Clasp · Los Angeles
Software EngineeringEngineeringRemoteFullTimeposted 3mo ago
Remote (ET & CT time zones only – some travel required)
Clasp is a venture-backed, mission-driven startup transforming access to education and career pathways. We are revolutionizing the way employers attract and retain critical talent and the way colleges and universities support their students through education financing — all while tackling the student debt crisis. (Yep, we think BIG.) We like to think of ourselves as more than a fintech; we're a catalyst for economic mobility.
A Forbes Fintech 50 company, portfolio company of SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management — the largest HR organization out there!) and recipient of "Startup of the Year" by StartUp Boston, Clasp is driven by our commitment to social impact and innovation.
Our work spans two business lines:
Clasp Talent helps healthcare employers attract and retain critical talent by connecting them with diverse candidates and using student loan repayment as a powerful recruiting and retention tool. We meaningfully connect employers, educational institutions, and learners to drive mutual benefit.
Clasp Finance equips colleges and universities with lending technology to launch and operate their own private student loan programs, enabling schools to step in and support their students directly with financial aid. Recent federal financial aid changes are reshaping how institutions think about supporting their students, and Clasp Finance is poised to meet this moment.
Join us on our journey to give power to learners and unlock fulfilling careers that drive positive change in their communities and beyond.
We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join the Clasp Finance engineering team, a small, high-impact group working at the intersection of financial operations, product, and data.
You will report to the Engineering Director, Lending and work directly with your teammates and stakeholders to build a resilient, highly available, and compliant workbench for Clasp Lending. This is not a role for someone who just ships features and moves on. You'll own hard problems end-to-end, building the operational tooling, data pipelines, and product features that make a lending platform run. You use AI tools deliberately and creatively to move faster than a team twice your size. You have strong opinions about software quality, are relentlessly detail-oriented, and thrive in ambiguous, high-ownership environments.
We want someone who looks at a hard codebase and is excited to tactically and surgically work on improving the application in every interaction.
Design, build, and maintain features across the loan origination platform, ranging from application intake and decisioning logic through servicing and collections workflows.
Build and maintain internal operational tooling that empowers the Clasp Finance team to manage loans, configure programs, run reports, and respond to school and borrower needs with precision.
Participate in architecture decisions, code reviews, and technical design discussions that shape the long-term health of the platform.
Apply AI-assisted development techniques (code generation, test writing, refactoring, documentation) to asymmetrically scale your impact and ship higher-quality software faster.
Collaborate with compliance and legal to implement regulatory requirements (TILA, ECOA, fair lending, state licensing) as first-class engineering constraints — not afterthoughts.
Develop and instrument data pipelines alongside the data team that power credit modeling, compliance reporting, and school-facing portfolio analytics — treating data accuracy as non-negotiable.
Engage occasionally with school and university technical stakeholders to understand integration needs and build confidence in the platform's reliability.
Contribute to a culture of continuous learning, high standards, and direct, low-ego feedback.
5+ years of professional software engineering experience with strong fluency in Python and TypeScript/JavaScript. You write clean, maintainable code and understand the tradeoffs and appropriate use cases for each language.
Experience building operational and/or internal tooling for fintech, lending, or another regulated domain.
AI-native in your workflow where you are using coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, Claude, etc.) as a genuine force multiplier, not just for autocomplete or review. The goal here is not to just check the box but to be a leading member of the team who is genuinely excited about what AI can unlock for Engineering.
Familiarity with Django (or a comparable Python web framework) and React — enough to build full-stack features and understand the full request lifecycle.
Hands-on experience with cloud/serverless infrastructure (AWS Lambda, GCP Cloud Functions, or equivalent) and modern deployment practices.
Strong written and verbal communicator to explain technical decisions to non-engineers and write documentation others actually want to engage with, not just AI fluff.
We are looking for someone who cares about building technology that expands access to education and economic mobility, and that shows in how you work and persevere through the challenges of this changing industry.
Any prior exposure to fintech, payments, banking, or financial services — even adjacent experience counts.
Experience designing and building data pipelines, ETL workflows, or event-driven systems that need to be reliable, observable, and correct.
Familiarity with TILA, ECOA, or state lending regulations and their technical implications.
Prior experience working in a startup environment where you've worn multiple hats.
Experience integrating with loan servicers, payment processors, or financial data providers.
Competitive cash and equity compensation
Health benefits (health, dental, & vision)
Student loan repayment benefits
401k matching
Commuter benefits
Flexible PTO policy
Opportunities to grow and perform in a fast-paced environment alongside a stellar team
The salary range for this position is competitive and will be commensurate with the candidate's experience, qualifications, and industry knowledge, ranging between $135,000 - $165,000 annually. In addition to the base salary, we offer an attractive equity component as part of our compensation package, providing an opportunity for eligible employees to share in the success and growth of our company. We are committed to offering competitive compensation and benefits packages to attract and retain top talent.
If you are a driven engineer with a passion for building systems that meaningfully serve the people who rely on them, we want to hear from you. Join us in reshaping how schools support their students and making a lasting impact on the future of higher education financing. Apply now to be part of our growing team!
We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and talents. Clasp is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. We embrace diversity and are dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.