Backend Senior Software Engineer - Contractor

Thrive is a leading behavior change technology company founded by Arianna Huffington in 2016 with the mission to end the stress and burnout epidemic. Thrive helps individuals and organizations improve well-being, performance and mental resilience with its AI-powered behavior change technology platform. Thrive’s Microsteps – small, science-backed steps to improve health and productivity – have been adopted by employees at more than 125 organizations in over 140 countries, from frontline and call center workers to executives at multinational companies.

If you’re not sure that you’re 100% qualified, but this sounds like a role you would Thrive in – we want you to apply! We believe skills are transferable and passion for our mission goes a long way.

This is a high-impact role for a senior engineer who wants real ownership from day one. As a Senior Software Engineer (Contractor) at Thrive Global, you will own and evolve our enterprise platform end-to-end — responsible for both sustaining engineering (reliability, scalability, technical debt) and net-new feature development that directly supports our B2B customers and commercial growth.

You will start by working on our Coaching application, with the flexibility to move to other parts of the platform as priorities evolve. This is a fast-moving, lean environment, so we are looking for someone who brings the pragmatism of a startup — a bias to ship and iterate quickly — paired with the craft of an engineer who has seen the long-term cost of shortcuts. You will take ambiguous problems, break them into well-sized workstreams, and drive them to completion with minimal hand-holding.

• Own and evolve the enterprise platform end-to-end — responsible for both sustaining engineering (reliability, scalability, technical debt) and net-new feature development that directly supports B2B customers and commercial growth. You will start on our Coaching app and may shift to other areas of the platform as needs arise.
• Independently scope and deliver medium-to-large projects — take an ambiguous problem, break it into well-sized workstreams, sequence the work, and drive it to completion with minimal hand-holding.
• Partner closely with Product and stakeholders — translate business requirements into technical plans, surface trade-offs early, and keep cross-functional partners informed throughout delivery.
• Set a high bar for quality without sacrificing pace — bring a bias to ship and iterate fast, balanced with the craft and judgment to avoid costly shortcuts.
• Support reliability and incident response — provide on-call and incident support during US working hours to keep the platform healthy and customers supported.

• Senior-level software engineering experience, with a track record of owning systems or products end-to-end in a production environment.
• Demonstrated ability to scope and deliver medium-to-large projects independently, from ambiguous problem to shipped solution.
• Strong full-stack in TypeScript, with experience balancing sustaining engineering (reliability, scalability, technical debt) and net-new feature development.
• Experience building and supporting B2B / enterprise-facing software.
• Comfort partnering directly with Product and non-technical stakeholders to translate requirements into technical plans.
• Experience with on-call rotations and incident response.
• Pragmatic, startup-minded approach — able to move fast and iterate while maintaining a high quality bar.
• Requires meaningful daily overlap with the U.S. Eastern Time business hours, as well as sufficient overlap with the Ireland-based team to support collaboration and communication. 
• Available to start immediately and engage as a contractor.

Who You Are

A self-directed senior engineer who thrives with ownership and minimal oversight, and knows which decisions warrant a stakeholder check-in.

A pragmatic builder who blends startup speed with engineering craft — you ship and iterate, but you don't accumulate avoidable debt.

A clear communicator who surfaces trade-offs and risks early and keeps cross-functional partners aligned.

Energized by ambiguity — you can take a loosely defined problem and turn it into a sequenced, deliverable plan.

Reliable under pressure, with the judgment to keep systems stable and respond effectively when incidents arise.

Quality-obsessed without being precious — you set a high bar and still move the work forward.

✨ What We Offer:

• 🌍 Mission-Driven Impact: Be part of a company that’s truly making a difference in people’s lives around the world.
• 🚀 Career Growth: Develop within the company and help shape our growth strategy.
• 💙 Human-Centric Culture: Thrive in a supportive environment with a range of wellness perks and benefits.
• 💰 Competitive Compensation: Enjoy a comprehensive and rewarding total compensation package.
• 🩺 Health & Financial Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage plus a 401(k) program with company match.
• 🌴 Time to Recharge: Generous paid time-off programs designed to help you rest, reset, and recharge — including Thrive Time, a benefit unique to Thrive that gives employees additional paid time off after major projects or intense periods of work to truly recharge and recover.

Compensation:

Compensation for this contract position is expected to fall within the range of $90–$125 per hour, depending on experience, expertise, and overall qualifications.

• Please note that, as this is a contractor role, compensation will be provided on an hourly basis and the selected candidate will not be eligible for employee benefits, bonus programs, equity, or other company-sponsored benefit plans. The final hourly rate will be determined based on the candidate's background, experience, and market considerations.

Thrive is deeply committed to creating a safe and welcoming work environment free of discrimination and harassment so that all employees can bring their whole selves to work.

Thrive is proud to ensure equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family or parental status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Thrive is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. Please inform Thrive’s Recruiting team if you need any assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.