Everyone deserves a home they love. We help make the search simple.
The Role
Own scalable backend services and full-stack features for Apartment List’s property-listing platform. Design Kotlin and Ruby services, build TypeScript and React interfaces, make architectural decisions, improve reliability and performance, and collaborate with product, design, and analytics. The role includes mentoring engineers, conducting code reviews, shaping technical roadmaps, and solving ambiguous technical problems involving APIs, databases, distributed systems, and marketplace experiences.
Summary Generated by Built In
Who We Are
At Apartment List, we’re transforming how people rent—making it smarter, easier, and a lot less frustrating. Our platform has already matched over 1.4 million renters with their next home, while helping properties fill units with the right residents. Backed by strong growth and a big vision, we’re building the future of renting—and inviting bold thinkers to help us shape it!
About the RoleThe Lister team owns how property partners list, manage, and succeed on Apartment List — and it's one of the areas where product quality directly shapes whether renters find accurate, trustworthy listings. As a Senior Software Engineer II, you'll take ownership of core services and experiences on this team, working end-to-end from backend architecture in Kotlin and Ruby to frontend interfaces in TypeScript and React. You'll shape technical direction for problems that don't have a playbook yet, and you'll be a reference point for other engineers — through code reviews, design discussions, and the standard you hold for the work.
- Own the design and delivery of scalable backend services that power the Lister experience, from architecture decisions through production reliability.
- Drive full-stack feature delivery — from Kotlin/Ruby services to TypeScript/React interfaces — in close partnership with product, design, and analytics.
- Shape technical solutions for ambiguous problems, weighing speed against long-term maintainability and making the call.
- Partner with engineering teams across Apartment List to keep solutions consistent and cohesive for both renters and property partners.
- Raise the technical bar for the team through code reviews, pairing, and design discussions — mentoring engineers earlier in their careers.
- Contribute to Lister's technical roadmap, surfacing tradeoffs and opportunities that product and engineering leadership should know about.
- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience in organizations that prioritize quality, scalability, and performance
- Strong grounding in computer science fundamentals — data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems
- Demonstrated experience designing and implementing RESTful APIs
- Experience with relational databases and data modeling
- Working proficiency in at least one of Kotlin, Ruby, or TypeScript, with willingness to build fluency in the others
- Experience working across the stack, from backend services through frontend applications
- Practical experience using AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Copilot, Claude Code, or similar) to speed up real engineering work, with sound judgment about when and how to apply them
- Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with product managers, designers, and analysts
- Mentorship experience for other engineers
- Experience with search or recommendation systems
- Experience working in an online marketplace.
- Familiarity with real-time systems, particularly in the context of optimizing latency and performance
Here's the Pay Range:
At Apartment List, we carefully consider a variety of factors to determine compensation for each position, including the role, level, and work. The US Total Target Compensation (TTC) for this position is:
- Zone 1: $171,000 - $207,000 TTC (including $154,000 - $182,000 base salary) + equity
- Zone 2: $158,000 - $191,000 TTC (including $142,000 - $168,000 base salary) + equity
- Zone 3: $145,000 - $176,000 TTC (including $130,000 - $155,000 base salary) + equity
This reflects the compensation target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Please note, the compensation details provided do not include benefits and perks that we offer.
We also rely on market indicators along with considering your work location, job related skills, experience and relevant education and training, to determine compensation that is fair and competitive for you. Apartment List will consider paying compensation near the higher of the range in exceptional circumstances, where candidates have the experience, credentials or expertise that would warrant such consideration. It is always our goal to hire exceptional talent and we would be happy to share more about compensation during the hiring process.
Here's what's in it for you (full-time US based employees only; does not apply to contract roles):
- Competitive Compensation: Including annual salary, pre-IPO stock options, and other financial compensation (if applicable)
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage: 100% of premiums covered for you AND all of your dependents
- Unlimited Flexible Time Off: Unlimited FTO in addition to 12 company holidays per year, quarterly “recharge” days, and a week-long holiday break
- Home Office Reimbursement: To cover home office furniture and supplies, monthly home internet, and monthly cell phone (if applicable)
- Health & Wellness Reimbursement: To cover monthly gym membership or other qualifying expenses
- Parental Support: Generous parental and family leave, fertility benefits, and employer-sponsored stipends towards family forming services
- 401k Plan: To support you in your individual retirement goals
- Homeownership & Mortgage Savings: Access exclusive mortgage rates up to 1% below retail lenders and free 1:1 expert guidance.
- Team Events: Frequent team-building events, fun team off-sites, and bi-annual company meetups
- Commitment to DEI: To prioritize Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within our workplace and to stay true to our values and mission
- Mentorship and Training: To get you onboard quickly, learn new professional skills, and invest in your career development
- Impact and Visibility: To expose you to and provide the opportunity to work on highly strategic initiatives that will transform the business
- Encouragement and Empowerment: To explore and adopt new technologies and drive meaningful decisions and outcomes
- At Apartment List we believe that everyone deserves a home they love AND a career they love. We strive to build a diverse team that is a reflection of the people we serve; this is made possible through our commitment to fostering a culture of diversity, inclusion, equity, and connectedness.
As a proud equal opportunity employer, we celebrate the collection of individual differences, life experiences, ideas, perspectives, knowledge, and talent. We hire candidates of any race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital or family status, disability, Veteran status, and any other status. #LIRemote
Skills Required
- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
- Strong computer science fundamentals, including data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems
- Experience designing and implementing RESTful APIs
- Experience with relational databases and data modeling
- Working proficiency in at least one of Kotlin, Ruby, or TypeScript
- Willingness to build fluency in Kotlin, Ruby, and TypeScript
- Experience working across backend services and frontend applications
- Practical experience using AI-assisted development tools such as Copilot or Claude Code
- Ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with product managers, designers, and analysts
- Mentorship experience for other engineers
- Experience with search or recommendation systems
- Experience working in an online marketplace
- Familiarity with real-time systems and latency or performance optimization
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The Company
What We Do
For us, renting is personal — we’re a company built by renters for renters. We’re here to deliver renters a home they love at the value they deserve. Whether renters are embarking to a new city, in search of a quieter neighborhood, or making the jump to a two-bedroom apartment — we’re here to find them their perfect apartment match. We’ve made it our mission to revolutionize renting by making it a stress-free, simple, and holistic experience, connecting ready-to-move renters with compatible city living. Home is a feeling everyone should own, and we’re on a mission to help renters find it.
Why Work With Us
Want a job that makes a difference? There are over 100 million renters in the US, and at Apartment List, we strive every day to remove the hassle from renting and make the process better for every single one of them. Together, we can change the narrative around what it means to be a renter.
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