Lead Software Engineer $200,000 USD/year Pay is set based on global value, not the local market.
Most roles = hourly rate x 40 hrs x 50 weeks
Description
We're operating platforms that serve thousands of students and teams worldwide:
- TimeBack: Educational platform that drives Alpha School's 2-hour learning model (99th percentile test results).
- Incept: Content generation platform producing all personalized educational content for multiple learning applications deployed at Alpha School.
- Crossover: AI-powered hiring platform handling tens of thousands of applicants per month, staffing schools and companies across the globe.
You'll take ownership of one of these platforms and dedicate the majority of your time to building the most complex components of the codebase with a small team (3-5 strong engineers, no juniors). Your architectural choices dictate whether other teams can quickly build new applications, integrate seamlessly, and deliver value to students. Succeed here and you unlock massive leverage. Poor decisions generate integration chaos and destroy velocity across multiple teams.
You design, build, and operate what you create. You define quality standards and patterns for your platform. We operate spec-driven: you design first, implement second, always plan before building. High autonomy, no committees, no review boards. Small tight-knit team, where you own what you ship.
What you will be doing
- Technical Leadership: Drive strategic architectural decisions and define technical patterns for the team to adopt.
- AI Leadership: Champion adoption of new AI workflows and develop high-impact playbooks.
- Implementation: Construct the complex, high-stakes components of the codebase with your team.
- Quality Reviews: Verify your team adheres to established patterns and upholds quality standards.
What you will NOT be doing
- Serving as architect without writing code
- Spending time in endless meetings
- Managing people (this is a technical leadership position, not a people management role)
- Maintaining legacy systems or internal IT infrastructure
Candidate requirements
- At least 5 years of professional software development experience building software products
- At least 3 years as either a lead engineer (reviewing others' work) or architect (making key technical decisions)
- Experience working on platform-level products where other teams consumed your APIs
- Deep engagement with AI tools, actively experimenting and pushing boundaries
Meet the hiring manager
Applying for a role? Here’s what to expect.
Crossover's skill assessment process combines innovative AI power with decades of human research, to take the guesswork, human bias, and pointless filters out of recruiting high-performing teams.
Chat-style
screening interview.
Cognitive 
aptitude test.
Prove real-world 
job skills.
Interview with the hiring manager.
Accept job offer.
Pass
proctored test.
Frequently asked questions
About the role
Reviews
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Recruitment sucks. So we’re fixing it.
The Olympics of work
It’s super hard to qualify—extreme quality standards ensure every single team member is at the top of their game.
Premium pay for premium talent
Over 50% of new hires double or triple their previous pay. Why? Because that’s what the best person in the world is worth.
Shortlist by skills, not bias
We don’t care where you went to school, what color your hair is, or whether we can pronounce your name. Just prove you’ve got the skills.
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