Backend Engineer (Senior/Staff)

ABOUT TAXWIRE Taxwire is building the last global indirect-tax platform finance teams will ever need. We help companies understand their tax exposure, calculate and collect the right amount, automate registrations and filings, and stay compliant as they grow across jurisdictions. Indirect tax is high-stakes, fragmented, and unforgiving. Rules change constantly, vary by product and location, and create real financial risk when companies get them wrong. We hire people with high ownership, strong judgment, and low ego. Everyone at Taxwire is expected to understand the customer, solve messy problems end to end, and build systems that scale. We move quickly because our customers depend on us to get it right. We’ve raised approximately $25 million, serve hundreds of SMB and mid-market companies, and continue to win customers away from legacy providers. We’re proud to have had zero churn to date. If you want to solve a massive, permanent problem alongside experienced tax experts and product builders, Taxwire is the place to do it. ABOUT THE ROLE This role is focused on backend infrastructure, systems architecture, and core product logic. Frontend experience is a plus, but not required. You’ll work closely with our founders, engineers, and tax SMEs to architect and build the foundational systems that power Taxwire - from our data model and automation pipelines to real-time tax calculation and compliance logic. You’ll play a key role in defining the internal platform that enables our team to ship faster, automate more, and scale globally. This is a great role for someone who thrives on complexity and wants to help build something important from the ground up. If you’ve ever nerded out over how Stripe, Rippling, or Modern Treasury abstract complicated domains, this is that kind of role. WHAT YOU’LL DO - Design and implement core backend services - including data modeling, compliance logic, and internal platforms that support tax automation at scale. - Build scalable systems to monitor, calculate, and apply transaction taxes across a wide range of jurisdictions and industries. - Develop and maintain our domain model for tax rules, jurisdictions, thresholds, and impositions. - Build automation pipelines for filings, payments, and customer workflows. - Use browser automation, scripting, and task queues to reduce manual work across compliance processes. - Leverage LLMs and programmatic tools to enhance tax research, rule extraction, and error handling. - Collaborate across engineering, tax, and product teams to turn complex policy into scalable software systems. WHAT YOU NEED 5–10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong focus on backend development. Strong experience designing systems, services, and data models in complex domains. Proficiency in our backend stack: Python (FastAPI, Pydantic, pandas, duckdb), Postgres, SQL. Infra runs on AWS. High attention to detail. Our credibility with customers depends on accuracy and correctness. Strong communication skills. We’re a writing-first company, and clarity is key in cross-functional work. A self-starter who can lead projects, make architectural calls, and execute independently. You’re known for shipping a lot of high-quality code, fast - and taking ownership end-to-end. NICE TO HAVE - Experience working on automation-heavy systems, developer tools, or regulated workflows - Experience with LLMs, scripting, or browser automation tools like Playwright WHY WORK AT TAXWIRE - Shape the foundational architecture behind a global, mission-critical platform - Work directly with founders, engineers, and tax experts on complex systems with real customer impact - Join a remote-first team with the option to work from our New York office WHY YOU SHOULDN’T WORK AT TAXWIRE - You love lots of structure and want to be closely managed. - You are not ready to put in the hard work of taking something from 0-1 and then 1 to 10. - You’re not excited by complex domains or mission-critical systems. - Don’t get excited about serving our customers or find this problem space boring. - You hate the idea of talking to a customer. - You lack taste. - Shipping lots of high-quality code, fast… scares you. BENEFITS - Company-covered benefits - Meaningful equity