Lead Software Development Engineer

About this role

<div class="content-intro"><p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong data-stringify-type="bold">Immigration / Work Authorization Notice:</strong></span><strong data-stringify-type="bold"> </strong></strong>Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. iSpot is not able to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this position at this time.</p> <p>iSpot competes for the best talent. Our compensation packages consist of salary and equity in one of Seattle’s hottest start-ups, as well as other standard benefits. Most importantly, we provide a really interesting working experience, and the chance to contribute to the success of something great.</p></div><h3>What You’ll Be Part Of:</h3> <p>You’ll join a high-impact engineering organization building the foundational technology that powers our entire product suite. As a Full-Stack Engineer, you are central to our <strong>Creative, Audience, and Outcomes pillars</strong>. Your mission is to be a force multiplier: you won't just write code; you will architect AI-augmented workflows that bridge the gap between visionary UI and robust, high-throughput data pipelines. Whether you are leveraging LLMs to accelerate frontend prototyping or building self-healing backend systems, your work directly impacts how we create, who we reach, and the tangible results we deliver.</p> <h3>Responsibilities:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>AI-First Development:</strong> Lead the adoption of AI-augmented development environments (e.g., Kiro, Cursor, Copilot) to accelerate the entire lifecycle, from rapid UI prototyping in <strong>React</strong> to optimizing complex backend logic.</li> <li><strong>Full-Stack Orchestration:</strong> Design and implement extensible features that unify sleek user experiences with resilient backend services and low-latency data pipelines.</li> <li><strong>Intelligent Data Pipelines:</strong> Author and maintain scalable pipelines (streaming/batch) that incorporate AI-driven transformations, anomaly detection, and automated scaling to ensure data integrity from source to screen.</li> <li><strong>Technical Leadership &amp; Mentorship:</strong> Serve as the go-to expert for full-stack patterns and AI literacy, coaching the team on prompt engineering, automated refactoring, and the ethical integration of AI into production code.</li> <li><strong>Quality &amp; Observability:</strong> Drive a "shift-left" testing strategy using AI to generate comprehensive test suites (Jest, Cypress, Integration) and build AI-driven monitoring to predict and mitigate system failures.</li> <li><strong>Cross-Functional Collaboration:</strong> Partner with product and design teams to align technical strategy with the project vision, ensuring that backend capabilities unlock ambitious, AI-powered frontend experiences.</li> <li><strong>System Health:</strong> Own on-call responsibilities, update runbooks, and leverage AI diagnostics to streamline incident investigation and platform stability.</li> </ul> <h3>Qualifications and Education Requirements:</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Extensive Full-Stack Experience:</strong> Proven track record of building shareable frontend components and complex backend infrastructure, with a strong focus on <strong>React, TypeScript,</strong> and languages like <strong>Node.js, Python, or Go.</strong></li> <li><strong>AI Mastery:</strong> Deep proficiency in AI-assisted development and a proven ability to integrate AI APIs and Vector Databases into production-grade applications.</li> <li><strong>Data &amp; Pipeline Expertise:</strong> Strong understanding of data structures, distributed systems, and database optimization (SQL/NoSQL) within high-scale environments.</li> <li><strong>Quality-Driven Engineering:</strong> Expertise in test automation and maintainable patterns, utilizing AI to enhance coverage and efficiency.</li> <li><strong>Architectural Vision:</strong> Proven ability to author technical designs for complex, multi-team projects where AI and human-written code coexist seamlessly.</li> <li><strong>Communication &amp; Impact:</strong> Ability to communicate complex technical strategies to both technical and non-technical audiences, focusing on outcomes and user-centric design.<br><br> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Target cash compensation range: <span data-olk-copy-source="MessageBody">$ 153,007.00 - 188,000.00 USD Annually&nbsp;</span></span></em></p> <table class="fields"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="" data-provides="custom_field_value" data-provides-for="custom_field_4855456005">&nbsp;</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">We are committed to providing competitive, market-informed compensation.</span></em><em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The cash compensation above includes base salary, variable commission for employees in eligible roles, and annual bonus targets for eligible roles. In addition to cash compensation, all full time iSpotters are eligible to participate in iSpot’s equity plan to receive stock options. Non-exempt roles will also be eligible for (pre-approved) overtime pay. Individual compensation packages are influenced by different factors unique to each candidate, including their skills, experience, qualifications and other job-related reasons.</span></em></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">For more information on total rewards package, go</span></em><a href="https://www.ispot.tv/about/careers"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></em><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">HER</span></em></a></p> </li> </ul><div class="content-conclusion"><p>If you don't feel you met every single requirement for the role, don't rule yourself out. Please apply anyway!</p> <p>iSpot is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. If y