**What we do**
Ascend is a fintech company building the financing and payments infrastructure
for the $2.1T insurance market (did you know insurance premiums make up _[7.2%
of global
GDP?)](https://www.swissre.com/dam/jcr:05ba8605-48d3-40b6-bb79-b891cbd11c36/sigma4_2020_en.pdf)_.
More than 40% of payments are still made with paper checks resulting in poor
customer experience and expensive and operationally intensive commercial
workflow. Today's solutions were built 40 years ago for pen and paper
insurance sales. Ascend is the first modern payments platform for insurance
helping to enable the industry's rapid digitalization.
Founded in April 2021, Ascend has achieved the following milestones:
* Acquired over 2,000 customers, including several of the top 25 largest insurance distributors nationally (Acrisure, Insurica, NFP, etc.) as well as leading Inusrtechs (Vouch, Embroker, Founder Shield).
* Initiating hundreds of millions in transactions and growing exponentially
* Named a [Top 50 Insurtech by CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/research/top-insurtech-startups-2023/).
* Built a world-class team of 30 based out of our San Francisco, CA, and Columbus, OH offices.
**How we do it**
Ascend automates insurance payments end-to-end — from online customer payments
and financing to the distribution of commissions and carrier payables — so
that insurance distributors can eliminate laborious, expensive processes while
giving their customers the great online checkout and financing experience
they've come to expect. Think Stripe + Affirm + Modern Treasury for insurance.
**Why we do it**
We exist to make it easier for people to protect the things they care about by
simplifying and modernizing the insurance industry’s financial infrastructure.
**Your role**
Ascend is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our team on-site in San
Francisco to help us expand our core product. As an Engineer at Ascend, you
will be part of a small, but growing team focused on solving complex technical
challenges using Ruby. In addition, you will interface directly with our
customers and work cross-functionally to continue developing new product
features, dashboards, and checkout processes - without any layers!
**Responsibilities will include**
* Building applications and services using Rails/Javascript
* Working closely with cross-functional teams and customers to define and build products
* Helping design & implement our technical architecture & processes
**You might be a good fit if you have**
* 3+ years of experience as a Full Stack or Backend Web Developer
* Experience with relational databases
* Experience building and scaling consumer products
* A strong desire to learn new skills and solve business problems
**Nice to have**
* Familiarity or interest in learning Ruby on Rails and Next.js
* Familiarity with building external APIs & integrations with platforms such as Salesforce
* Experience in building payment, checkout, or insurance products
**Tech stack & processes**
* Ruby on Rails API hosted on Heroku
* Next.js w/Typescript hosted on Vercel
* Tailwind CSS across all the FE
* Postgres + Redis for Storage
* Continuous integration & delivery
**Benefits**
* Competitive base salary and meaningful equity in a fast-growing company
* 100% health premiums covered for you and your dependents
* 401k with employer matching options
* Unlimited PTO
* Monthly company-paid commuter benefit options, and fitness stipends
* Parental and family leave
* Lunch provided when in office
* Company outings and off-sites
_We encourage you to connect with us, even if you think you may not have the
exact experience for this opportunity. We know that imposter syndrome is real
– and that being outside of your comfort zone often prevents us from meeting
candidates we would love to connect with and learn from as we grow._
**Equal Opportunity**
We're an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We
don't discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin,
gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability
status.
In accordance with Ascend policies and our commitment to prioritizing the
health and safety of our employees, all positions will require proof of COVID
vaccination prior to entering the office. Guests who visit the office must
also provide proof of vaccination prior to entry. Our COVID-19 health and
safety protocols may change over time as local and national guidance and
regulations evolve.
