Senior Product Engineer - Core

About Kota

Kota is transforming the accessibility of insurance and retirement benefits by creating advanced software solutions. The company offers two principal products: Kota Platform, an integrated benefits platform, and Kota Embed, an embedded insurance and retirement product designed for platforms. Established in 2022, Kota supports tens of thousands of employees across companies like Carwow, Tines, Zoe, and Remote. With over €20 million raised from prominent investors, the company benefits from leadership experience drawn from Workday, Remote, Personio, and OpenAI.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Product Engineer to join our Core and Investments team within the Kota Platform. This team is responsible for developing the platform's core functionalities and financial products such as Spend, pensions, salary sacrifice, and flexible benefits, and may also engage in areas like health insurance as needed. The structure of the teams is fluid between Insurances and Core/Finance sectors, requiring adaptability and ownership over priority areas.

This is a full stack position primarily focused on backend development, though involvement with frontend tasks will occur when product features require it. Emphasis is placed on problem-solving skills rather than familiarity with any specific language or framework.

The role entails autonomy, with responsibilities extending beyond technical decisions to include product strategy contributions and roadmap enhancements.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and develop systems underlying pensions, retirement savings, and Spend, including contributions management, provider integrations, employer configurations, card issuing, and wallet provisioning.
• Immerse yourself in the user experience to identify pain points for both employers and employees, translating these insights into actionable product decisions.
• Participate in client discussions to better understand challenges and articulate solutions.
• Assume full ownership of projects from initial scope definition through system architecture, delivery, launch support, and handling subsequent customer issues.
• Operate across the entire technology stack depending on the requirements of the task, avoiding boundaries between codebases.
• Critically evaluate incoming requests and advocate for the best outcomes by proposing alternative solutions or prioritizing elements on the roadmap.
• Incorporate AI tools extensively in planning, development, code review, and deployment processes.
• Maintain systems that are reliable, secure, and observable; contribute to code reviews and strategic technical discussions.
• Influence and refine team workflows as the team expands.

Candidate Profile

• Minimum of six years' experience in building production-level software with demonstrated ownership and continual improvements in products.
• Strong product sense with the ability to clearly articulate user challenges, rationale behind decisions, and the impact delivered.
• Comprehensive full stack expertise with a backend focus and capability to handle frontend needs when necessary.
• Proven ability to convert loosely defined briefs into fully operational products and readiness to challenge unsuitable build requests.
• Experience creating robust APIs or integrating with external systems; fintech, payroll, pensions, or benefits sector experience is advantageous.
• AI-fluent work approach using AI not only for code completion but for planning, setup, and evaluation with discernment.
• Effective communication skills capable of tailoring explanations to engineers and clients separately.
• Commitment to system reliability, security, and regulatory compliance due to the critical nature of benefits provided.
• Adaptable and comfortable in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment with significant responsibility.
• Availability to work during GMT time zone hours, with a start time between 08:00 and 10:00.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity options within a rapidly growing startup.
• Health insurance offered through Kota.
• Workplace pension schemes with matched contributions based on location.
• Group life assurance provided by Kota.
• Work-from-home stipend to support home office expenses.
• Generous paid leave allowing for work-life balance.
• Access to office space in Dublin and co-working spaces in other locations.
• Remote-first work culture with fixed hours for team coordination.
• Annual company-wide offsite events.

Equal Opportunity

We are committed to diversity and inclusiveness, providing equal opportunity regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability.