Staff Web Engineer
About the position
Robinhood is seeking a Staff Web Engineer to join the Robinhood Legend team, which builds and owns the advanced desktop trading platform. This platform is designed for active and sophisticated traders, encompassing real-time data infrastructure, advanced charting, options and futures trading tools, and customizable workspace experiences. The team's mission is to deliver a professional-grade platform that combines institutional trading tool power with Robinhood's approachable design. As a Staff Web Engineer, the primary focus will be on performance, setting the standard for web-based trading platforms by optimizing JavaScript internals, browser rendering pipelines, and real-time data handling to ensure the platform is fast and responsive. This role involves leading performance initiatives, contributing to feature development, and balancing technical execution with cross-functional collaboration. The position is based in Menlo Park, CA or New York, NY, with a requirement for at least 3 days of in-person attendance per week, emphasizing the company's belief in the power of in-person work for progress, innovation, and community strengthening.
Responsibilities
- Lead web performance across Legend — profiling, diagnosing, and shipping measurable improvements to speed, responsiveness, and runtime efficiency platform-wide
- Go deep on JavaScript internals, browser rendering pipelines, and real-time data handling to deliver a best-in-class experience for active traders
- Build and optimize high-frequency, real-time UI components that handle streaming market data without compromising frame rate or user experience
- Establish performance benchmarks and monitoring systems that create a repeatable, lasting standard for the team
- Drive a performance-first culture through code reviews, technical documentation, and engineering standards
- Contribute to end-to-end feature development across Legend's core trading surfaces, applying performance expertise where it matters most
- Partner with product, design, and backend engineers to deliver polished, reliable experiences at scale
- Participate in roadmap planning and help scope technical work, balancing feature delivery with ongoing platform health
Requirements
- 7+ years of experience building web applications, including time on products where performance was a hard requirement rather than an afterthought
- Deep expertise in JavaScript and TypeScript, including a strong working knowledge of JavaScript engine internals, memory management, and garbage collection behavior
- Hands-on experience profiling and optimizing browser rendering pipelines — layout, paint, compositing — and diagnosing jank, long tasks, and main-thread contention
- Proven ability to build and optimize high-frequency, real-time UI that renders streaming data while maintaining a consistent frame rate
- Fluency with performance tooling and measurement: Chrome DevTools, Performance/Lighthouse, flame charts, and Core Web Vitals or comparable runtime metrics
Nice-to-haves
- Experience with Canvas, Web Workers, WebSockets, or similar is a plus
Benefits
- Challenging, high-impact work to grow your career
- Performance driven compensation with multipliers for outsized impact, bonus programs, equity ownership, and 401(k) matching
- 100% paid health insurance for employees with 90% coverage for dependents
- Lifestyle wallet - a highly flexible benefits spending account for wellness, learning, and more
- Employer-paid life & disability insurance, fertility benefits, and mental health benefits
- Time off to recharge including company holidays, paid time off, sick time, parental leave, and more!
- Exceptional office experience with catered meals, events, and comfortable workspaces.