Staff Full-Stack Engineer

Department: Engineering

Location: Austin HQ

Employment Type: FullTime

Introduction

The Zebra, named a Best Place to Work in Austin four years running, is building the next evolution of our insurance platform—expanding how consumers engage with our products beyond comparison alone. We intentionally strive to create inclusive, diverse teams where different backgrounds and perspectives are valued. Our motto, “All Stripes Welcome,” reflects how we show up for one another while tackling meaningful, complex problems.

We’re seeking a Staff Software Engineer to help shape and deliver the next phase of The Zebra’s product ecosystem. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who brings deep expertise in either backend or frontend development, paired with the curiosity and judgment to collaborate across the stack and influence technical direction at a system level.

The Role

As a Staff Software Engineer, you will act as a technical leader on a team focused on expanding The Zebra’s product offering. You’ll help design, build, and evolve systems that support new capabilities while maintaining high standards for scalability, reliability, and developer experience.

This role is intentionally flexible. We are open to candidates who lean strongly backend or frontend, provided they are comfortable collaborating across boundaries and contributing to architectural discussions that span the full system.

You will be expected to develop a deep understanding of The Zebra’s technical ecosystem, enabling you to clearly communicate trade-offs, provide technical context, and guide decision-making across engineering and product conversations.

Location

While we are open to remote work across the contingent US, we are still in the process of establishing our company to support work in all states! We’ve recently made the shift from an in-office organization to a hybrid model and love the flexibility it allows our employees. We are set up to support employees who want to be fully remote, in-office only, and a mix of the two. Please note - At this time we are not able to hire in California, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

What You’ll Do

• Design, implement, and maintain high-quality systems using Python on the backend and React / Next.js on the frontend, with emphasis aligned to your strengths

• Lead technical design and implementation of complex, cross-team initiatives from concept through delivery

• Act as a technical lead, building deep system knowledge and helping teams navigate architectural trade-offs

• Partner closely with engineers, product managers, and designers to rapidly iterate while maintaining a high-quality codebase

• Contribute meaningfully across the stack as needed, without being expected to specialize equally in all areas

• Identify high-impact opportunities to improve scalability, stability, and developer productivity

• Provide mentorship and technical guidance through code reviews, design discussions, and collaboration

• Advocate for sound engineering practices while balancing quality, speed, and business impact

• Evaluate and introduce new tools or technologies when they provide clear, practical value

What We’re Looking For

• 8+ years of professional software development experience

• Deep expertise in either backend or frontend development, with working familiarity across the stack

  • Backend focus: Python, APIs, data modeling, distributed systems

  • Frontend focus: React, Next.js, performance, accessibility, user experience

• Experience building and evolving scalable systems in production environments

• Proven ability to lead large technical initiatives while still making impactful individual contributions

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical trade-offs to varied audiences

• Product-minded thinking and empathy for end users

• Willingness to question assumptions and contribute thoughtful perspectives

• Passion for problem-solving and continuous learning

• Commitment to sustainable software engineering practices

Interview Process & Assessment

As part of our interview process, candidates will complete a technical assessment aligned with their strengths. You’ll be able to choose between a backend-focused or frontend-focused assessment, allowing you to demonstrate depth in the area where you do your best work.

Regardless of assessment focus, we evaluate Staff candidates on system thinking, problem-solving approach, code quality, and the ability to communicate trade-offs and technical decisions.

Experience That Will Impress the Heck Out of Us

• Production experience with Python, React, and Next.js in consumer-facing applications

• Experience operating and scaling systems in cloud environments (AWS or similar)

• Demonstrated impact as a technical leader with deep system context and architectural influence

• Practical, thoughtful use of AI tools to improve engineering workflows, system design, or productivity—beyond experimentation or hype

• Experience evolving platforms or products into a new phase of growth

• Experience working in highly collaborative, product-driven engineering environments