Senior Full Stack Engineer - Core UX (USA)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Full Stack Engineer - Core UX (USA)

Company: Kalepa

Location: United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Software Engineering / Core UX

Date Posted: September 02, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 years

Remote Status: Remote OK (United States)

🚀 Role Summary

• Focus on refining and polishing existing product functionality to achieve an exceptional user experience, emphasizing consistency and visual polish.

• Implement performance improvements that directly impact end-users, ensuring a premium, well-crafted feel across the product.

• Collaborate closely with a global team of full-stack, data, ML, and DevOps engineers to build scalable solutions for the insurance industry.

• Take ownership of iterative improvements and drive projects to completion with minimal oversight, contributing significantly to both technology and business growth.

• Embody a "hustle and determination" mindset, relentlessly pursuing excellence and solving complex, often unprecedented, problems in the AI and insurance sectors.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned within the "Core UX" team, indicating a strong emphasis on the user-facing aspects of the software. While a full-stack role, the primary focus will be on enhancing the user experience through frontend development, interaction design, and performance optimization. This is distinct from roles focused purely on backend infrastructure or AI model development, though collaboration with those teams is crucial.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Refine and enhance existing product features to ensure a cohesive and premium user experience across all touchpoints.

• Implement and optimize frontend components using modern frameworks like React, focusing on layout, responsiveness, and visual appeal.

• Collaborate with UX designers and product managers to translate user needs and design specifications into robust, scalable code.

• Identify and implement performance improvements in the frontend and backend to reduce latency and improve overall application speed.

• Troubleshoot and debug complex issues across the full stack, ensuring stability and reliability of the platform.

• Contribute to system design discussions, focusing on architectural decisions that support scalability, maintainability, and user experience.

• Develop and maintain asynchronous workflows and serverless functions within cloud environments.

• Write clean, well-documented, and testable code in Javascript, Typescript, or Python.

• Participate in code reviews, providing constructive feedback to peers and ensuring adherence to coding standards.

• Actively engage in the iterative development process, embracing experimentation and rapid iteration to solve novel problems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "refining existing product functionality" suggests a role focused on product maturity and optimization rather than greenfield development. This implies a need for strong analytical skills to identify areas for improvement and a meticulous approach to detail in implementation.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong foundation in Computer Science or a related technical field is implied by the experience and skill requirements.

Experience: 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record in improving and polishing functionalities for a premium user experience.

Required Skills:

• 5+ years of software engineering experience.

• Proven experience in improving and polishing functionalities to deliver a premium user experience.

• Strong fundamentals in system design, debugging, and problem-solving.

• Experience with a modern FE framework, preferably React.

• Proficiency in Javascript, Typescript, or Python.

• Experience with serverless technologies (e.g., AWS Lambda, EC2).

• Experience with asynchronous workflows.

• Experience with cloud environments (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure).

• Experience with relational databases, ideally PostgreSQL.

• Ability to take full ownership of work and drive projects to completion with minimal oversight.

• Proactive communication skills, including surfacing blockers and keeping stakeholders informed.

• Aptitude for experimentation, rapid testing, measurement, and iteration. Preferred Skills:

• Experience with LLMs/generative AI.

• Experience with distributed systems.

• Experience with full-stack development, bridging frontend and backend concerns.

• Familiarity with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.

• Understanding of data engineering principles and ML workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "5+ years" experience level suggests a mid-to-senior engineer, expected to operate with significant autonomy. The preference for React and the openness to other OO languages indicate a focus on modern web development practices. The bonus experience with LLMs/Generative AI and Distributed Systems points towards the company's strategic direction and the potential for growth into more complex areas.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase of projects demonstrating iterative improvement and polishing of existing functionalities, highlighting user experience enhancements.

• Examples of performance optimization initiatives, with measurable improvements in speed, responsiveness, or resource utilization.

• Code samples or case studies that illustrate strong system design principles, debugging capabilities, and problem-solving approaches.

• Demonstrations of work within modern frontend frameworks (especially React) and backend technologies (e.g., Python, Node.js).

• Evidence of experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred) and associated services like Lambda, EC2, and relational databases (PostgreSQL). Process Documentation:

• Case studies detailing how you approached complex problems, emphasizing the experimentation and iteration process.

• Documentation of your contribution to workflow design and optimization, particularly for user-facing features.

• Examples of how you measured and reported on the impact of your implemented solutions, focusing on user experience metrics and performance gains.

• Documentation of your experience in building and maintaining scalable solutions within cloud environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Senior Full Stack Engineer role focused on Core UX, a portfolio should highlight not just the technical implementation but also the strategic thinking behind user-centric design and performance optimization. Quantifiable results and clear explanations of the problem-solving process are critical.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $165,000 - $225,000 USD per year.

Note: The salary range is an estimate and will vary based on experience, performance during the interview process, and geographic location.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary.

• Significant equity options package.

• Work with an ambitious, smart, global, and fun team to transform a $7T global industry.

• 20 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) per year.

• Global team offsites (previous locations include Playa Del Carmen, Rome, Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Cartagena).

• 100% covered PPO medical insurance for individuals and families.

• 100% covered vision and dental insurance for individuals and families.

• Healthy living/gym stipend.

• Mobile phone bill stipend.

• Continuing education credits for professional development.

• 401(k) plan with employer contribution (regardless of employee contribution).

Working Hours: Assumed to be a standard 40-hour work week, with flexibility expected given the remote nature and global team structure. The role requires active participation in a global team, which may necessitate some flexibility in working hours to accommodate different time zones.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is provided for the US market. For international operations, salary would be adjusted based on local market rates and cost of living. The benefits package is comprehensive, with a strong emphasis on health and well-being, professional development, and team cohesion through offsites. The 401(k) with employer contribution is a significant perk.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Insurtech / Artificial Intelligence (AI) - focused on automating professional work within the $7T global insurance industry.

Company Size: The exact size isn't specified, but the description implies a growing, dynamic startup environment with a global team and remote employees. The mention of "small team where individual contributions have an outsized impact" suggests a company that is past the very early seed stage but still maintains agility.

Founded: Kalepa was founded with the mission to build AI systems for insurers, starting by augmenting professionals and automating workflows over time. The team brings extensive experience from major tech and consulting firms.

Team Structure:

• A global team of full-stack, data, ML, and DevOps engineers.

• Emphasis on a small team where individual contributions have an outsized impact.

• Collaborative environment focused on solving complex problems in the insurance domain using AI.

• Reporting structure likely involves engineering leads or managers, with direct interaction with product and leadership teams. Methodology:

• AI-Driven Automation: Core focus on developing AI systems that can perform insurance-related professional tasks.

• Augmentation First: Initial product strategy involves augmenting human professionals before full automation.

• Data-Centric Development: Products learn from real decisions, capture decision traces, and leverage data for continuous improvement.

• Iterative Experimentation: Strong emphasis on testing quickly, measuring rigorously, and iterating to find solutions for novel problems.

• Customer Impact Focus: All efforts are measured against their ability to drive speed, accuracy, or profitability for customers.

Company Website: kalepa.com

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture is explicitly defined by five core values: Hustle and Determination, Deliver Customer Impact, Meritocracy, Transparency, and Experiment Relentlessly. These are not just buzzwords but are presented as foundational principles for success and employee growth. The global offsites highlight a commitment to team building and culture.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: Senior Full Stack Engineer - Core UX. This level implies significant technical expertise, a strong track record of delivering high-quality software, and the ability to work independently and mentor junior engineers. The focus on Core UX suggests a specialization within the broader engineering function.

Reporting Structure: Likely reports to an Engineering Manager or Lead, with close collaboration across engineering disciplines (Data, ML, DevOps) and Product Management. The "small team" structure suggests direct access to leadership.

Operations Impact: Engineers at Kalepa have an "outsized impact" on both the technology and the business. This role directly influences the end-user experience, which is critical for product adoption and customer satisfaction in the insurance sector. Contributions are measured by customer impact (speed, accuracy, profitability).

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in frontend development, particularly with React, and potentially explore advanced areas like LLMs/Generative AI and distributed systems.

• Leadership Development: Opportunity to mentor junior engineers, lead feature development, and contribute to architectural decisions as a senior member of the team.

• Cross-Functional Exposure: Gain exposure to ML, data engineering, and DevOps, understanding the full lifecycle of AI-powered products in a complex industry.

• Impactful Projects: Work on transformative projects that are automating a significant portion of the $7T insurance industry, offering high visibility and potential for significant professional achievement.

• Career Progression: Potential to move into Staff/Principal Engineer roles, Engineering Management, or specialized AI/ML engineering roles as the company scales.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on meritocracy and rapid growth suggests that high performers can expect accelerated career progression. The company's focus on solving complex, novel problems means ample opportunities for learning and skill development.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: Kalepa operates with a hybrid model, supporting remote employees across the globe while also maintaining an office presence (implied by "NY office" and regional meetups). The company invests in bringing people together for global offsites.

Office Location(s): Primarily based in New York, but with a significant global remote workforce. The job is open to candidates in the United States.

Workspace Context:

• Remote-First Culture: While there's an office, the company supports remote work and has a global team, indicating robust remote collaboration tools and practices.

• Collaborative Environment: Emphasis on transparency and challenging ideas, fostering open communication and teamwork. The "Core UX" focus suggests close collaboration with design and product teams.

• Technology Stack: Access to modern development tools and cloud infrastructure necessary for building sophisticated AI-powered software.

• Global Interaction: Opportunities to collaborate with diverse talent worldwide, enriching the work experience.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week is typical, but the remote and global nature may require some flexibility. The company values "hustle and determination," suggesting a results-oriented approach where dedication to project success is paramount.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company culture explicitly values "Hustle and Determination" and "Experiment Relentlessly," indicating a fast-paced, results-driven environment. While remote, the emphasis on global offsites suggests a strong commitment to building team cohesion and culture.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a call with a recruiter to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

• Technical Interviews: Multiple rounds focusing on coding, system design, debugging, and problem-solving. Expect challenges related to frontend development, React, Javascript/Typescript, and potentially backend logic or cloud services.

• Core UX Focus Interview: A specific interview focused on your approach to user experience, iterative improvement, and performance optimization. Be prepared to discuss past projects where you enhanced user interfaces and workflows.

• Hiring Manager/Team Lead Interview: Discussion about your experience, career aspirations, and how you align with Kalepa's values and team dynamics.

• Cultural Fit/Values Interview: An assessment of how well you embody Kalepa's five core principles (Hustle, Customer Impact, Meritocracy, Transparency, Experimentation). Be ready with specific examples.

• Final Round: Potentially with a co-founder or senior leadership to discuss strategic alignment and overall fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase UX Impact: Highlight projects where you demonstrably improved user experience, responsiveness, or performance. Use metrics (e.g., reduced load times, improved conversion rates, positive user feedback) whenever possible.

• Process Storytelling: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your approach (emphasizing experimentation and iteration), the technical solutions you implemented, and the measurable outcomes.

• Code Quality: Provide access to well-structured, clean, and commented code (e.g., via GitHub). Focus on demonstrating best practices in React, Javascript/Typescript, and any backend/cloud components.

• System Design: Be ready to discuss architectural decisions, trade-offs, and how your solutions scale.

• Value Alignment: Weave in how your work and approach align with Kalepa's core values, especially "Deliver Customer Impact" and "Experiment Relentlessly."

Challenge Preparation:

• Frontend Challenges: Expect practical coding exercises in React, focusing on component design, state management, and API integration.

• System Design Scenarios: Be prepared to discuss how you would design or improve a feature related to user experience or performance in a complex application.

• Problem-Solving Scenarios: Practice debugging common issues or optimizing code for performance.

• Behavioral Questions: Prepare specific examples from your past experience that demonstrate your adherence to Kalepa's values.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the "Core UX" focus, candidates should be prepared to articulate not just how they built something, but why they built it that way, specifically in relation to user needs and business impact.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Frontend: React (preferred), Javascript, Typescript.

• Backend: Python (preferred), other OO languages.

• Databases: PostgreSQL (ideally), relational databases.

• Cloud: AWS (implied), serverless technologies (Lambda), EC2.

• Development Workflow: Asynchronous workflows, CI/CD (implied).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Tools for performance monitoring and user behavior analysis (specifics not listed, but expected for UX focus).

• Metrics tracking for performance improvements and user experience impact. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly mentioned as a primary focus for this role, but likely integrated into the broader platform.

• Automation is key for serverless functions and workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is modern and cloud-native. Proficiency in React and Typescript is highly desirable. Experience with serverless architectures and PostgreSQL is a strong plus. The mention of LLMs/Generative AI indicates potential future integration or use of these technologies.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Hustle and Determination: Taking full ownership, pursuing excellence relentlessly, choosing hard problems, and not giving up. This means being proactive and committed to seeing tasks through to completion.

• Deliver Customer Impact: Obsession with customer impact, measuring every decision against its contribution to customer speed, accuracy, or profitability. This role will directly contribute by enhancing the user experience.

• Meritocracy: High bar for talent and ideas, rewarding excellence with rapid growth. If you're the best, you'll thrive.

• Transparency: Honest, transparent communication, challenging ideas not people, saying what needs to be said, even when difficult. This fosters trust and efficient problem-solving.

• Experiment Relentlessly: Tackling novel problems by testing quickly, measuring rigorously, and iterating. Speed of learning is considered a competitive advantage.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Close collaboration with full-stack, data, ML, and DevOps engineers, as well as UX designers and product managers.

• Open Communication: Encouraged to challenge ideas and communicate transparently, fostering a problem-solving environment.

• Global Teamwork: Working effectively with colleagues across different time zones and cultures.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Emphasizing rigorous measurement and iteration in problem-solving.

📝 Enhancement Note: Kalepa's culture is explicitly defined and emphasized as critical for success. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate how they embody these values in their work and approach.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Solving Novel Problems: Many challenges in AI for insurance are unprecedented, requiring creative solutions and a willingness to experiment.