Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Merchant & Partner Lifecycle)

Role Overview

What You'll Do

• Design & expand the backbone of our platform to scale to hundreds of thousands of merchants from all around the world.
• Design and align the scope of work with other teams to deliver cross-team projects.
• Mentor other engineers to ensure their development & growth.
• Partner with Engineering Manager and Team Lead to drive and execute the long-term vision of the team.
• Execute technical strategy for broad or complex requirements with insightful and forward-looking approaches that go beyond the direct team and solve large open-ended problems.
• Utilize agentic development tools like Claude Code to automate parts of the development process.
• Improve engineering standards, tooling, and processes throughout the organization.

What We Look For

• 5+ years of experience as a backend software engineer.
• A strong understanding of Domain-Driven Design, distributed systems, and how architectural decisions affect performance and maintainability.
• Proficiency with data models, API design (http and RPC), state machines, event-driven architecture, and database design.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal; must be proficient in asynchronous communication such as written tech specs, ADRs, and project plans.
• Experience designing, developing, and launching backend systems (stack: AWS, gRPC, Snowflake, Kotlin, Python, MySQL, Kubernetes).
• Java and Kotlin experience are especially helpful.
• Prior experience with monitoring and alerting systems (sentry.io, rollbar, chronosphere, kibana).

Compensation

• Pay Grade - N; Equity Grade - 9.
• Employees new to Affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range.
• Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include equity rewards, monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits.
• USA base pay range (CA, WA, NY, NJ, CT) per year: 195,000 - 255,000.
• USA base pay range (all other U.S. states) per year: 173,000 - 233,000.

Workplace

• Affirm is proud to be a remote-first company; most roles can be done from almost anywhere within the country of employment.
• Some positions may occasionally require in-person work at an Affirm office, and a few are office-based due to the nature of the work.
• All new hires will be invited to attend an in-person onboarding experience.

Benefits

• Health coverage at no cost: 100% of premiums covered for employees and their dependents.
• Spending stipends: monthly stipends support tech setup and health and wellness options.
• Time off to recharge: flexible time off and generous holiday calendars.
• Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets you buy Affirm stock at a discount.

Application Notes

• Affirm is committed to providing an inclusive interview process, including accommodations for candidates with disabilities.
• For positions based in San Francisco or Los Angeles, Affirm considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.