimes.com - How one tech startup is giving cash to SNAP recipients npr.org - Recipients Affected By Government Shutdown forbes.com - How hunger relief groups say you can help feed your neighbors during the shutdown and beyond apnews.com Join us, and let's build something amazing together!

Requirements

Must-haves

We’re hiring a Senior Fullstack Engineer who wants to build consumer products at meaningful scale with real ownership.
We are not meeting-heavy. Engineers have meaningful heads-down time. Product, Design, and Engineering operate with shared values, curious, empathetic, user-first, which reduces friction and accelerates execution.
Comfort with ambiguity, strong product instincts, and a bias toward action are essential.
Build and ship features across our mobile apps (Vue + TypeScript + Capacitor)
Develop scalable backend systems (Python, Flask, Postgres, Redis, AWS)
Contribute to architecture and technical direction
Partner closely with Product and Design to scope and execute solutions
Break ambiguous problems into iterative, shippable components
Balance speed with long-term maintainability
Participate in on-call rotation
Contribute through design reviews, code reviews, and mentorship
You will build systems used daily by millions of Americans to access food, healthcare, and financial stability.
5+ years building and maintaining complex full-stack systems
Experience in startup or high-ambiguity environments
Strong system design and product engineering fundamentals
Fluency in Python and JavaScript (or willingness to ramp quickly)
Clear written and verbal communication skills
Ownership: You take responsibility for outcomes
Product Sense: You focus on solving the right problems
Grit: You persist through ambiguity and setbacks
Curiosity: You think from first principles
Urgency & Accountability: You ask “why not now?”

Nice-to-haves

Experience building consumer-scale applications
Familiarity with safety net programs (SNAP, WIC, TANF, SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, Section 8)

Application prep

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

Keywords to mirror

aivuetypescriptpythonpostgresawsjavascript

Platform: ashby
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401k

Pto