Software Engineer (Ruby on Rails, APIs)
Oyster · Full-time · Posted 4d ago
The best jobs have always clustered in a handful of the world's wealthiest cities. But talent is everywhere. Oyster set out to close that gap - building a global employment platform that lets companies hire, pay, and care for brilliant people anywhere.
We're proof that a high-performing culture doesn't need an office. Distributed across 60+ countries since 2020, we've built something the industry keeps noticing:
Ranked #10 of 250 on TIME and Statista's 2026 list of America's Top WorkTech Companies
Named one of America's Greatest Startup Workplaces 2026 by Newsweek
A G2 Spring 2026 Leader across Employer of Record, Global Employment, Multi-country Payroll, and HR Compliance
The only B Corp-certified global employment platform ~ independently verified since 2023
Two of those rankings measured our business impact from the outside. One measured how our own people feel about working here. They landed in the same place ~ because at Oyster, culture and performance aren't separate conversations. They're the same one.
And we're just getting started. If you want to do the best work of your career alongside people who care as much as you do, we'd love for you to apply.
The Opportunity
Our team owns Oyster’s APIs, connected architecture (including Model Context Protocol services) and identity and access management systems. In this role you’ll build and maintain the Ruby on Rails APIs that help our internal teams get work done more effectively.
You’ll partner directly with colleagues across the business to understand how they work, find where an API can remove manual effort, clarify requirements and deliver real productivity improvements. You’ll take well-scoped projects from design through release, with the team’s support on design choices and on unfamiliar or higher-risk areas. Along the way, you’ll grow your ownership of projects within the team.
Internal API use cases, from discovery to delivery. Work with internal stakeholders to understand their workflow, define acceptance criteria and break the work into manageable increments.
Production Rails APIs. Design, implement, test, review and release changes within established architecture and security practices, raising dependencies and risks early.
Secure, careful code. Handle authentication, authorization and sensitive data carefully, and seek review for unfamiliar access-control or integration changes.
Reliable, maintainable systems. Troubleshoot defects and API failures using evidence, add regression coverage and contribute to maintainability improvements.
Measurable impact. Evaluate delivered workflows with stakeholders to confirm adoption and productivity gains.
A strong team culture. Contribute to domain modeling and design discussions with Product and senior engineers. Give constructive code reviews, document API behavior and decisions for async collaboration, support less-experienced colleagues and help simplify unnecessary process.
Essential
3+ years of professional software development experience with a focus on Ruby.
Proven experience developing and maintaining Ruby on Rails applications. You can explain your API implementation choices and use Git effectively.
The ability to refine straightforward stakeholder requirements into well-scoped work, and to ask for support when risk or dependencies exceed the agreed scope.
Strong code quality habits: readable code, automated tests (TDD where appropriate), continuous integration, meaningful reviews and secure coding awareness.
Fluency with AI-assisted development, including independent verification of generated code, tests and assumptions.
Clear communication and effective collaboration in an agile, remote team. You adapt as priorities change and document decisions so others can work asynchronously.
Nice to have
Front-end experience with React and TypeScript.
Exposure to internal developer-facing APIs, identity and access management, or Model Context Protocol services. This is not required.
Direct, visible impact. Your users are your colleagues, so you’ll see how your work changes their day.
Growing ownership with real support. You’ll own scoped projects end to end, with experienced teammates backing you on the unfamiliar parts.
A meaningful technical domain. You’ll work across APIs, connected architecture and access management, areas where careful engineering really matters.
Thoughtful remote culture. You’ll join a globally inclusive, async-friendly team that values documentation and sustainable working boundaries.
Our values guide the work we do, the decisions we make, and the culture that makes Oyster what it is. We make it happen—progress is our default setting. We drive change, we build and give trust, and we move as one united team.
Our mission is to create a more equal world of work: helping companies everywhere hire, pay, and care for talent anywhere. Everything we do ladders up to our mission. We embrace asynchronous, collaborative work and share how we operate in the Oyster Public HQ so other global teams can learn from us.
With diverse locations, cultures, and needs, we created How YOU Work; a program supporting your whole human experience at Oyster:
Work from anywhere: Oyster has no borders or HQ. As long as work is timely, your team is supported, and you're authorized to work where you live, you can work from anywhere.
Paid time off: Enjoy 40 days off per year (including holidays and vacation), or more if required by your country.
Mental health support: Access Plumm, our mental well-being service.
Wellbeing allowance: Each month, receive a wellbeing allowance in your ThanksBen wallet to spend on a wide range of options.
Flexible parental leave: All new parents are eligible for at least three months’ paid leave, with job protection for up to 12 months or as required locally.
WFH stipend: Receive a stipend for your laptop and home office equipment to get you set up quickly.
We embrace diverse perspectives and intentionally build our product and company with an inclusive, global mindset. We encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet every criterion, and are committed to a trust-based, thriving environment.
Oyster is committed to ensuring equal opportunity of employment for qualified persons with disabilities and actively fosters an inclusive work environment. If you require reasonable accommodations throughout the recruiting process, please email jobs@oysterhr.com with the subject line: Interview Accommodations.
Our available positions are on our careers page. Our team will only contact you from an @oysterhr.com email, and we will never ask for money as part of an interview process or job offer. If you receive a suspicious email about Oyster jobs or are directed to a site other than www.oysterhr.com/careers, please report it via our Compliance and Ethics Helpline.
New Zealand