Lead Software Engineer - Trust & Safety

Bumble

Bumble

Software Engineering

Austin, TX, USA

USD 225k-255k / year + Equity

Posted on May 20, 2026
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At Bumble, our mission is to create a world where all relationships are healthy and equitable. Trust & Safety is central to that mission - protecting our global community and ensuring people can connect with confidence, authenticity, and respect.

As a Lead Software Engineer within Trust & Safety, you’ll play a critical role in shaping the technical direction of systems that proactively detect, prevent, and respond to harmful behavior at scale. This is an opportunity to operate at the intersection of engineering excellence and AI-powered innovation, influencing how we build intelligent, resilient safety systems for millions of users worldwide.

You’ll partner across engineering, data science, and product to solve complex, high-impact challenges, while setting a high bar for quality, ownership, and thoughtful innovation. This role is ideal for someone who combines deep technical expertise with a strong sense of responsibility for user safety and a passion for building systems that truly make a difference.

What You'll Do

  • Lead the design and development of scalable, reliable systems that power Bumble’s Trust & Safety capabilities
  • Own and drive complex, high-impact technical initiatives from concept through delivery, shaping solutions that address evolving threats and user needs
  • Set technical direction and best practices for your area, influencing architecture, performance, and system design decisions
  • Partner cross-functionally with product, data science, and other engineering teams to deliver cohesive, end-to-end safety solutions
  • Act as a technical leader and mentor, elevating engineering quality through guidance, code reviews, and knowledge sharing
  • Build and strengthen engineering practices that reflect excellence, curiosity, and continuous improvement
  • Leverage AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or similar) to accelerate development, improve system design, and unlock new approaches to problem-solving at scale
  • Champion responsible, ethical, and inclusive use of AI, ensuring systems and workflows are accurate, transparent, and aligned with Bumble’s commitment to user safety

About You

  • Typically requires 8+ years of experience, though we welcome candidates with alternative backgrounds that demonstrate equivalent skills
  • Deep expertise in software engineering, with strong proficiency in at least one modern programming language and system design at scale
  • Proven track record of leading complex technical initiatives and delivering impactful, high-quality systems
  • Ability to influence technical direction and drive alignment across teams and stakeholders
  • Strong collaboration and communication skills, with experience working across functions to deliver shared outcomes
  • Demonstrates ownership and accountability, consistently driving work from insight through to measurable impact
  • Highly proficient in using AI-powered tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Copilot) to enhance engineering productivity, system design, and decision-making
  • Applies AI responsibly and strategically - evaluating outputs, mitigating risks, and ensuring ethical, unbiased, and high-quality outcomes

Nice To Have

  • Experience designing and scaling distributed systems and high-availability architectures
  • Strong experience with cloud platforms (eg AWS, Azure, GCP), containerization (eg Docker, Kubernetes), and modern deployment pipelines
  • Experience in Trust & Safety, machine learning systems, or recommendation systems at scale
  • Familiarity with applying AI/ML techniques to real-world safety or detection problems

Location

  • This role is based in Austin, and we ask that you’re within a commutable distance to this office, so that you’re able to come onsite regularly to collaborate across engineering teams.
  • We have a hybrid environment that requires you to be in the office Monday - Wednesday.

    • Please note: We are unable to offer Visa sponsorship at this time

About Us
Bumble Inc. is the parent company of Bumble Date, BFF, and Badoo. The Bumble platform enables people to build healthy and equitable relationships, through Kind Connections. Founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2014, Bumble was one of the first dating apps built with women at the center and connects people across dating (Bumble Date) and friendship (BFF). BFF is a friendship app where people in all stages of life can meet people nearby and create meaningful platonic connections and community based on shared interests. Badoo, which was founded in 2006, is one of the pioneers of web and mobile dating products.
AI Fluency
AI is important to us. We’re excited by people who are curious and experimental, and who think thoughtfully about how AI can amplify their impact and outcomes.
We encourage you to use AI responsibly as you prepare your application. Please don’t use it to fabricate experiences or answer questions live in interviews. We care deeply about authenticity and want to understand your real skills, judgment and voice, because building a meaningful, genuine connection with you matters to us.
Final Compensation
Will be determined based on factors such as the selected candidate’s qualifications, relevant experience, skill set, and other job-related considerations.

Benefits & Perks
Insurance: Medical/dental/vision, 30-day eligibility. Bumble has multiple competitive offerings that will be available to you on the first of the month following date of hire.
Unlimited PTO + 1 company-wide week off + Focus Fridays every week
Fully paid life and long-term disability insurance
401k with 4% company match if you contribute 6%, 90-day eligibility
Monthly wellness benefit and access to Noom, Unmind, and Your Money Line
Maternity and Fertility benefit + 26 week paid parental leave
Premium App Access

Inclusion at Bumble Inc.
Bumble Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and we strongly encourage people of all ages, colour, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, veterans, parents, people with disabilities, and neurodivergent people to apply. We're happy to make any reasonable adjustments that will help you feel more confident throughout the process, please don't hesitate to let us know how we can help.
In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example: she/her, he/him, they/them, etc).
AI in Bumble Inc. Hiring
At Bumble, we may use AI tools to support parts of our recruitment process — such as helping us record, transcribe, and summarize conversations, and supporting job alignment by comparing resumes and job descriptions to highlight skills and potential roles that may be a good match. These tools help us work more efficiently and stay focused on you during our conversations. Importantly, all hiring decisions are made by people. AI is used only to support our team’s efficiency and improve the candidate experience — not to evaluate or decide on your candidacy. Participation in AI-supported interviews and conversations is completely voluntary and will not impact your candidacy. If you’d prefer to opt out, simply let your recruiter or interviewer know at the start of a call, or anytime during the interview or conversation. Summaries and related data are retained only as long as needed in line with our internal data retention policies. If at any point you’d like a transcription or summary deleted, please contact your recruiter directly.
For further information on how we hold and manage your data, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

225000 - 255000 USD a year

For base compensation, we set standard ranges for all roles based on function, level, and geographic location. This position is also typically eligible to participate in our short- and long-term incentive programs. Benefits include Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k) match, Unlimited Paid Time Off Policy.
  • Maven Fertility: $10,000 lifetime benefit for fertility, adoption, abortion care, and more.
  • 26 Weeks Parental Leave: For both primary and secondary caregivers.
  • Family & Compassionate Leave: Inclusive of domestic violence recovery.
  • Unlimited Paid Time Off: Take the time you need.
  • Company-wide Week Off: Annual collective rest for the entire company.
  • Focus Fridays: No meetings, emails, or deadlines—just deep work.
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