Backend Engineer, Sr.

About The Company

Affirm is a leading financial technology company dedicated to redefining credit by making it more transparent, honest, and user-friendly. Our mission is to provide consumers with the flexibility to buy now and pay later without hidden fees or compounding interest, fostering trust and financial empowerment. Affirm's innovative approach has established us as a trusted partner for consumers and merchants alike, revolutionizing the way credit is perceived and utilized in the digital economy.

As a forward-thinking organization, Affirm emphasizes a collaborative, inclusive, and dynamic work environment. We leverage cutting-edge technology to deliver seamless financial solutions, supporting a diverse global customer base. Our commitment to innovation and excellence drives us to continually enhance our platform, ensuring we meet the evolving needs of our users and maintain our competitive edge in the fintech industry.

About The Role

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Software Engineer, Backend (CI/CD) to join our Developer Productivity team. In this role, you will be instrumental in optimizing and streamlining our software development processes, ensuring rapid, reliable, and secure delivery of code across our engineering organization. You will own and deliver quarterly goals, lead engineering initiatives, and collaborate with cross-functional teams including product management, design, and analytics to develop scalable and efficient backend systems.

Your responsibilities will include designing and implementing high-availability distributed systems, supporting CI/CD pipelines, automating deployment processes, and fostering a culture of quality and ownership within the engineering teams. This role requires a proactive problem-solver with a strong technical background, excellent communication skills, and a passion for developing innovative solutions that impact thousands of engineers and millions of users worldwide.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience designing, developing, and launching backend systems at scale using languages like Python or Kotlin.
• Proven experience developing highly available distributed systems with technologies such as AWS, MySQL, and Kubernetes.
• Extensive knowledge of supporting distributed systems in cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure), including containerization and orchestration with Kubernetes.
• Experience building scalable infrastructure components including CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, Buildkite, GitHub Actions), configuration management, and automation tools.
• Ability to define technical plans for complex features or system components with simple, elegant, and extensible designs.
• Proven track record of making significant changes in large codebases safely, with an emphasis on code quality and maintainability.
• Strong ownership mindset, proactively seeking feedback and opportunities for personal growth.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to collaborate effectively with a global engineering team.
• Equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related fields.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver quarterly engineering goals, leading teams through ambiguity to solve complex problems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ideate, articulate technical constraints, and make informed decisions considering risks and trade-offs.
• Proactively identify project, process, technology, or business issues and lead initiatives to resolve them.
• Support the operations and availability of team artifacts by creating and monitoring relevant metrics, escalating issues when necessary, and participating in on-call rotations.
• Foster a culture of quality and ownership by establishing or enhancing code review and design standards, advocating for best practices across teams.
• Mentor and develop talent within the engineering organization by providing constructive feedback and leading by example.
• Contribute to the development of automation tools, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure components to improve deployment efficiency and reliability.

Benefits

• Remote-first work environment with flexible working arrangements.
• Comprehensive health care coverage, including premiums for employees and dependents.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for technology, food, lifestyle needs, and family expenses.
• Generous paid time off and leave policies to support work-life balance.
• Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) to participate in the company's growth.
• Inclusive hiring practices with accommodations for candidates with disabilities.
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth within a innovative fintech company.

Equal Opportunity

Affirm is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees. We celebrate diversity and are dedicated to creating a workplace that respects and values individual differences. We provide accommodations for candidates with disabilities and ensure fair hiring practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected status.