Staff Backend Engineer

About the Company:

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. As bots and autonomous agents reshape the internet, people, institutions, and applications need a trusted way to confirm who is a real human while preserving privacy. The TFH and World tech stacks make this possible: the Orb verifies real, unique people, World ID proves it privately, and World App puts these capabilities, and more, in people’s hands. Together, they add a human layer to an AI-driven internet.

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. World App is already among the most used wallets globally. Developers are integrating World ID to build safer online experiences and create spaces where real people can participate, earn, and be recognized in ways AI simply can’t replicate.

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. We’re backed by leading investors, including a16z, Khosla Ventures, Bain Capital Crypto, Blockchain Capital, Variant, Tiger Global, and Coinbase Ventures, as well as prominent operators and founders across fintech and AI.

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. The New York Times, Bankless and TechCrunch have all recognized our collective progress in identity, cryptography, AI, and global-scale hardware deployment. Our leadership is also named to the Time AI 100. Learn more about the newest product launches from our Liftoff event.

About the Team:

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:

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:

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. You can communicate clearly and concisely, and your colleagues consistently vouch for your ability to collaborate effectively in ambiguous and changing environments. You are great at building software and are motivated by the challenge of realizing this ambitious vision.

Requirements for this role

• 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. In addition, TFH offers a wide range of best in class, comprehensive and inclusive employee benefits for this role including healthcare, dental, vision, a 401(k) plan and match, life insurance, flexible time off, commuter benefits, professional development stipend and much more!