Backend Software Engineer (Streaming)

Affirm; Ottawa; Remote; CAD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote-first compensation

Generous time off

Health benefits

Mental healthcare

Parental leave

Away Days

Learning & Development

Job summary

Affirm is seeking a software engineer for the Streaming team in Ottawa. You will design and scale data infrastructure, build backend services, and collaborate across product, design and analytics to ship features that rely on Kafka, Flink and AWS.

You will participate in ideation, articulate constraints, and help manage trade-offs with stakeholders while owning growth and learning within a remote-first, supportive environment.

Qualifications

• 1.5+ years of experience as a software engineer.
• Experience designing, developing and launching backend systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent practical experience.
• Proficiency in Python or Kotlin and strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and operate backend services and data-driven components.
• Collaborate with product, design and analytics to shape scope and requirements.
• Own delivery with phased milestones and clear impact.
• Participate in on-call rotation and contribute to site reliability.

Skills

Python

Kotlin

Backend development

Distributed systems

AWS

Kafka

Flink

Kubernetes

Code reviews

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Tools

AWS

Kafka

Flink

Kubernetes

Schema registry

Job description

• The Streaming team at Affirm is responsible for all things data and drives the strategy for event driven architecture, stream processing, data exploration, discovery and validation
• We leverage existing open source technologies like Kafka, Flink, Schema registry and also build our own as needed
• As a member of our team you would spend time identifying and executing on new use cases of data infrastructure, designing and scaling our existing infrastructure and working closely with other teams to promote the optimal use of data at the company
• With the support of your team’s tech lead and manager, you will break down larger projects into individual tasks, deliver them in multiple phases, and collaborate with others to ensure timely delivery of your work
• You will support your peers and stakeholders in the product development lifecycle by collaborating with product management, design & analytics by participating in ideation, articulating technical constraints, and partnering on decisions that properly consider risks and trade-offs
• You will support the operations and availability of your team’s artifacts by creating and monitoring metrics, escalating when needed, and supporting “keep the lights on” & on-call efforts
• You will contribute to a sense of community on your team by engaging in growth and development activities such as participation in the interview process

Benefits

• Compensation: We have a simple, flexible, and transparent remote-first compensation structure so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family
• Spending Wallets: Access tech, food, lifestyle, and family planning wallets for your expenses
• Supportive Communities: Get involved with our employee resource groups and community groups
• Remote-first Workforce: If your role is remote, you can set up shop anywhere in your home country
• Generous Time Off: Take the time you need when life happens
• Health Benefits: Get a plan that fits your needs
• Mental Healthcare: Take care of your mind with great mental health programs
• Parental Leave: Birth and non-birth parents get 18 weeks’ paid leave. Plus, a 4-week return-to-work transition program, at full base pay
• Away Days: We offer 20 company-wide paid days off—which help our teams collectively pause to recharge
• Learning & Development: Engage in exciting learning programs to level up your growth

You have mastered taking a simple problem or business scenario into a solution that interacts with multiple software components, and executing on it by writing clear, easily understood, well tested and extensible codeYou have experience designing, developing and launching backend systems and are proficient in one of Python or KotlinYou have strong verbal and written communication skills that support effective collaboration with our global engineering teamThis position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related fieldYou are comfortable navigating a large code base, debugging others’ code, and providing feedback to other engineers through code reviewsYou have a total of 1.5+ years of experience as a software engineerYour experience demonstrates that you take ownership of your growth, proactively seeking feedback from your team, your manager, and your stakeholdersYou are familiar with the building blocks of distributed systems, and the technologies like AWS, Kafka, Flink and Kubernetes