Software Engineer, Backend

Shepherd is an AI-native commercial insurance platform transforming how high-hazard industries get covered. Our mission is to make risk frictionless for the builders and operators shaping the physical world — protecting progress from concept through construction and into decades of operation.

The infrastructure behind the AI boom — data centers, semiconductor fabs, renewable energy assets — has to be built and insured. But traditional carriers weren't built for this speed:

• Complex commercial construction projects routinely wait weeks for a single quote

• Legacy carriers rely on static applications and disconnected systems

• Brokers chase carriers through calls, emails, and resubmissions

We built Shepherd to solve that. Our AI performs the same underwriting workflows in seconds, and integrates real-time data from construction technology partners — Procore, Autodesk, OpenSpace, DroneDeploy, and others — to see risk as it actually exists, not just as it was reported on a static form.

We're pursuing the most ambitious technical vision in commercial insurance: fully autonomous underwriting. We're closing in on the first fully agentic submission in the industry — email in, price out, no human intervention until the last mile.

With Shepherd, safety, speed, and quality no longer trade off against one another — they compound. We're building:

• Faster decisions

• Smarter, more accurate pricing

• Better risk outcomes for insureds who invest in safer practices

We're not just modernizing insurance products. We're building the risk infrastructure for the next generation of financial services.

In March 2026, Shepherd raised a $42M Series B — bringing total funding to over $60M — led by Intact Private Capital, the investment arm of one of the largest insurers in the world. Intact is not only our lead investor but also a carrier partner, a testament to the confidence the incumbent industry has in what we're building. Our investors:

• Intact Private Capital

• Spark Capital

• Costanoa Ventures

• Y Combinator

• Susa Ventures

• And several others

We're a team of technologists and insurance enthusiasts, bridging the two worlds together. Check out our About page to learn more.

We're looking for a talented software engineer who's passionate about what we're building and ready to do the best work of their career. You thrive on ownership, drive results, and care deeply about both technical excellence and customer impact.

You would be our dream candidate if...

• You aren't afraid of ambiguity, and it may even excite you

• You enjoy shipping product every day (maybe multiple times a day) while maintaining high quality standards

• You enjoy wearing multiple hats while solving problems; as an engineer, product manager, and designer

• You take end-to-end ownership of features and systems, from conception through release

• You care about the built-world and how to improve construction safety and productivity

• You care about others' growth and welcome mentoring other engineers — you've led or been a major contributor on significant projects

• You have strong opinions, weakly held — you advocate for your ideas but adapt when presented with better solutions

• You communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• You have some experience with insurance – either from a prior InsurTech role or actuarial role

• You have experience working with Javascript/Typescript (backend and/or frontend)

• You have at least 5+ years of working experience (preferably as a full-stack engineer) with a track record of delivering high-impact products

About the Role

Shepherd's platform consists of three primary elements: data collection, automated underwriting, and policy administration.

• You will lead major initiatives and own a large area of Shepherd's product experience, in each vertical while driving technical decisions for your domain

• You will work across the stack, even across different disciplines (e.g. underwriting, design, product management)

• You will play an integral role in building our culture as the company grows and mentor other engineers as we scale the team

• You will balance innovation with pragmatic delivery — staying current with emerging tech while shipping quality products

• You will contribute to product strategy and architectural decisions, not just implementation

• You will collaborate closely with PM, Mo (CTO) and the insurance team (underwriters, actuaries and more!)

Our Tech Stack

Frontend

• React & Next.js

• Typescript

• GraphQL w/ Apollo

Backend

• Node.js

• Postgres & Redis

• Typescript

• GraphQL APIs

🏥 Premium Healthcare
100% contribution to top-tier health, dental, and vision

🥕 Fertility benefits and family building support

🏖️ Unlimited PTO
Flexibility to take the time off, recharge, and perform

🥗 Daily lunches, dinners, and snacks
We work together, and enjoy meals together too

🖥️ SF, NYC, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago and LA Offices

📚 Professional Development
Access to premium coaching, including leadership development

🏦 Competitive 401(k) Plan

🐶 Dog-friendly office
Plenty of dogs to play with and make friends with in the SF office