Staff Software Engineer

Our Story and Purpose

Linden Lab develops platforms that empower people to create, connect, and thrive through transformative virtual experiences. Since our founding in 1999, we’ve been at the forefront of the creator economy, building platforms that inspire limitless imagination and innovation.

In 2003, we revolutionized the virtual world with the launch of Second Life—a vibrant, user-driven community where creativity knows no bounds. With over two billion user creations and a flourishing $650 million economy, Second Life continues to be a global hub for collaboration, self-expression, and entrepreneurship.

We believe our strength lies in diversity—of perspectives, experiences, and ideas. Our values are rooted in organizational health, strengths-based leadership, and the belief that collaborative teams are stronger than individuals.

At Linden Lab, you’ll be at the cutting edge of virtual worlds, shaping the future of immersive experiences. Whether you’re building innovative tools or fostering a welcoming community, you’ll find a place to belong, thrive, and be unapologetically yourself. We invite you to come as you are.
 

Your Mission

This role will follow a hybrid schedule, requiring in-office presence at our San Francisco office from Monday to Thursday, with an occasional additional day on-site as needed.

We’re looking for a Staff Software Engineer with experience integrating payment providers to own, maintain, and continuously modernize our payments and billing infrastructure. A self-motivated engineer with strong judgment on when to dig deep and when to make smart, pragmatic tradeoffs.

Someone who enjoys making sense of complex systems and bringing clarity to ambiguity who elevates those around them and actively contributes to a culture of great developer experience.

This is an independent contributor role, reporting to the Manager, Engineering. In this role, you will be the key technical subject matter expert working with Product, QA, and Design to ensure reliable, compliant money movement. You will write and maintain automated tests to ensure high reliability in a regulated environment while mentoring and supporting teammates through code reviews, documentation, and technical leadership.

How You’ll Grow With Us

At the Lab, you'll experience the best of both worlds: the stability of an established company with over 20 years of expertise and the dynamic momentum of a startup driven by continuous progress. You'll have the unparalleled opportunity to forge meaningful relationships, design impactful systems, and craft strategies that shape the future of virtual experiences.

Our vibrant in-office environment in San Francisco is designed to foster creativity, collaboration, and ingenuity. With spaces purpose-built for brainstorming, team building, and spontaneous conversations, you'll find endless opportunities to engage and grow. We believe in the power of in-person connections to cultivate a strong sense of community and inclusion, ensuring that your ideas are valued, your contributions celebrated, and your impact deeply felt every day.

The Impact You’ll Drive

• Contribute to and guide migration efforts for legacy codebases toward more sustainable, testable architecture using modern tools (FastAPI, Django, etc.).
• Participate in on-call rotation for critical payments infrastructure.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to scope and implement projects that affect the broader platform.
• Contribute to CI/CD and devtools improvements that enhance developer experience.
• Demonstrated executive presence, clearly communicating engineering priorities, progress, challenges, and recommendations while translating complex technical concepts into strategic insights to influence outcomes.

How You’ll Shape Our Future

At Linden, we celebrate all the dimensions of diversity, including diversity of experience. We recognize that candidates applying for this role will be most successful if they bring the following with them:

• 8+ years backend software engineering experience, with strong Python skills and proficiency in SQL.
• Experience building and maintaining APIs, especially for server-side systems.
• Experience in payments, billing, or real money movement—ideally with providers like PayPal, Stripe, or similar.
• Comfortable working in, refactoring, and maintaining legacy codebases (e.g. PHP, Perl).
• Strong grasp of cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred) and infrastructure as code (CloudFormation or equivalent).
• Familiarity with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and modern engineering practices.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills across hybrid teams.
• High sense of ownership and ability to independently drive projects.

If you don’t meet every requirement listed for this role, we still encourage you to apply. Too often, the confidence gap or imposter syndrome keeps exceptional candidates from taking the leap—and we don’t want that to hold you back. If you believe in our mission and in your ability to make an impact, we want to hear from you!

The Fine Print

Pay Transparency Notice

At Linden Lab, our Total Rewards philosophy is rooted in fairness, equity, and an unbiased approach to compensation, paired with competitive benefits across all locations where we operate.

For this San Francisco Bay Area-based role, the salary range is $165,000 - $223,000, with a midpoint of $194,000.

New hires start between the minimum and midpoint of the applicable geo-defined range, with final base pay determined by several factors, including experience, skills, competencies, internal equity, and market data calibration.

In addition to base pay, this role is eligible for awards under our Equity Incentive Plan (EIP) and a generous benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) plans. Our talent partners will provide more details during the hiring process.

Essential Role Functions & Work Environment

The details below outline the core functions and work environment required for this role. Linden Lab is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities in performing these essential duties.

• Perform focused, computer-based tasks and collaborate effectively with coworkers in a dynamic, in-office environment. While some remote collaboration may occur, in-office presence is an essential requirement of this role to foster creativity, teamwork, and spontaneous problem-solving.
• Communicate clearly and effectively through typing, using hands and fingers for keyboard tasks.
• Maintain the ability to sit, stand, or remain stationary for extended periods (up to eight hours) during calls, meetings, or collaborative sessions, with ergonomic workstations and tools provided.
• Sustain prolonged attention on a computer monitor to perform tasks requiring visual focus and attention to detail.
• Operate office equipment and handle materials as needed for presentations, discussions, or team activities.
• Move freely around the office to attend meetings, participate in team activities, and contribute to shared responsibilities, supporting a collaborative and engaging workplace culture.
• Travel may be required for business meetings, team summits, or company events, where in-person participation is an essential part of the role to foster collaboration, alignment, and engagement.

Our Commitment to Equal Opportunity

Linden Lab celebrates and values diversity in all its forms, including differences in thought, race, national origin, culture, age, experience, religion, economic and social status, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, and disability. We believe that fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging empowers us to create and share meaningful experiences—both within our team and across the virtual communities we serve.

We are committed to maintaining a diverse, equitable, and welcoming workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. Candidates from all backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to apply and contribute to shaping the future of virtual experiences.

Global Data Privacy Notice

Your privacy is important to us. Depending on your location, laws such as the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) may govern how we handle and process the personal data of job applicants. To learn more, please review our full notice detailing how applicant data is collected, used, and protected in applicable regions.

By submitting your application, you consent to the processing of your data in accordance with applicable laws and our privacy practices.