Engineering Principles

1. Own the Outcome, Not the Territory

We don't believe in silos. Every engineer is empowered to propose solutions and make changes across the entire codebase and Pave platform. If you see a problem, you have the power to rally folks around technical solutions—regardless of which team you’re on. We welcome PRs, feedback, and suggestions from anyone, because the best ideas can come from anywhere. 

2. Customer Problems First, Solutions Second

We're product-driven engineers who deeply understand our users' needs, not just their feature requests. During the discovery phase of our PDLC (Product Development Lifecycle), engineers are invited to listen in on customer calls and hear frequent readouts. As engineers, we scope out solutions in close partnership with our product and design partners to understand what options will have the highest ROI for our customers and engineering team. We only build when we understand the "why"—and if we don't understand it yet, we actively seek that clarity.

3. Ship Fast, Learn Faster

We believe in sustained velocity, designing our systems for low maintenance, so that we can continue to invest in innovation. The best way to reach an excellent third draft is to quickly ship the first and second. We're not paralyzed by the pursuit of perfection. In our strategy and technical design discussions, we embrace "strong opinions, loosely held" and iterate based on real-world feedback.

4. We're a Platform Company

Platform architecture isn't just what we build—it's who we are. Our proprietary benchmarking data from 8,300+ companies and our position as the system of record for total rewards create compounding competitive advantages—we don't just connect compensation workflows, we transform how companies think about and execute their entire compensation philosophy. By building on top of a company's data across integrated HRIS and captable systems and layering in market intelligence from thousands of companies, we create a unified intelligence layer that enables compensation decisions with context and precision that no single system could provide alone.

5. No Idea Is Sacred

We challenge existing conventions and aren't afraid to tackle hairy problems. We reject "not invented here" syndrome—we love good ideas regardless of their source. If you think you have something better, speak up. Many of our conventions were established quickly in the early days of iteration to find product market fit; thoughtful improvements are always welcome.

6. We Love Our Team

We're building a long-lived organization where everyone can grow into their best professional selves. We believe in growing talent from within and maintaining a beginner's mindset. Through "hugs of jawn," mentorship, and knowledge sharing, we actively uplevel those around us. We also highly value face-to-face time and the creative energy of being together in the office. The spontaneous problem-solving and relationship-building that happens in person is core to how we build understanding and trust and uncover opportunities for impact.

Interested in joining our team? Check out our Engineering opportunities.

‍