- A track record of shipping products people use: You’ve taken software from “what do people actually need?” to “they use it every day,” and can point to specific things you’ve shipped. This is the bar that matters most.
- You have 4+ years of experience building and shipping software or products in a fast-paced environment. Working at a venture capital or equivalent financial institution is not required but helpful.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, a comparable discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
- Strong stakeholder and communication skills: You draw out real needs (often different from what people ask for), align competing priorities, and keep non-technical partners with you.
- A software-engineering foundation: Enough hands-on background to make sound architectural calls, direct AI build tools well, and ensure things are built securely and at scale. You don’t need to be a full-time engineer.
- Fluent with modern AI tooling, with good judgment about where it helps and where it doesn’t.
- Comfort in a finance or investment setting: Enough grasp of how a fund and its data work to be credible with the CFO and investment team; deep finance expertise isn’t required.
- Bonus: genuine curiosity about deep tech; compute, automation, energy, and biology.
The job is based in Palo Alto, California, and is not eligible for remote status. Playground has a hybrid work arrangement, we encourage you to work from our Palo Alto office as often as possible, generally at least 3 days per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday).
The annual salary range is $150,000 to $175,000. This range represents the low and high end of this California-based position’s anticipated salary range. The salary will depend on numerous factors such as experience, knowledge, and skills.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. This position is not eligible for new H-1B visa sponsorship; however, candidates seeking a transfer of an existing H-1B visa, who have already been counted against the H-1B cap, will be considered.
We believe great ideas come from diverse perspectives, and we’re committed to building a team that reflects the world we live in. If you’re passionate about our work, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences and encourage individuals of all identities to apply.