---
title: 'Senior Software Engineer at Trayd'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-trayd-manhattan-xhxjn7z0vdht'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-05'
---

# Senior Software Engineer at Trayd

- **Company:** Trayd
- **Location:** Manhattan, NY
- **Compensation:** $185k–$220k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2025-01-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/buildtrayd-com/am9icG9zdDooK93aiV6gQ0cMWj1DTUpE

## Job description

New York City - FiDi, in person $185,000–$220,000 Meaningful Series A equity

## About Trayd

Trayd is solving the oldest problem in America: how do we build physical infrastructure that lasts generations? We’re replacing manual processes and legacy systems with AI-native software built around how construction actually runs. Companies using our software have built some of America’s greatest infrastructure projects like the Buffalo Bills’ Highmark Stadium and JFK International Airport.

We're building the category-defining back office for trade contractors with a platform that runs live payroll, job costing, and accounting workflows every week for the hardest-working people in the country. We grew 600% over the last year with a lean team of ~30, made up of some of the sharpest and most driven talent in New York.

We were in Y Combinator’s Summer 2023 batch and have raised over $15 million from Tier 1 investors. We’re proudly and permanently based in NYC. We’re in the next phase of growth, and every hire here directly shapes what customers see next.

## Role Overview

We’re hiring a senior software engineer to help build the core systems that power Trayd.

This is not a “take tickets and stay in your lane” job. Engineers at Trayd own product areas end-to-end. You will design, build, ship, and maintain real systems that move real money, under real compliance constraints, for customers who depend on us every week.

Payroll is one of the only product categories where 99% accuracy is an F. The systems have to be built for correctness, traceability, and edge cases from day one.

You will work on a small, high-output team where decisions are made quickly, quality matters, and your work will show up in production constantly. You will help build the foundation for Trayd’s growth beyond Series A, with massive room for your own growth throughout the organization as we scale together.

## What You’ll Do

- Own major projects end-to-end: scoping, technical design, implementation, testing, and release.
- Build full-stack features across the frontend, backend, and data layers in a production SaaS environment.
- Design and evolve systems for payroll, deductions, benefits, compliance, and accounting workflows where correctness matters
- Model and migrate relational data in Postgres for complex real-world financial workflows
- Make strong architectural tradeoffs in ambiguous, fast-moving product environments
- Debug production issues, improve reliability, and drive problems through to resolution
- Collaborate closely with product and operations to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions
- Work directly with customers and internal stakeholders to understand how construction companies actually operate
- Contribute as a senior engineer through code reviews, design discussions, and raising the quality bar across the team

Example problems you might work on

- Building workflows that handle union pay rules, deductions, and benefits correctly across job types and locations
- Designing systems that make payroll auditable and explainable, not just “it worked somehow”
- Making accounting exports and job-costing data reliable enough that controllers trust them
- Improving performance and correctness in a system that processes large amounts of payroll data under deadlines
- Creating tooling and guardrails that prevent edge cases from becoming customer emergencies

## Why Trayd

- This is real infrastructure. Payroll and compliance are high-stakes. The work is technical, regulated, and unforgiving in the best way
- You will have real ownership. You won’t be one engineer on a giant team shipping tiny changes. You will own systems that matter
- We’re winning in a hard market. Strong customer demand, real usage, and a product that customers rely on weekly
- The domain is deep. Construction is full of complexity that most software ignores. We build for the real workflows
- In-person team, high velocity. We work together in FiDI five days a week because it makes us faster and sharper
- You’ll grow quickly. Small team, high responsibility, constant production exposure, and meaningful influence over the product

On payroll days, the whole team runs together. We provide meals because those days matter here.

## Who You Are

- 5+ years building production software on a team
- Full-stack capable (or excited to be) and comfortable working across systems
- High ownership mindset: you ship, you fix, you follow through
- Strong judgment balancing speed, correctness, and maintainability
- You communicate clearly and collaborate well across functions
- NYC-based or ready to relocate quickly

## Nice to Have

- React, Next.js, Prisma, tRPC, Postgres
- Strong TypeScript and Node.js fundamentals
- Experience in fintech, payroll, accounting, compliance, or other high-stakes systems

Working style

This is an in-person role in New York City, five days a week. We move quickly, collaborate constantly, and value people who take initiative and ownership.

If you want to ship important software fast with a team that cares about doing it right, you’ll fit here.

## Compensation/Benefits

Base Salary $185,000–$220,000 Meaningful Series A equity

## Benefits

- Healthcare: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance options for employees and dependents
- Unlimited/Flexible PTO
- 401(k) Retirement Plan
- Free lunch (Mon–Wed) and dinner (Mon–Thu after 7:30pm) for in-office roles

The posted range represents the typical compensation range for this role. To determine actual compensation we review the market rate of each candidate which can include a variety of factors including qualifications, experience, interview performance, and location.

Trayd provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and welcome people from all backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and abilities.

## About Trayd

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Trayd is an all-in-one construction back office operating system that automates payroll, HR, compliance, and labor cost tracking for specialty trade contractors.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Anna Berger (CEO) and Cara Kessler (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Construction technology (payroll, compliance, workforce management)
- **Target customers**: B2B – specialty trade contractors (e.g., electricians, plumbers, ironworkers, concrete crews) and subcontractors in commercial construction
- **Mission or purpose**: “Build the operating system for commercial construction: payroll, compliance, and back office workflows that actually work in the real world.” ([ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/trayd))

## Products & Services
- **Trayd Platform (SaaS)**: A unified workforce management solution that captures time data directly from the field, automatically calculates variable pay rates (union, prevailing wage, multi-state), runs payroll in under 30 minutes, generates certified payroll reports, and offers Earned Wage Access for workers. Includes compliance automation, job costing, and accounting workflow integration. ([buildtrayd.com](https://www.buildtrayd.com/))

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$17M**; revenue grew **over 600% year-over year** as of early 2026; processes tens of millions of payroll dollars weekly. ([crunchbase.com](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/construction-tech-automation-trayd-ai-seriesa/))
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: White Star Capital (Series A lead), Y Combinator, Suffolk Technologies, RXR Realty. ([crunchbase.com](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/construction-tech-automation-trayd-ai-seriesa/))
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew **173% YoY** to 34 employees; expanding nationally beyond the Northeast; customer base includes hundreds of contractors such as United General Contractors, Wohl Diversified Services, and Titan Structural Group. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/traydinc), [crunchbase.com](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/construction-tech-automation-trayd-ai-seriesa/))

## Competitive Advantages
- **Designed from day one for construction complexity**: Handles multiple pay rates per worker per day, union rules, prevailing wage requirements, and multi-state taxes – capabilities generic payroll platforms like ADP and Paychex struggle with.
- **Closed-loop system**: Merges real-time time tracking with payroll automation, eliminating manual data entry and reducing weekly payroll processing from 14 hours to under 30 minutes.
- **Earned Wage Access**: Workers can instantly access earned wages, improving retention and cash flow for contractors.
- **USA-based bilingual support**: In-house team (English & Spanish) with no call centers or handoffs. ([buildtrayd.com](https://www.buildtrayd.com/))

## Strategic Focus
- **National expansion**: Currently strong in the Northeast (high union density), now scaling across the U.S. to serve more specialty trade contractors.
- **Deepening infrastructure**: Building deeper capabilities for union rules, job costing, and accounting workflows to become the single back-office OS for construction.
- **Product-led growth**: SaaS model with transparent pricing tied to worker count; targeting the $1.4 trillion U.S. construction industry still dominated by spreadsheets and legacy systems. ([buildtrayd.com/careers](https://www.buildtrayd.com/careers))

## Why Work Here
- **Impact**: Join a small, fast-growing team (34 employees) building software that directly improves the lives of construction workers and the efficiency of contractors in a $2T+ industry.
- **Culture**: “Come build with us” – the careers page emphasizes a mission-driven, hands-on environment. Founders come from construction family (Berger) and LinkedIn engineering leadership (Kessler).
- **Work model**: Distributed across the U.S. and Mexico (80% U.S., 2% Mexico); likely remote-friendly. Open roles include Senior Fullstack Engineer, Implementations Analyst, and Product Operations Associate. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/traydinc))
- **Engineering focus**: CTO Cara Kessler was LinkedIn’s web platform lead for 10 years; technical team makes up 15% of headcount. Strong emphasis on building robust infrastructure for a complex industry.

## Sources
1. [buildtrayd.com/careers](https://www.buildtrayd.com/careers)
2. [buildtrayd.com](https://www.buildtrayd.com/)
3. [linkedin.com/company/traydinc](https://www.linkedin.com/company/traydinc)
4. [ycombinator.com/companies/trayd](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/trayd)
5. [crunchbase.com](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/construction-tech-automation-trayd-ai-seriesa/)

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