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Senior Software Engineer

San Francisco

What We Do

Insurance is a $10T industry still running on PDFs, email threads, and manual reconciliation. Ascend is changing that.

We built the first finance automation platform designed specifically for insurance — combining AI and embedded fintech to modernize how money moves across the entire policy lifecycle, from collections to disbursements. In five years, we've become the market leader: trusted by thousands of insurance businesses nationwide, processing billions in transactions annually, and growing 200%+ year over year.

How We Do It

Ascend automates the financial operations that insurers, MGAs, and agencies run every day — and embeds directly into the transactions where money actually moves.

AI is driving the cost of software toward zero. The companies that win won't just sell tools — they'll capture value at the point of the transaction itself. Ascend is built for exactly that moment. Our customers don't just adopt software; they unlock measurable efficiency with a proven 5–7x return on investment.

Our 70+ person team, based in San Francisco and Columbus, brings together deep expertise in insurance, fintech, and AI to build infrastructure the industry has never had.

Why We Do It

The insurance industry intermediates trillions of dollars — and almost none of that infrastructure was built for the modern era. Legacy systems aren't just inefficient; they're a ceiling on what the industry can become.

Ascend's mission is to become the leading financial automation platform for insurance by 2030 — powering the financial operations of the entire industry and transforming the way trillions of dollars move. We're not building another point solution. We're building the financial backbone of insurance.

 

Your Role

Ascend is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our team on-site in San Francisco to help expand our core product. As an Engineer at Ascend, you’ll be part of a small but growing team focused on solving complex technical challenges using Ruby. You’ll also interface directly with our customers and work cross-functionally to develop new product features, dashboards, and checkout processes—without any layers.

Responsibilities Will Include

Objective #1: In your first 30 days:

  • Understand Ascend’s platform, product, and customer workflows by collaborating with team members and engaging with customers
  • Contribute to user-facing projects using Ruby on Rails and Next.js
  • Partner with product managers and designers to solve customer challenges directly

Objective #2: In your first 60 days:

  • Take ownership of end-to-end features that process millions in insurance premiums using Ruby on Rails
  • Build intuitive UIs with Next.js to power financial operations
  • Develop internal tools to streamline customer workflows
  • Maintain high product quality through proactive monitoring and continuous improvements

Objective #3: In your first 90 days and beyond:

  • Collaborate with customers to translate their needs into scalable solutions for the multi-trillion-dollar insurance industry
  • Develop the industry’s leading point-of-sale system for insurance, enabling seamless payments and improving conversion rates
  • Automate back-office tasks with AI, reducing time and improving accuracy for accounting teams
  • Help shape technical architecture and processes as the platform scales
  • Mentor engineers through thoughtful code reviews and technical guidance

Must Have

  • 4+ years of experience as a Full Stack or Backend Engineer
  • 2+ years working in a growth-stage startup
  • Experience with relational databases
  • Experience building and scaling consumer products
  • A strong desire to learn new skills and solve business problems

Nice to Have

  • Familiarity or interest in learning Ruby on Rails and Next.js
  • Familiarity with building external APIs and integrations with platforms such as Salesforce
  • Experience in building payment, checkout, or insurance products

Tech Stack & Processes

  • Ruby on Rails API hosted on Heroku
  • Next.js with TypeScript hosted on Vercel
  • Tailwind CSS across all the frontend
  • Postgres and Redis for storage
  • Continuous integration and delivery

Base Salary Range: $200,000–$225,000

 

#LI-RS1

All roles at Ascend are 5 days a week onsite at our beautiful office in SoMa! 

Benefits

  • 100% health premiums covered for you and your dependents
  • 401k with employer matching options
  • A fast growing team with an emphasis on promoting from within 80% of all hires in the last 12 months have already been promoted! 
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Company paid commuter benefits
  • Parental and family leave
  • Lunch everyday
  • Dog-friendly office!

Equal Opportunity

We are committed to equal opportunity employment and embrace diversity within our organization. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We encourage candidates to apply even if their experience doesn't precisely match this opportunity. We value diversity and are dedicated to equal opportunity employment.

 

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