Who Are We?

Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services.

Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we're building toward something much larger — the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service.

Our platform already reaches 40 million residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We're builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn’t be a luxury in government. It’s how you earn trust back.

The Role

Most government software was built for compliance, not for the people who use it. Kaizen is changing that — and the engineers who work here are the reason it's possible. At the senior level, this role carries more than code: you're shaping how AI-native features get designed, scoped, and shipped across a platform that millions of Americans touch when they need something from their government. You'll be one of a small number of engineers with direct influence over what gets built and how — setting technical direction, mentoring teammates, and driving decisions that stick.

Location

This is a hybrid role based out of our New York City HQ. Candidates must reside in New York or be able to commute to New York City to work out of our office at least three times a week (Tuesdays - Thursdays).

What You'll Do

Architect and ship full-stack features end-to-end — from scoping and technical design through build, iteration, and production
Lead the development of AI-powered product surfaces: intelligent intake flows, real-time constituent assistants, automated case routing, agency operator dashboards
Set technical direction and raise the bar on code quality — your decisions become the patterns the rest of the team builds on
Engage directly with federal agency stakeholders to translate messy real-world requirements into clean, shippable product
Own platform reliability and performance at government scale — real SLAs, real users, no abstraction layer between you and accountability
Mentor earlier-career engineers through code review, pairing, and direct technical feedback

What You'll Bring

5+ years of professional engineering experience, with a track record of owning complex features and systems — not just executing on them
Deep fluency in React / Next.js and Node.js / TypeScript / Postgres — fast, not just functional
AI coding tools (Cursor, Copilot, Claude) are already baked into how you work — you've shipped with them, and you move measurably faster because of it
Something real you've built — a product, an open source project, a system you designed and stood behind
Proven ability to operate in ambiguity: you define the problem as often as you solve it, and you don't stall waiting for the answer to come to you
A genuine orientation toward the end user — the person on the other side of the screen isn't an abstraction to you

Strong Candidates May Also...

Have touched federal, state, or local government tech — or have built in other regulated, high-stakes environments where the constraints were real
Have cloud deployment depth: AWS, Vercel, GitHub Actions, ECS/Fargate
Have experience with design systems and component libraries — and a clear opinion on when a component is right vs. just functional
Have led technical work in an early-stage environment where the job was figuring it out, not following a playbook

What Kaizen Offers

Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United, including Gold and Platinum PPO plans, with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option
Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents
$100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA. 401(k) access through Guideline
16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents
Unlimited PTO and closed for all federal holidays
Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas
One-time home office or desk setup stipend up to $750
$50/month commuter benefit
$100/month for wellness or productivity; your call on how you use it
$500/year for professional development
$250/year for recreation
Company-provided laptop
Expensed lunch while in the office

Kaizen is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you need an accommodation during the interview process, email us at careers@kaizenlabs.co.

Senior Software Engineer, Product