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Sr. Engineer, U.S. Payroll

Our Purpose 

At Xero, we’re here to help you supercharge your business. We do this by automating routine tasks, surfacing actionable insights and connecting businesses with the right data, advisors and apps. When that happens, we’re not only making life better for small business, we’ll be building a stronger economy that can change the world.


Xero is a beautiful, easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping advisors grow and thrive. At Xero, our purpose is to make life better for people in small businesses, their advisors, and communities around the world. This purpose sits at the centre of everything we do. We support our people to do the best work of their lives so that they can help small businesses succeed through better tools, information and connections. Because when they succeed they make a difference, and when millions of small businesses are making a difference, the world is a more beautiful place. At Xero, we're here to make running a business beautiful. By making small businesses more efficient every day, connecting them with big business technology and empowering a community behind them, their potential is limitless. When that happens, we're not only helping small businesses, we'll be building a stronger economy that can change the world.


How You’ll Make Impact:
  • Youʼll work in collaboration with other Xeros to help create and deliver beautiful software to our customers, faster. Youʼll model the standard for engineering excellence at Xero, supporting your team to grow their technical capability and improve development practices.
  • You'll undertake software application development on applications in our suite of products (including new ones), contributing to new or improved experiences for our customers, internal and external. Youʼll contribute to the technical direction of the product group, helping grow our cross functional environment by identifying technical gaps, promoting capability growth, and championing & demonstrating modern principles and practices.
  • You'll help build and manage software that solves engineering problems at scale. You will be enabled to seek clarity with technical complexities and be able to demonstrate smart ways to simplify.
  • Youʼll be able to make data-driven decisions that will release value early to solve Xero customers' problems more effectively.


What You'll Do:
  • Create software - Guide technical design to ensure implementation of architecture principles and good engineering practice. Identify the technical blockers and waste that slow down the team. Work with engineering leadership and delivery teams to identify technical capabilities that need to be grown. Maintain in-depth system knowledge across all system boundaries relating to the teamʼs components as well as hands-on development expertise
  • Test Software - Guide the quality engineering practices for your team, identifying and resolving challenges to ensure processes and tools are optimized for their context and engineers have the required knowledge and skills. Contribute to and champion Xeroʼs quality strategy and standards
  • Resolve issues - Recognize and solve for common patterns of failure in the teamʼs delivery practices, preventing future issues by improving skills, processes or tooling. Measure the cost or value of issues, and open lead incident responses and post-mortems.
  • Standards & frameworks - Contribute to Xero's engineering standards and frameworks. Work closely with engineering leadership to apply standards to software and delivery process
  • Continuous improvement - Proactively maintain, grow and share knowledge of development technologies used in the development of Xeroʼs software applications.
  • Deliver infrastructure in a production environment - Champion automation of delivery processes and ensure deployment pipelines are fit for purpose. Coach and support engineers to ensure all software is running as expected and proactively work to prevent customer facing problems.
  • Software and delivery practices - Be a proactive champion of agile and delivery practices who coaches and develops others in this space in order to ensure a consistent approach to ways of working.
  • Recruitment - Participate in interviews and recruitment processes.


What Success Looks Like:
  • Coaching - encourages others to mentor each other and creates ways for them to do so. 
  • Evangelism - Promotes Xero as a great, innovative company and workplace to the wider industry.
  • Work collaboratively - Empowers and promotes high performing teams. 
  • Self-learning - Maintains in-depth knowledge of advances and learnings in technologies relevant to Xeroʼs engineering environment.
  • Live Xeroʼs vision and values - Keeps Xeroʼs vision and values at the forefront of decision-making and leadership. Communicates and helps others understand the importance of the vision and values. Translates the vision and values into day-to-day activities and behaviors. 
  • Communication skills - Communicates complex ideas skillfully and with nuance, and establishes alignment within the wider organization. Maintains awareness and understanding of the team's vision and strategy to help make better technical decisions. 
  • Build relationships - Builds and maintains trust and credibility with a wide range of internal stakeholders, and supporting teams from across Xero. 
  • Growth mindset - Demonstrates that competency is not fixed but is enhanced through dedication and hard work. Can lead, coach and provide feedback to others on development plans.
  • Innovation and delivery - Leads teams to innovate and deliver technology and solve customer problems through software. 
  • Coaching and mentorship - Role models best practice mentoring


What You'll Bring With You:
  • Expert in your area of specialization.
  • to experiment with new languages and tooling. Ability to make code design decisions for all teamsʼ products. 
  • Experience in auditing teams codebases, aiming to maintain high standards for security, testability, and ability to make changes easily. 
  • Expertise in distributed systems architecture. Ability to lead or facilitate discussions on application design. 
  • Experience in leading discussions and implementation for scaling products to 2-10 times the number of users. 
  • Able to ensure team products meet Xero's various engineering standards. Experience in contributing to discussions around new standards and revisions to existing ones. 
  • Able to act as incident coordinator in production incidents. 
  • Experience in coaching and mentoring engineers across multiple disciplines.


$216,000 - $237,000 a year

Why Xero? 

Diversity of people brings diversity of thought, and we like that. Our human-first culture of respect, fairness, and inclusion is what helps Xeros thrive and work and beyond. Offering very generous paid leave to use however you’d like (plus statutory holidays!), dedicated paid leave to care for your physical and mental wellbeing as well as an Employee Assistance Program to access mental health care for you and your family, employee resource groups, wellbeing programming and allowances, medical, dental, vision, and disability insurance, fertility and family forming financial support, 401k contribution matching, 26 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers, an Employee Share Plan, beautiful offices with snacks and break areas, flexible working, career development and many other benefits that reflect our human value, you’ll do the best work of your life at Xero.


Research has shown that women and underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single competency or experience. If you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be just the right person for this role and Xero. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at time of application and throughout the interview process.

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Average salary estimate

$226500 / YEARLY (est.)
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$216000K
$237000K

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What You Should Know About Sr. Engineer, U.S. Payroll, Xero

At Xero, we are excited to announce the opening for a Sr. Engineer in U.S. Payroll in sunny San Mateo, US! Join our vibrant team as we work tirelessly to supercharge businesses with our innovative platform. Your role will involve collaborating with fellow Xeros, delivering beautiful software experiences for our customers, and ensuring we maintain the highest standards of engineering excellence. You'll get hands-on with software application development, contributing to both new and improved features that empower our customers. As a Sr. Engineer, you will take the initiative to identify technical gaps and promote team capabilities, all while simplifying complex solutions for scalability. We’re looking for someone passionate about data-driven decision-making and eager to provide value to our users. If you enjoy solving engineering problems at scale and want to make a real difference in the world of small business, this opportunity at Xero is perfect for you! We believe in creating a supportive environment where everyone can grow, and we prioritize a strong company culture that champions diversity, respect, and inclusivity. Your contributions will not only enhance our software but also help our clients thrive, making the world a better place through better business solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Sr. Engineer, U.S. Payroll Role at Xero
What are the main responsibilities of a Sr. Engineer at Xero?

As a Sr. Engineer in U.S. Payroll at Xero, your primary responsibilities will include guiding technical design and architecture implementation, developing software applications for our product suite, managing technical issues, and promoting agile practices within the team. You'll also play a vital role in coaching your peers, helping them grow their technical skills, and fostering a collaborative environment.

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What qualifications are required for the Sr. Engineer position at Xero?

To qualify for the Sr. Engineer role at Xero, you should possess extensive experience in software development, especially in distributed systems architecture, and have a passion for mentoring others. We look for candidates with a strong technical background, preferably with familiarity in coding languages, version control, and quality engineering practices, along with an ability to make data-driven decisions.

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How does Xero support continuous learning and growth for Sr. Engineers?

Xero believes in nurturing talent and providing opportunities for continuous learning. In the Sr. Engineer role, you will have the chance to maintain in-depth knowledge of evolving technologies, participate in discussions around engineering standards, and engage in mentoring activities. Moreover, we encourage self-learning and share resources to ensure you remain at the forefront of your field.

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What impact does a Sr. Engineer have on the team at Xero?

A Sr. Engineer at Xero drives significant impact by leading engineering practices that enhance team performance and product quality. You will mentor junior engineers, identify and eliminate technical bottlenecks, and champion best practices, thereby supporting the overall success and efficiency of your team in meeting our customers’ needs.

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Why should someone apply for the Sr. Engineer position at Xero?

Applying for the Sr. Engineer position at Xero offers a remarkable opportunity to be part of a mission-driven company that values its people and prioritizes innovation. You’ll not only contribute to solutions that positively impact small businesses but also enjoy a supportive working environment that encourages diversity, creativity, and work-life balance.

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Common Interview Questions for Sr. Engineer, U.S. Payroll
How do you approach software development and design?

When answering this question, describe your development process clearly—discuss ideation, prototyping, peer reviews, and final implementation while emphasizing collaboration and adherence to best practices. Highlight your experience with architecture principles and how you apply these in your previous projects.

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Can you give an example of a technical challenge you've faced and how you resolved it?

Choose a relevant challenge and explain your thought process step-by-step. Mention how you identified the problem, explored potential solutions, collaborated with your team, and implemented a resolution. This showcases your problem-solving skills and teamwork.

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What role do you believe mentorship plays in a software team's success?

Discuss the importance of mentorship in fostering skill development and knowledge sharing among engineers. Provide examples of how you've acted as a mentor or benefited from mentoring in the past, underscoring the impact on team dynamics and project outcomes.

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Describe a project where you successfully implemented agile practices.

Share a specific project where agile methodologies were key to its success. Explain how you utilized sprints, stand-ups, and feedback loops to ensure efficiency and adaptability, and highlight the outcomes achieved through these practices.

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How do you ensure software quality during development?

Discuss your approach to integrating quality checks throughout the software development lifecycle. Talk about unit testing, code reviews, automated testing frameworks, and maintaining documentation—all critical in ensuring high-quality deliverables.

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What strategies do you employ to keep up with new technologies?

Share your commitment to continuous learning through attending workshops, pursuing certifications, or engaging with industry communities. Mention how this knowledge translates into your work and enables you to introduce innovative solutions at Xero.

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How would you handle disagreement within your team?

Explain your method for approaching disagreements constructively—listening actively to different perspectives, encouraging open communication, and finding common ground. Highlight your ability to facilitate discussions aimed at achieving consensus.

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What inspires you about working with small businesses?

Share personal anecdotes or philosophical beliefs that motivate you to work with small businesses. Emphasize your view on the impact of technology in facilitating their success and how you’d like to contribute to this at Xero.

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Can you give an example of how you've used data in decision-making?

Provide an example of how data influenced a project decision, detailing how you gathered insights, interpreted the results, and used them to make decisions that improved software performance or customer experience.

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What is your experience with cloud-based applications?

Discuss your familiarity with cloud architecture and services, mentioning specific applications or projects where you've developed or maintained cloud-based systems. This illustrates your technical expertise and readiness to tackle challenges at Xero.

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Xero is a New Zealand–based technology company that offers a cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. They have offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, South Africa and Singapore.

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BADGES
Badge ChangemakerBadge Diversity ChampionBadge Family FriendlyBadge Future MakerBadge Work&Life BalanceBadge Rapid Growth
CULTURE VALUES
Inclusive & Diverse
Rise from Within
Mission Driven
Diversity of Opinions
Work/Life Harmony
Customer-Centric
Social Impact Driven
Passion for Exploration
BENEFITS & PERKS
Family Medical Leave
Maternity Leave
Paternity Leave
Family Coverage (Insurance)
Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Resources
Life insurance
Disability Insurance
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
FUNDING
DEPARTMENTS
SENIORITY LEVEL REQUIREMENT
TEAM SIZE
EMPLOYMENT TYPE
Full-time, on-site
DATE POSTED
March 14, 2025

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