As a Senior Software Engineer (SWE IV) at Avant, you will own major features and services within a domain, designing scalable systems and solving complex, ambiguous problems. You will serve as a technical leader within your team, influencing architecture decisions, improving engineering practices, and mentoring peers. You’ll collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, and platform teams to deliver impactful solutions with autonomy and high accountability.
This role is not limited to writing code—you will help shape technical direction within your product area and ensure high standards of reliability, performance, and maintainability.
What You’ll Do at Avant:
Design, build, and evolve backend services and APIs that support scalable, high-availability systems.
Take ownership of significant domains or components and drive technical direction within your team.
Propose and implement architectural improvements that enhance maintainability and performance.
Collaborate with product managers to translate business requirements into robust engineering solutions, balancing speed and sustainability.
Solve complex and ambiguous problems, breaking them down into actionable work.
Contribute to full-stack efforts using modern frontend frameworks (e.g., React or React Native), as applicable.
Improve engineering standards, tooling, reliability, and developer experience.
Mentor junior and mid-level engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and pairing.
Contribute to cross-team initiatives, helping align technical decisions when systems intersect.
Promote high code quality through testing, documentation, and thoughtful engineering practices.
Why you’re a fit at Avant:
5–8 years of professional software engineering experience in backend or full-stack environments.
Proficiency in at least one backend language (Ruby, Python, or similar) with experience using modern frontend frameworks.
Strong experience designing and scaling systems and working with relational databases (Postgres, MySQL, etc.).
Familiarity with cloud-native architectures and DevOps tooling (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, AWS or GCP).
Proven ability to drive architectural decisions within a domain or service.
Experience owning delivery of complex projects with minimal oversight.
Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Experience working within Agile teams and contributing to iterative delivery.
A commitment to engineering craftsmanship, maintainability, and continuous improvement.
Bonus Skills
Experience in fintech, payments, or other regulated industries.
Exposure to distributed systems, event-driven architectures, or technologies like Kafka.
Experience leading technical initiatives or working groups.
Prior mentorship or informal technical leadership experience.
This role is based on our downtown Chicago Office, located in the Merchandise Mart. We highly value collaboration and our hybrid schedule (M, T, Th in-office) enables flexibility to balance work and individual priorities.
Compensation Range:
The base salary range for this job is USD $140,000 - USD $175,000 / Year
Employees new to Avant typically come in below the midpoint of the pay range. The compensation range is based on the level outlined in the job posting, and compensation decisions are dependent on each applicant's experience, skills and abilities.
[If an outstanding applicant's experience and skill level is above or below the qualifications outlined in the job posting, we reserve the right to make an offer at a different level than the one listed in this job posting, which may have a different compensation range.]
This role is eligible for additional incentives, including an annual bonus. These rewards are allocated based on level, impact and performance in the role.
Our benefits include:
Choice of great Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance Plan options
401(k) match
Flexible Time Off
Flexible Work Environment - (i.e. Mon/Tues/Thurs in-person)
Generous Paid Parental Leave, Adoption Assistance and Post-parental leave ramp-up program
Lunch Allowance (Fooda) and In-office Snacks
Summer Fridays
Fun In-Office and Virtual Social Events
And who doesn’t love the swag
Check out our Avant Blog!
We believe that a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences helps us create the most innovative solutions for our customers. We invite you to apply to our positions even if you do not meet 100% of the qualifications listed in the description. If you’re passionate about our mission and aligned to our values, we hope you’ll come contribute to our awesome culture.
Why Avant is the place for you:
At Avant, we believe our values make a difference:
Authenticity. We show up to work as our whole selves and make sure others can too.
Collaboration. We can only succeed when we do so as a team.
Problem-Solving. The harder the problem, the more satisfying the solution.
Customer. We are all owners of the customer experience.
Initiative. Plan. Adapt. Get Sh!t Done.
We believe that great ideas come from anyone and anywhere, that everyone is an owner who drives change, and that we have more fun when we work together. We're problem solvers who love collaborating with intelligent and highly-motivated people to reshape the face of digital banking. Avant offers terrific perks and benefits, fun social events with employees who actually like hanging out together, and a flexible growth environment where trying your hand at new projects and being the active owner of your career path is encouraged and supported.
Top Skills
What the Team is Saying
What We Do
Our mission is to move financial lives forward. We utilize data and technology to connect everyday Americans to financial solutions, empowering our customers to achieve their financial goals and build financial health.
We are a data-driven platform at the intersection of technology and credit*, built to meet the financial needs of millions of middle-income American consumers.
Since Avant (AvantCredit®) was founded in 2012, we have connected over 4 million customers to nearly $12 billion in loans and have grown to approximately 1.5 million credit card holders.
We are driven by purpose with a passion to empower people to achieve their financial goals, and that is why we’ve built a mission-driven company with our customers at its core. We honor the journey our customers are going through by serving their needs with the integrity, transparency, and trust they deserve. Every Avantee embraces our values of authenticity, collaboration, problem-solving, customer centricity, and initiative.
Are you ready to join us in moving financial lives forward? If you want to live the Avant values, build your career, and grow your skills, get in touch!
See available opportunities at www.avant.com/jobs.
*Avant, LLC is a financial technology company, not a bank. Avant-branded credit products are issued by WebBank.
Why Work With Us
At Avant, we believe that ideas are more important than titles, everything is more fun together, everyone drives change, and everyone is an owner. Nothing excites us more than having the ability to collaborate with intelligent, highly-motivated, and talented people on challenging problems as we work to change the face of digital banking.
Gallery
Avant Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
Avantees work from our office Mon/Tues/Thurs. We hold the majority of our meetings & all-company events (Town Hall, Demo Day) on those days so that we can maximize our in-office time together. On Weds/Fri, many Avantees choose to work from home.
