Startpage is a private search engine with roots going back to Ixquick in 1998, owned by System1 (NYSE: SST) and competing with DuckDuckGo, Brave and Ecosia. We are expanding from search results into a broader set of consumer products for people who want privacy without giving up a modern experience.
You will be a senior full stack engineer on the Startpage Consumer team, a small North America-based group where every engineer works with AI coding agents as a core part of the job. You know how to run agents in loops, coordinate multiple agents on one problem, and judge their output critically. The stack is mostly Python and JavaScript. You will own features from first commit to production across the web frontend, backend services and data pipeline, shape the architecture as the product grows, and pay down the tech debt that slows us. The team ships weekly, so your work reaches millions of monthly users within days.
This position is an onsite role requiring you to work in our headquarters located at 4235 Redwood Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90066.
What you'll work on:
New consumer products that extend Startpage beyond the search box, on desktop and on the web
The search results page itself: new features for subscribers and for everyone, within the constraints of our search partnerships
Real-time decisioning that shapes what a user sees for a given query
The homepage and engagement features that bring people back
Traffic quality and abuse prevention for a product that attracts automated traffic
Data instrumentation and reporting so the team can see what is working
Expect to work across the full breadth of the product rather than one slice of it.
Responsibilities:
Design, build and ship features end to end, from API and data model through to the UI
Drive your work with AI coding agents: give them the tools, context and guardrails they need, run them in loops against a spec, orchestrate several agents in parallel on one problem, and review what they produce with a critical eye
Turn interactive prototypes from product into production code, keeping the intent and cutting what does not hold up
Own services in production on Kubernetes: deploys, monitoring, the on-call rotation, and the latency and uptime targets a search product demands
Shape architecture decisions and lead tech-debt reduction so the codebase stays fast to change
Protect user privacy in every design decision: no tracking, minimal data retention, and no third-party calls that leak queries
Write automated tests as a matter of course
Instrument features and read your own results in Sigma and Snowflake; propose the next iteration from the data
Work with outside partners and agencies so web and app experiences stay consistent
Write clear tickets, PRs and design notes; review teammates' work the same day
Requirements:
Daily, hands-on use of agentic coding tools: you can run agents in loops, write the evals that keep them honest, coordinate multi-agent workflows, and know when to take the keyboard back
5+ years of professional web development, owning both frontend and backend in production
Strong Python, plus JavaScript or TypeScript, React, and modern CSS and HTML
Hands-on with Docker, Kubernetes, Helm and Redis
CI/CD and monitoring tooling, and AWS or a comparable cloud platform; comfortable being paged for what you ship
Solid automated testing habits
SQL fluency and the habit of checking your own feature's numbers after launch
Care for performance: you know what a 100 ms regression costs on a search results page
Clear written communication with a distributed team and outside vendors
Nice to have:
Desktop browser or mobile app experience, especially Chromium, Electron or a shipped native app
Prior search or privacy product experience
Ads or recommendations systems, especially serving ML models at low latency
Bot detection, fraud or abuse prevention
SEO-driven site generation at scale
Familiarity with EU privacy regulation
How we work:
Small North America-based team, weekly releases
Product work starts as a clickable prototype; engineers are expected to push back on it before building
Agents do the typing; engineers own the architecture, the review and the outcome
Data over opinion: every feature ships with instrumentation and a success metric
Jira for tracking, GitHub for code, Sigma and Snowflake for analytics, Slack for the day to day
What we have to offer:
- Competitive salary + bonus + equity
- Generous PTO + 11 company holidays
- Open sick time
- 100% covered Medical, Dental, Vision for employees
- 401k with match
- Health & Dependent Care Flex Spending Account
- Paid professional development
- Leadership & growth opportunities
- Virtual company and team building events
Skills Required
- Daily hands-on use of agentic coding tools, including running agents in loops, writing evaluations, coordinating multi-agent workflows, and reviewing output critically
- 5+ years of professional web development experience owning frontend and backend systems in production
- Strong Python skills
- JavaScript or TypeScript experience
- React experience
- Modern CSS and HTML experience
- Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, and Redis
- Experience with CI/CD and monitoring tooling
- Experience with AWS or a comparable cloud platform
- Comfort with production on-call responsibilities
- Solid automated testing practices
- SQL fluency and experience measuring feature performance after launch
- Strong performance optimization skills
- Clear written communication with distributed teams and outside vendors
- Desktop browser or mobile app experience, especially Chromium, Electron, or a shipped native app
- Prior search or privacy product experience
- Experience with ads or recommendation systems, especially low-latency ML model serving
- Bot detection, fraud, or abuse prevention experience
- SEO-driven site generation at scale
- Familiarity with EU privacy regulation
What the Team is Saying
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System1 Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Health insurance is described as comprehensive, including medical, dental, vision, mental-health resources, virtual care, and FSAs; some U.S. postings state 100% employer-paid premiums for employees. Feedback suggests these offerings, alongside wellness options and pet insurance in some listings, make healthcare a standout area.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with company matching is advertised, with employee-reported matches in the 4%–6% range across plan years. Feedback suggests retirement-plan resources and matching are viewed as competitive features of the package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO, 11 company holidays, and open sick time are highlighted in U.S. job ads. Feedback suggests the time-off program is competitive on paper and supports work-life balance.
System1 Insights
What We Do
We are an omnichannel customer acquisition platform with offices throughout the US, Canada and Europe. System1 builds desktop and mobile apps, search engines, and online publications that empower consumers with information while respecting their privacy. We also operate brands that include CouponFollow, Startpage and MapQuest. System1 is a champion of AI technology, investing in the first legal AI called Vinny after the movie "My Cousin Vinny"!
Why Work With Us
Our growing team of over 200 people is an incredible cohort of engineers, product managers, data scientists, & buy- and sell-side ad/mar tech experts. Together, we have grown globally through Best-In-Class hiring and complimentary business acquisition, and we are JUST getting started.
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Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
Our hybrid policy allows employees to work with their teams in the office and also remotely. Teams have decided what works best for them and the employees on their teams.
