Senior Software Backend Engineer, Market Pricing
Pave
San Francisco, CA · Posted August 11, 2026
Just laid off? Start here: a plan for the first weeks
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Where San Francisco, CA ranks
Where San Francisco, CA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Best cities for security jobs316 openings · of 20
- #1Best cities for technology jobs7,178 openings · of 100
- #1Best cities for financial services pay after cost of living$173k · of 33
- #1Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills35% · of 100
- #1Best cities for entry-level jobs that want AI skills in the West Coast35% · of 54
- #1Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the West Coast902 jobs · of 47
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
How AI is used in this kind of work
Among software developers, AI is already used for some of the tasks. Measured exposure for software developers: 29% (some).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
Pave has filed one layoff notice in the last twelve months, covering 100 workers, most recently April 2026. These are public filings with state labor departments, and an open role can sit alongside them. See the filings
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About the job
Who We Are
At Pave, we're building the industry’s leading compensation platform, combining the world's largest real-time compensation dataset with deep expertise in AI and machine learning. Our platform is perfecting the art and science of pay to give 9,000+ companies unparalleled confidence in every compensation decision.
Top tier companies like OpenAI, McDonald’s, Instacart, Atlassian, Affirm, Ericsson, Synopsys, Stripe, Doordash, Fanatics, Databricks, and Waymo use Pave, transforming every pay decision into a competitive advantage. $190+ billion in total compensation spend is managed in our workflows, and 80% of Forbes AI 50 use Pave to benchmark compensation.
The future of pay is real-time & predictive, and we’re making it happen right now. We’ve raised $175M in funding from leading investors like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Index Ventures, Y Combinator, Insight Partners, Atomico, Venture Partners, and Craft Ventures.
The Market Pricing Team @ Pave
Compensation decisions get made every day with far less data than they deserve. Market Pricing empowers teams to price jobs in hours instead of months, with more data, build competitive pay ranges, and understand exactly how those decisions land across their organization. Getting this right means companies can stay competitive and retain their best talent.
What You'll Do
Propose and implement scalable systems for our most sophisticated customers
Partner with stakeholders to take ambiguous problems from an idea to a shipped, enterprise-ready feature
Own all phases of the development lifecycle, from a conversation with a customer to post-release monitoring
Set technical direction across projects, mentor engineers, and raise the bar on how the team build
What You'll Bring
5+ years of backend engineering experience
A strong eye for performance, reliability, and robust systems design
You have empathy for compensation teams and understand the challenges involved in pricing an employees’ pay
You have strong judgement when operating in the unknown; weighing all of the tradeoffs when there is no “correct” answer
Proven ability to break ambiguous, complex problems into concrete milestones with clear success metrics and drive them to completion with minimal oversight
You influence design decisions across the team, mentor other engineers, and bring people along through clear reasoning
You thrive in fast-paced environments and ship thoughtful solutions without over-engineering
Compensation, It's What We Do.
At Pave, we believe compensation should be as thoughtful as the people we hire. Your total rewards package includes meaningful equity, best-in-class medical, dental, and vision coverage, unlimited PTO, and region-specific benefits designed around your life, not just your role. Your level and compensation are determined by your experience and how you show up throughout the interview process. We're always happy to walk you through how we think about leveling — just ask.
Targeted cash compensation for this role: P4: $195,500 - $264,500
Benefits @ Pave
At Pave, growth isn't a perk — it's the point. As you develop, your role expands, your responsibilities deepen, and your compensation reflects the impact you're making.
What we offer
Your Health, Fully Covered: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family, with a range of options designed to meet you where you are.
Time That's Actually Yours: Flexible PTO and the freedom to work from anywhere in the world for up to a month — because life doesn't pause, and neither should you.
Fuel for the Work: Lunch and dinner stipends plus fully stocked kitchens, so you can stay energized without thinking twice about it.
Room to Keep Growing: A quarterly education stipend to invest in the skills and knowledge that matter most to you.
Support When It Matters Most: Robust parental leave so you can be fully present for the moments that count.
Getting Here, Made Easier: A commuter stipend to support the in-person collaboration that makes great work happen.
Life @ Pave
Founded in 2019 with a clear purpose and a team that has never wavered from it, Pave has grown into a global force in compensation management — giving thousands of companies the tools to take control, build confidence, and earn credibility in every pay decision they make. And we're just getting started. Headquartered in San Francisco's Financial District, with regional hubs in New York City's Flatiron District, Salt Lake City, Kraków (Poland), and the United Kingdom — wherever you're based, you'll find the same thing: people who genuinely care about the work, each other, and the customers that rely on Pave.
We run a hybrid culture that brings teams together in person 4 days a week — and every Friday, the whole company gathers for our Team Sync: breakfast, new hire welcomes, product updates, fireside chats, and yes, the occasional Kahoot. It's one of the things people notice when they join us — that we truly enjoy spending time together.
Our culture is shaped by five values we live every day:
Be Intellectually Honest — Truth over comfort. We face reality clearly and speak directly, even when it's hard.
Play to Win — We're not here to participate. We're here to be the #1 compensation platform in the world, and we act like it.
Uphold the Pave Platinum Standard — We hold ourselves to the highest bar — for our customers, our data, and each other.
One Team — We win and lose together. Titles don't drive decisions here — shared goals do.
Hug of Jawn — Hard to define, impossible to miss. Ask your recruiter.
Our Vision: Unlock a labor market built on trust.
Our Mission: Build confidence in every compensation decision.
We build software that transforms how companies pay their people — and we believe the team behind that software deserves the same thoughtfulness. If you're ready to help shape the future of compensation alongside people who are smart, humble, and genuinely motivated by the problem we're solving, we'd love to meet you.
Still deliberating? Just apply! We're always excited to meet people who are eager to contribute.
Pave uses automated tools, including AI-based fraud detection, to verify applicant identity and protect the integrity of our hiring process.