Workstream is a mission-driven company building the all-in-one HR, payroll, and hiring platform for managing the hourly workforce. There are 2.7 billion hourly workers, making up 80% of the global workforce, but this market has been heavily underserved by technology and deserves better. Workstream has been purpose-built for the hourly workforce from day one so that these businesses and their employees can thrive.

Our customers include leading brands from multiple sectors, including Burger King, Carl's Jr./Hardee's, IHOP, KFC, and Culvers. We are a high growth series B company and quickly expanding our product portfolio to deliver on our vision. We are backed by legendary VCs and industry experts like Founders Fund, BOND, and Coatue.

Grow With Us

We are a team from UC Berkeley, Cornell, SJTU, Cambridge, NUS, with broad industry experiences from Tencent, Alibaba, Amazon, ByteDance, and more. Our engineering team is composed of passionate, driven, and talented engineers who focus on building and innovating cloud technology solutions that empower local businesses to thrive and better serve the deskless workforce in their communities. We are seeking a talented Principal Engineer to join our growing engineering team.

This is a full-time, hybrid position requiring 1 day per week in the office to support close cross-functional collaboration.

Day in the Life:

As a Principal Engineer, you will work with your squad team members (local + remote) to ensure that implementations are consistent with the overall Engineering team strategy.
You will work closely with the Engineering Manager on communicating tasks, challenges, and workflows across a globally distributed team.
You will contribute to the design and architecting of cutting-edge tools and technologies while maintaining the existing stack.
You will guide team development efforts toward successful sprint delivery.
You will maintain high software quality standards within the team by establishing good habits and practices.
You will provide technical leadership to team members through mentoring and coaching.

Who You Are:

5+ years of industry experience as an individual contributor in full-stack web development
Advanced skills in JavaScript and Node JS or Ruby on Rails with 3+ years of experience with React or TypeScript.
Mobile and React Native experience is an asset.
2+ years of experience with relational databases such as PostgreSQL.
5+ years of experience building and maintaining RESTful APIs.
Experience developing and maintaining microservice-based systems is a bonus.
2+ years of experience working in Agile software engineering methods and tools: Scrum, Jira, GitHub, DevOps, and software architectures that allow rapid iterations
Demonstrate an understanding of requirement management and roadmap development with product managers
Have a passion for effective collaboration within and between cross-functional teams, with a history of building influence with Product and Design
Familiarity with cloud technologies (AWS) and architectural patterns and their trade-offs
Experience working with globally distributed engineering teams across multiple timezones
Passionate to learn, understand, and dissect new technology stacks quickly on your own
Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university; or equivalent training, education, and experience in information / cyber security, computer systems, IT, etc

Our tech stacks are:

Backend: Ruby on Rails (90%) / Nodejs
Frontend: React / Typescript
Database: PostgreSQL / MongoDB/ Redis
Infra: AWS / Terraform / Microservice / Protobuf / Kafka / Elasticsearch

What We Offer:

A mission-driven and value-based company dedicated to empower deskless workers and local businesses
An early employee opportunity at a Series B hyper-growth startup
Work with the founding team and industry veterans to accelerate your career
Competitive salary and equity
Comprehensive health coverage
In office amenities and stocked kitchen
Flexible PTO
Hybrid Office/WFH schedule

Know More About Workstream

Additional Information

Workstream provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

We are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals.

About the company

Workstream is a HR technology platform that helps businesses hire and onboard hourly workers. It provides a full set of tools—applicant tracking, digital onboarding, payroll, and employee engagement—within one system. AI acts as a personal hiring assistant to answer applicant questions and collect applications automatically, speeding recruiting and reducing manual work. It uses a subscription model to give firms ongoing access, differentiating itself by combining hiring, onboarding, payroll, and engagement in one platform for frontline staff with automation.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Series B

Total Funding

$118M

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2017

Get referred to Workstream

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

MenuSifu partnership launched November 20, 2025, expanding Asian restaurant reach.
Workstream's partner program and OTC26 roadmap deepened distribution and integration activity in July 2026.
Updated 2026 funding pages show $108 million raised, supporting product expansion.

What critics are saying

Rippling and Toast bundle hiring, payroll, and scheduling, compressing Workstream's differentiation in 2026.
Workstream's restaurant concentration ties revenue to franchise procurement cycles and partner integrations.
If MenuSifu integration slips past early 2026, Workstream loses a major distribution bet.

What makes Workstream unique

Workstream targets hourly-workforce hiring, HR, and payroll, not generic white-collar HR.
Forty-six of top 50 QSR brands used Workstream in August 2026.
MenuSifu integration in early 2026 embeds Workstream into restaurant operating systems.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

Medical, dental, & vision
Paid counseling sessions
Competitive market compensation
Generous stock
Flexible PTO
Paid parental leave
Professional development

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

-1%

1 year growth

2 year growth

-3%

PR Newswire

Nov 20th, 2025

MenuSifu Expands Ecosystem with Workstream Partnership to Simplify Restaurant Hiring and HR

MenuSifu expands ecosystem with Workstream partnership to simplify restaurant hiring and HR. News provided by. NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - MenuSifu, the No. 1 restaurant technology provider among Asian restaurants in the United States, today announced a strategic partnership with Workstream, a modern hiring, HR, and payroll platform built for the hourly workforce. The collaboration adds workforce management to MenuSifu's growing ecosystem, giving restaurant operators an easier way to hire, manage, and retain employees. The partnership will kick off with a joint webinar on December 10, where both companies will share best practices for simplifying HR and payroll operations. Operators can reserve a spot at www.menusifu.com/events/workstream-webinar. A full integration of Workstream's tools into the MenuSifu platform is planned for early 2026, bringing end-to-end employee management directly into MenuSifu's connected suite of restaurant technology solutions. MenuSifu has become the trusted technology partner in the Asian restaurant community. By adding Workstream's mobile-first hiring and HR automation to its platform, MenuSifu extends its leadership in creating a truly future-ready ecosystem that now spans POS, payments, online ordering, automation - and soon, workforce management. "This partnership reflects our mission to empower restaurants with connected, future-ready technology," said William Wang, Cofounder & CEO of MenuSifu. "Workstream shares our belief that success starts with people. Together, we're giving operators a simpler, smarter way to grow their teams and their businesses." "Workstream and MenuSifu both serve the heartbeat of the restaurant industry - independent operators," added Desmond Lim, CEO of Workstream. "By connecting hiring and HR directly with MenuSifu's operations platform, we're helping restaurants hire faster, retain longer, and build stronger teams for the future." The joint initiative underscores MenuSifu's broader roadmap to integrate AI, automation, payments, financing, and now HR into a single, seamless ecosystem. Restaurant owners interested in learning more or joining the upcoming webinar can visit menusifu.com/events/workstream-webinar. About MenuSifu Founded in 2014, MenuSifu is the No. 1 restaurant technology provider among Asian restaurants in the U.S., serving over 15,000 operators nationwide. Its ecosystem spans POS, payments, online ordering, automation, and AI-powered analytics - helping restaurants thrive, scale, and stay future-ready. About Workstream Workstream is a modern HR, hiring, and payroll platform built for the hourly workforce. Trusted by thousands of restaurants and franchise brands, Workstream helps operators streamline hiring, automate onboarding, and simplify team management - all from one mobile-friendly platform. more press release views with

NBC Bay Area

Feb 12th, 2025

Workstream raises $120M, founder's key insight

Desmond Lim, co-founder and CEO of Workstream, a platform for the hourly workforce, raised $120 million. Lim's journey from humble beginnings in Singapore to Harvard graduate and entrepreneur highlights the importance of making the right choices over just hard work. His success is attributed to curiosity and learning from others. Workstream's first investor was Zoom's Eric Yuan, and its backers include Peter Thiel and Jay-Z. Lim emphasizes exploring passions as crucial to success.

Business Wire

Nov 12th, 2024

Workstream Welcomes Restaurant Industry Leader Nadeem Bajwa as Strategic Advisor

Workstream welcomes restaurant industry leader Nadeem Bajwa as Strategic Advisor.

DHRM AP

Sep 30th, 2024

Workstream Launches First All-in-One Payroll Solution for the Hourly Workforce

Workstream has launched an all-in-one payroll solution tailored specifically for businesses that employ hourly workers, such as QSR franchisees and restaurants.

Total Food Service

Sep 8th, 2023

Workstream Launches HR Platform for Hourly Workforce Efficiency

Workstream launches HR platform for hourly workforce efficiency.

Workstream

Principal Engineer

About the job