Software Engineer II, Fellow Development

Edtech.com's Summary

Handshake is hiring a Software Engineer II, Fellow Development. The role involves building full-stack systems that support the learning, feedback, and community tools for Handshake AI's network of trainers, owning features end-to-end, and collaborating closely with product, design, and cross-functional teams to deliver reliable and scalable solutions.

Highlights

Own feature development across frontend and backend from design to launch and iteration
Build systems that enhance how fellows learn, receive feedback, and improve performance
Collaborate with product managers, designers, and operators to translate requirements into user experiences
Contribute to architectural discussions and establish development patterns
Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code; participate in code reviews
Identify and resolve technical debt, reliability issues, and performance bottlenecks
Require 3–5 years of professional software engineering experience in full-stack applications
Strong proficiency in TypeScript, React, Next.js, GraphQL, and PostgreSQL
Must demonstrate ability to independently own features and strong communication skills
Benefits include equity, 401(k) match, paid parental leave, health coverage, learning stipend, flexible PTO, and team events

Software Engineer II, Fellow Development Full Description

About Handshake

Handshake was founded on a simple belief that everyone deserves a path to a great career, regardless of where they went to school or who they know. Today, we power 25 million job seekers, 1 million+ employers, and 1,600 educational institutions.

In 2025, we started Handshake AI and built the fastest-growing AI data business in history. We work directly with frontier AI lab researchers to create evaluations, publish benchmarks, and push the boundary of data. Weâve grown from $0 to ~$1B run rate and pay ~$60M to over 30K individuals every month.

Why join Handshake now:

Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
Partner hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the worldâs top educational institutions
Work together with engineers, scientists, operators, and more from Palantir, Meta, Scale AI, and former YC founders
Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

About Handshake AI

Human data is the core infrastructure to AI advancement. Frontier AI labs currently improve model capabilities with various data-intensive post-training techniques. We believe that data spend for AI training will increase by 3-5x in the next few years and continue for much longer as models take on new domains. Handshake AI supports all of the frontier AI labs, working on their most complex data at the largest scale.

About the Role

As a Software Engineer II on Fellow Development, youâll build the learning, feedback, and community systems that help Handshake AIâs network of AI trainers do their best work. You'll own features end-to-end, drive technical design, and ship tools that directly shape how tens of thousands of people train and evaluate AI models.

This role rewards engineers who are curious about the problem, not just the code. You'll work closely with PMs, operators, and the L&T team to understand what makes a great fellow experience, translate that into reliable, scalable systems, and own the outcome from first line of code to launch.

Location: San Francisco, CA | 5 days/week in-office

Own features end-to-end across frontend and backend, from scoping and technical design through launch and iteration
Build the full-stack systems that power how fellows learn, get feedback, and improve their work
Partner closely with product and design to translate ambiguous requirements into polished, reliable user experiences
Contribute meaningfully to architecture discussions and help establish patterns the team can build on
Write clean, well-tested, maintainable code and actively participate in code reviews
Collaborate across engineering, L&T, and operations to understand how your work lands and iterate based on real usage
Proactively identify and address technical debt, reliability gaps, and performance bottlenecks

Desired Capabilities

3â5 years of professional software engineering experience building full-stack applications
Strong proficiency in TypeScript across frontend and backend surfaces
Hands-on experience with modern web stacks (React, Next.js, GraphQL)
Solid command of relational databases (PostgreSQL) and thoughtful data modeling
Track record of owning features independently and driving them to completion
Strong communicator who collaborates well with product, design, and cross-functional partners
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and making sound tradeoffs in a fast-paced environment

Extra Credit

Strong user-facing product instincts â you care as much about the experience as the implementation
Background in edtech, learning platforms, or tools that help people improve at something
Familiarity with workflow orchestration tools like Temporal or async job systems

Perks

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supportedâand thrive at work and in life.

The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

ð¯ Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company

ð° Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching

ð¼ Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching

ð Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend

ð Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development

ð» Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office

ð Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days

ð¤ Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at joinhandshake.com/careers.

Original Job Description