Software Engineer III - Authentication at ID.me (via Toptal)

Summary

We are developing the next-generation digital identity wallet, simplifying secure online identity verification. Users can verify their identity once and log in seamlessly across numerous websites without creating new accounts or re-verifying. Our solution is currently used by over 140 million users across 20 federal agencies and 44 state agencies.

General Information

• Onsite Location: Mountain View, CA OR McLean, VA (Onsite 5 days per week required)
• Company: ID.me (posting via Toptal)
• Team: Wallet - Authentication

About the Role

Join the Wallet - Authentication team as a Software Engineer III, where you will build the core sign-in, registration, and account management experiences relied upon by over 140 million members to access the ID.me identity wallet. You will work across the entire authentication stack, developing features that prioritize security, usability, and trust at scale. This role sits at the intersection of identity, security, and consumer experience, directly influencing how millions of people prove and access their identity online.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build & Ship Authentication Features: Develop, maintain, and enhance the ID.me Wallet authentication experience, including sign-in, registration, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), account recovery, password reset, and MyWallet. Independently drive small-to-medium features from design through deployment, collaborating with Product, Design, and Security teams.
• Security, Risk & Reliability: Own and evolve the team's real-time risk engine for detecting and mitigating credential attacks, account takeover, and abuse, while maintaining a low-friction user experience. Apply security best practices across all features and contribute to improving authentication reliability, observability, and incident response.
• Code Quality & Engineering Craft: Write high-quality, maintainable code with robust test coverage, adhering to team best practices for code reviews, CI/CD, and documentation. Address technical debt and improve shared components to enhance codebase health.
• Third-Party & Internal Integrations: Integrate with MFA providers, email/SMS delivery services, internal identity services, and downstream relying parties. Proactively identify and report issues or opportunities during integration work.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Product, Design, Security, Identity, and adjacent engineering teams to deliver cohesive authentication experiences. Actively participate in planning, retrospectives, and cross-team discussions, contributing your perspective to the team's roadmap.

Requirements

Required Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 3+ years of professional software development experience with a strong focus on full-stack web engineering.
• Proficiency with AI-assisted development tooling (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor), demonstrated by at least one year of daily use, coupled with a commitment to an AI-first engineering culture to maximize code quality, test coverage, and velocity.
• Experience with authentication and identity standards such as OAuth2, OpenID Connect, SAML, or FIDO2/WebAuthn.
• Experience building or contributing to fraud detection, real-time risk engines, or abuse mitigation systems.
• Proficiency in a modern server-side web framework (e.g., Ruby on Rails, Django, Laravel), with hands-on experience building and operating production web applications.
• Demonstrated ability to independently ship well-tested, production-quality features with minimal oversight.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a proven track record of effective cross-functional teamwork.
• Familiarity with security best practices for credential handling (password storage, session management, token issuance, rate limiting).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with React or other modern frontend frameworks.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced product environment with iterative releases and A/B testing.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and performance monitoring.
• Startup or high-growth company experience with a strong bias toward execution.

How to Apply

• Link: https://www.toptal.com/remote-jobs/toptal-authentication-engineer