Tools for Humanity is hiring a Staff Backend Engineer in Engineering — San Francisco. The overview below is synthesized from the employer posting on jobs.ashbyhq.com: factual requirements and scope are preserved, but prose is rewritten with editorial context. Verify details and apply via the employer link.
About the Company
Company context from the listing:
Tools for Humanity (TFH) designs and builds technology behind World. World is building a real human network designed to accelerate people in the age of AI.
World is already running at a global scale. More than 17 million people across 160 countries have verified with World ID, and more new Orb verifications take place each week.
Founded in 2019, TFH has more than 400 people across hardware, software, AI, cryptography, mobile engineering, and global operations. Our teams come from OpenAI, Tesla, SpaceX, Apple, Google, Stripe, Meta, Coinbase, Palantir and MIT Media Lab.
TFH and World have been featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, highlighted in Fast Company’s Next 5 in Fintech, and explored in a Bloomberg deep dive. ⇧JOBLINK:https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/03/technology/w
About the Team
Company context from the listing:
World ID is a digital identity system and proof of humanity for everyone, designed to be a foundational identity protocol for the internet in the era of AGI. It is built to be self-custodial, secure, decentralized and open, setting new standards for privacy and transparency.
At the heart of World ID are groundbreaking innovations in hardware and software—spanning distributed systems, cryptography, sensors, biometrics, machine learning and blockchain technology.
As part of the team behind World ID, you’ll work on defining and building the decentralized platform that underlies World ID, product experiences and partner integrations. You'll help shape the future of technologies needed to realize this ambitious vision.
About the Opportunity
Company context from the listing:
As a Staff Software Engineer, you will focus on building core technologies and infrastructure to drive scale, utility and decentralization for World ID protocol and its ecosystem.
Your work will span critical technology areas including issuance and registration of credentials, decentralized cloud platform for applications and authenticators lifecycle using MPC systems and blockchain, zero-knowledge proving systems, biometric verification and recovery systems, World network integration platforms and building products using technologies that would delight users.
Your responsibilities include:
- Architecting and Building: You will take ownership of the design, development, and scaling for mission-critical software, including architecting decentralized, privacy preserving, secure, scalable and reliable backend systems.
- Technical Leadership: You will provide technical guidance to the engineering team and lead complex, cross-functional projects. Your work will ensure the team delivers elegant and effective solutions for a variety of novel challenges some of which have never been done before.
- Mentorship and Collaboration: You will mentor junior engineers and work closely with senior leadership, product managers and other XFN stakeholders to deliver impactful solutions that advance the World network.
- Strategic Impact: You will play a key role in shaping the technical roadmap and strategy for the World ID platform. You are expected to identify the most important tasks and drive them to completion. Your ability to collaborate and stay organized in a fast-paced environment is key.
About you
Company context from the listing:
You have a proven track record of designing and developing exceptional backend systems and solving complex problems, preferably with experience in distributed systems or identity management platforms. You are a fast learner who can quickly master and apply new knowledge and skills.
Requirements for this role
Experience and skills the team lists as required:
- Experience in senior technical leadership positions.
- Proven experience leading complex initiatives from start to finish.
- Demonstrated ability to mentor and guide engineering teams to help them level up and increase their impact.
- Deep expertise in designing and implementing software systems that are both reliable and scalable, with a strong grasp of fundamentals.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, for technical and non-technical audiences.
By submitting your application, you consent to the processing and internal sharing of your CV within the company, in compliance with the GDPR.
Pay transparency statement (for CA and NY based roles):
The reasonably estimated salary for this role at TFH ranges from $225,500 - $265,000, plus a competitive long term incentive package. Actual compensation is based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience.