Software Engineer
Lantern
About the role
WHO WE ARE
Lantern is building the AI-native operating system for the $9T wholesale distribution industry. Billions of dollars sit tied up in stock, yet most distributors still buy on gut feel and spreadsheets. We partner with leading distributors to deliver precise, AI-powered purchasing recommendations that drive 30% leaner inventory, 10% higher sales, and 20+ hours saved per week per user. We've gone from $0 to $5M ARR in 8 months, raised $7M from top VCs, and are hitting hypergrowth.
THE ROLE
We're hiring a Software Engineer to build the platform that distributors use to run their purchasing. Your systems will turn operational data and ML outputs into decisions that customers act on every day. The central challenge is making these experiences fast, reliable, and intuitive enough to trust with real money. You'll work across the stack, from backend services and APIs to the interfaces where customers review recommendations and place orders. It's a high-ownership role on a small team, working directly with our CTO to ship products that every customer relies on.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Build and own core features end to end, from data models and APIs to customer-facing interfaces.
Design reliable backend services that integrate customer data, ML outputs, and purchasing workflows.
Ship the tools distributors use daily to review recommendations, place orders, and manage inventory.
Improve the product's performance, reliability, and observability as Lantern scales across more customers.
Turn customer-specific workflows into repeatable, configuration-driven products, and help shape the platform architecture.
WHAT YOU BRING
4–6 years building production software, ideally full-stack or backend-focused.
Strong software engineering fundamentals and a bias for clean, maintainable, production-grade code.
Experience designing and shipping APIs, data models, and services that scale.
Deep proficiency in at least one modern, widely-used language, with cloud infrastructure (AWS or GCP) and relational databases. We care more about strong engineering fundamentals than a specific stack, and Python is a plus since it powers our ML platform.
Comfort with messy, real-world data and ambiguous requirements.
BS/MS in Computer Science or a related technical field.
NICE TO HAVE
Supply chain, logistics, demand forecasting, or operations-adjacent experience.
Experience building data-intensive or B2B products used by non-technical operators.
Prior early-stage startup experience where you wore multiple hats.
WHAT YOU'LL GET
A founding-era, high-impact role at a hyper growth startup.
Own key systems that our customers rely on every single day.
Make a massive positive impact across our entire supply chain and economy.
Competitive compensation + meaningful equity.
An office in San Francisco with a tight-knit founding team.
WHAT WE VALUE
We hire operators who own outcomes, combining sharp judgment with pragmatic execution and a willingness to do the unglamorous work. Hard work, humility, customer obsession, and pride in a job well done: the values our customers live by, and the values we hire for.
Responsibilities
- Build and own end-to-end product features spanning data models, APIs, and customer-facing interfaces.
- Design reliable backend services integrating customer data, ML outputs, and purchasing workflows.
- Develop tools for reviewing recommendations, placing orders, and managing inventory.
- Improve product performance, reliability, and observability as the platform scales.
- Turn customer-specific workflows into repeatable, configuration-driven products and help shape platform architecture.
Qualifications
- 4–6 years of experience building production software, ideally full-stack or backend-focused.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals and a commitment to clean, maintainable, production-grade code.
- Experience designing and shipping scalable APIs, data models, and services.
- Proficiency in a modern programming language, cloud infrastructure such as AWS or GCP, and relational databases.
- Comfort working with messy real-world data and ambiguous requirements.
- BS or MS in Computer Science or a related technical field.
- Python experience is a plus.
Benefits
- Meaningful equity.
- High-impact role at a fast-growing startup.
- San Francisco office and close collaboration with the founding team.
Skills mentioned
About Lantern
Lantern works with distributors to reduce inventory by 30-40%, improve fill rates by 5-10%, and free up cash for growth. We help distributors forecast demand so you always have the right items, in the right place, at the right time. We take a fundamentally different approach, using cutting-edge machine learning to achieve near-perfect accuracy. Our founders studied at Stanford and spent decades at leading Silicon Valley technology companies. Our families come from distribution. This combination of deep industry roots and frontier technology is what allows us to achieve breakthrough results. Lantern is honored to serve distributors, the true backbone of our economy and our country.
H-1B sponsorship history
Historical employer filing data was found for Lantern. The employer record includes 7 historical certified applications. This is employer-level history, not a guarantee that this role currently offers sponsorship.