Junior Software Engineer

About Blaze: Ready to join a YC-backed startup revolutionizing global payments? Blaze is building the world’s leading cross-border payments app, powered by USDC, to deliver seamless, low-cost transfers between the US, Latin America, and beyond. Backed by top-tier investors and Y-Combinator, we’re on a mission to empower digital nomads, freelancers, and businesses with fast, affordable, and borderless financial solutions. Join us on the ground floor of a high-growth startup and shape the future of fintech! Role Overview: As a Junior Software Engineer at Blaze, you’ll be at the forefront of our AI-first approach, leveraging cutting-edge AI tools to build our payment platform in a fast-paced, challenging environment. We’re seeking graduating seniors or recent graduates who are passionate about tinkering with AI, proficient in tools like Cursor, and excited to use AI-driven development to achieve 10x productivity. You’ll need strong problem-solving skills to dive into issues hands-on and stay up-to-date on AI advancements to help us innovate. This is your chance to grow rapidly, make a global impact, and set the stage for a stellar career—or even launch your own startup one day. Key Responsibilities: Use AI tools (e.g., Cursor, code generation, and prompting) to accelerate the design and implementation of end-to-end features for the frontend (mobile app and website, using React and React Native) and backend (NodeJS server). Debug and resolve technical issues across the frontend and backend, combining AI-assisted workflows with hands-on problem-solving to ensure platform reliability. Collaborate with the team to deliver secure, scalable code for a high-reliability financial application, integrating AI-driven efficiencies where possible. Engage in system design discussions, proposing AI-enhanced solutions to improve architecture and development processes. Stay current on AI advancements in software engineering and share insights to optimize our development practices.

Qualifications: Demonstrated ability to build interesting and functional projects (e.g., school projects, personal work, hackathons, or open-source contributions), ideally using AI tools. Applicants must provide a portfolio or links to examples of past work. Strong grasp of JavaScript, CSS, and modern web technologies. Familiarity with React, React Native, or similar frameworks; exposure to Next.js, GraphQL, PostgreSQL, TypeScript, or NestJS is a plus. Proficiency in AI-driven development tools (e.g., Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot) and effective prompting techniques to boost productivity. Ability to write clean, testable, and scalable code under tight timelines, with or without AI assistance. Graduating senior or recent graduate in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. Passion for using AI to achieve 10x development speed while maintaining strong problem-solving skills to address challenges directly. Up-to-date knowledge of AI advancements in software engineering and eagerness to educate the team on innovative approaches. Passion for fintech and solving real-world problems for global users. High math and problem-solving skills are a plus. Bonus: Hackathon wins, coding competition achievements, or notable AI-driven projects.