--- title: 'Software Engineer at Instead' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-instead-san-francisco-8xchcf3kcaf2' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-14' --- # Software Engineer at Instead - **Company:** Instead - **Location:** San Francisco, CA - **Posted:** 2026-06-17 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead/jobs/7761474003 ## Job description ## About Instead Instead is where tax work gets done. Our AI agent orchestrates the entirety of how work gets done in tax, from preparation and compliance to filing and advisory. It's a fundamentally new way of doing tax work, and it's why top 500 firms, Big Four teams, and enterprise corporate tax departments are choosing Instead. What makes us unique: we hold full government approvals with the IRS, 48 states, and all cities to e-file 1040, 1041, 1120, 1120S, and 1065, with 706, 709, 990, 5500, 2290, and PPT coming for tax year 2026. Instead is a full replacement for CCH Axcess, GoSystem, UltraTax, OneSource, CorpTax, Lacerte, ProConnect, Drake, and more. No other tax startup will be able to offer these capabilities for years as we are two to three years ahead of everyone else in government approvals. This lets us build product experiences that are simply unmatched in the market. Instead is backed by Conviction, IRIS (the largest tax software provider in the UK), Skylark, Aprio, and many of our partners and customers. Our team includes leaders from Intuit, Gusto, Zenefits, Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer, PwC, BDO, RSM, and KPMG. ## The Role You'll build the AI-powered tax platform that hundreds of accounting firms use every day. You'll work across the full stack, shipping features on our customer-facing product and building internal tooling that powers our engineering team. This is production AI work, not research. You'll be writing code that handles real tax returns, real deadlines, and real customer data. Our stack: Vue, Nuxt, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS on the frontend. Go, Docker on AWS ECS/Fargate, and PostgreSQL on AWS RDS on the backend. For AI, we use Cursor, Claude Code, Helicone, Gemini, and OpenAI, and we're constantly evaluating new tools. ## What You'll Do - Ship full-stack product features end to end for our live customer platform - Build and integrate AI-powered components including production-level inference and prompt engineering - Make key product improvements based on customer feedback and usage analytics - Solve critical product bugs across the full stack with high urgency during tax season - Create tools and internal platforms that enhance the productivity of Instead's engineering and product teams - Partner with US-based product teams to translate customer needs into technical solutions - Contribute to architecture decisions as the team scales ## What You Bring - 3+ years of software development experience - Proficiency in full-stack development with a strong understanding of web frameworks, backend systems, and cloud infrastructure - Experience building and shipping production software that real customers depend on - High attention to detail. Tax work has consequences, and our code needs to be right - Fast learner who thrives in a fast-paced environment where priorities shift quickly - Experience with AI/ML frameworks, prompt engineering, or AI coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) is a strong plus - Experience with our stack (Vue/Nuxt, Go, AWS, PostgreSQL) is a plus but not required What Makes Someone Exceptional - You ship fast without sacrificing quality. You know when to cut corners and when the details matter - You've built customer-facing products at scale and understand what it means when real users depend on your code - You actively use AI tools in your development workflow. You see AI as a force multiplier, not a novelty - You can work across the full stack and context-switch between frontend polish and backend infrastructure - You care about the product, not just the code. You understand why a feature matters to customers, not just how to build it Location San Francisco (on-site) Instead is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate candidates based on capability, judgment, ownership, and fit for the role's responsibilities. We welcome candidates who can help us build a category-defining company in tax technology. ## About Instead ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Instead builds an AI agent that orchestrates end-to-end tax preparation, compliance, filing, and advisory for CPA firms, corporate tax teams, and family offices. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed‑II) - **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States - **Founded**: 2023 - **Founders**: Not publicly available ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: AI‑powered tax software / financial technology (tax preparation and filing) - **Target customers**: B2B – CPA firms, Big Four teams, enterprise corporate tax departments, family offices, high‑net‑worth individuals, and tax preparers - **Mission or purpose statement**: “Build the AI agent for accountants. We start with tax, the most complex and highest‑stakes service line, and expand into every area where intelligent agents can help professionals deliver more for their clients.” ## Products & Services - **Instead Agent** (SaaS / AI Agent): A dedicated AI agent assigned to each client that handles research, planning, preparation, filing, and defense across all entity types (1040, 1041, 1120, 1120S, 1065). Supports e‑file to IRS and 48 states, document extraction, tax research from 1,500+ sources, and voice interaction. - **Instead Platform** (SaaS): The underlying infrastructure that powers tax workflows, multi‑entity compliance, report generation, workpapers, and tax planning. Includes free tier with unlimited users and entities; paid via credits used only when the agent performs work. - **Tax Research & Planning Tools**: Integrated research engine and strategy memo generation, designed to replace manual offshore prep and seasonal contractors. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – $15M (Seed‑II) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Conviction, IRIS (largest tax software provider in the UK), Skylark, and several partner/customer firms - **Growth Signals**: - First company in decades to receive IRS approval to e‑file across all five entity types. - Authorized e‑file provider for 140+ government jurisdictions. - SOC 2 Type II certified. - Used by top 500 firms, Big Four teams, and enterprise corporate tax departments. - Expanding to additional form types (706, 709, 990, 5500, 2290) for tax year 2026. ## Competitive Advantages - **Regulatory moat**: Full government approvals from the IRS, 48 states, and all cities for e‑filing – a barrier that takes years for competitors to replicate. - **End‑to‑end AI agent**: One agent that owns the entire tax workflow, from research and planning to preparation, filing, and defense, rather than piecemeal tools. - **Multi‑entity support**: Handles individuals, trusts, partnerships, S‑corps, and C‑corps within a single platform. - **Pricing model**: Free access to the platform; only pay credits when the agent performs work, enabling firms to scale without adding headcount. ## Strategic Focus - **Current priorities**: Deepening the AI agent’s capabilities, expanding e‑file approvals to additional form types, and scaling the platform to serve more CPA firms and corporate tax departments. - **Growth direction**: Moving beyond tax preparation into advisory and strategic work, positioning accountants as “orchestrators” of AI agents. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Mission‑driven, focused on transforming the accounting profession; team includes leaders from Intuit, Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer, Gusto, PwC, BDO, RSM, and KPMG. - **Remote/hybrid policy**: Remote‑friendly with offices in San Francisco, CA (515 Folsom Street). “Work where you do your best work.” - **Notable perks**: - Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents. - Competitive salary, equity, and performance bonuses. - Annual learning budget for conferences, courses, and books. - Generous PTO and flexible schedules. - MacBook Pro, monitor, and equipment provided. - **Engineering culture**: Building an AI‑first product; hiring across platform engineering, software engineering (SF and Bangalore), and product design. ## Sources 1. [instead.com](https://www.instead.com/) 2. [instead.com/resources/careers](https://www.instead.com/resources/careers) 3. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead) 4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/instead) 5. [linkedin.com/company/tryinstead](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tryinstead) ## Other roles at Instead - [Senior Director of Data Analytics & Business Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-of-data-analytics-business-systems-instead-san-francisco-1w6tfmtwnam8) — San Francisco, CA - [Software Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineering-intern-instead-san-francisco-fdaj4k7njge7) — San Francisco, CA - [Tax Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/tax-manager-instead-salt-lake-city-q4vhxs4bv2qp) — Salt Lake City, UT - [Tax Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/tax-manager-instead-san-francisco-5z10g7110a9t) — San Francisco, CA - [Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/product-manager-instead-san-francisco-8hs5y46hmeyx) — San Francisco, CA - [Engagement Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/engagement-manager-instead-lehi-esxz64f61psh) — Lehi, UT - [Software Engineer (Bangalore)](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-bangalore-instead-bengaluru-m2agqqf3qcye) — Bengaluru, India - [Director of Talent Acquisition](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-talent-acquisition-instead-bengaluru-9cty014apmas) — Bengaluru, India - [Forms Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/forms-specialist-instead-hyderabad-qj69ab2g1hqa) — Hyderabad, India - [Product Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/product-designer-instead-bengaluru-fdma1zmvnbbb) — Bengaluru, India