Senior Software Engineer - Accounting Core

Xero; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 155,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing days

Generous leave

Professional development budget

Job summary

Xero is seeking a Senior Engineer for its Accounting Core in Vancouver. You will own several end-to-end initiatives, decoupling accounting capabilities from the monolith and creating safer, scalable paths for change across invoices, payments, bank transactions and reconciliation.

You will remain hands-on in production code while mentoring peers and raising engineering standards. The role emphasizes architecture decisions, data integrity, cloud-native practices, and collaboration with partner

Qualifications

• Proven track record delivering highly available, distributed systems.
• End-to-end ownership from design through production.
• Strong architectural judgment from API design to data stores.
• Backend stack proficiency: Java, Kotlin, Go, Python, Ruby or C++, with willingness to learn C#/.NET.
• Hands-on coding in production and using AI tools to raise quality.

Responsibilities

• Own significant end-to-end initiatives from technical design to production.
• Decouple accounting capabilities from the monolith and evolve safely.
• Contribute to production code while guiding architectural trade-offs.
• Collaborate with partner teams to support other Xero teams and raise quality standards.

Skills

Java

Kotlin

Go

Python

Ruby

C++

C# / .NET (learning)

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

The team and its impact

Accounting Core builds the foundations behind Xero’s accounting records, helping ensure that when a business records invoices, payments and other activity, its accounting stays accurate and dependable. You’ll help evolve a mature platform by decoupling key accounting capabilities from the mature architecture and creating safer, more scalable paths for change across areas such as invoices, payments, bank transactions and reconciliation.

As a Senior Engineer, you’ll own significant end-to-end initiatives from technical design through to production, helping decide how accounting capabilities can be separated from the monolith and evolved safely. You’ll stay hands-on in production code, work through trade-offs where accounting-data integrity and scalability matter, and collaborate closely with partner teams to ensure changes to the accounting engine support other Xero teams built on Accounting Core. You’ll also help raise engineering practices and quality standards as the Vancouver Accounting Core team continues to grow.

Technical Challenges:

• Decoupling a mature accounting platform: Help separate accounting capabilities from a monolith, creating clearer domain ownership and safer paths for change without compromising the integrity of the accounting record.
• Accounting correctness at scale: Design and evolve reliable services for critical financial data across areas such as invoices, payments, bank transactions and reconciliation.
• Shared foundations for product teams: Build capabilities and outputs that other Xero teams can rely on confidently, so they can deliver customer experiences without rebuilding core accounting foundations.
• Modernisation alongside delivery: Make incremental architectural improvements while continuing to deliver value for small businesses and their advisors.

Here are some of the things we are looking for

• Proven track record of delivering highly available, distributed systems and high-throughput services on cloud-native platforms such as AWS, Azure or GCP.
• Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of significant work, from design through to rollout and production validation, including the technical decisions that come with it.
• You think carefully about architecture and trade-offs, from API design to choosing the right data store, and you balance speed, quality and long-term maintainability.
• Proficiency in a modern backend stack, such as Java, Kotlin, Go, Python, Ruby or C++, and you are keen to learn C# and .NET, where existing experience is a bonus.
• Passion for staying hands-on, contributing to production code and technical deep dives, and using AI tools with good judgement to move faster and raise the quality bar.
• A commitment to Go Together by mentoring peers, sharing technical knowledge and helping teammates grow through code reviews, pairing and documentation.

Where and how you can work

This role is based in our Vancouver office, where we embrace a hybrid working model. You will have the flexibility to work from home while joining the team in the office for "boost days" (1-2 days a week) to collaborate, socialize, and solve complex problems in person.

Our Hiring Process

1. TX phone screen: a conversation with your Talent Specialist about your background, motivations and the role.
2. Technical assessments: a coding assessment and systems design assessment, conducted virtually with real engineers, and based on real-world scenarios.
3. Technical deep dive: walk through a past project you owned end-to-end, covering how you thought about it, executed it and led through its complexity.
4. Values / Future Proof Xero: how you show up day to day, aligned with Xero's values and capabilities such as adaptability, ownership, customer thinking and AI fluency.

Compensation & Total Rewards

At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We believe in a Total Package philosophy - ensuring your value is recognized through a holistic lens that includes base salary, performance incentives, and world-class benefits.

The expected base salary range for this role is $155,000 - $205,000 CAD.

Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role.

In addition to base pay, Xero’s roles are eligible for the following forms of variable compensation:

• Variable Pay: Permanent employees are eligible to participate in our annual bonus and equity (RSU) programs. You may also be eligible for performance-based cash or equity (RSUs) incentives depending on your role level, and company performance.
• Comprehensive Benefits: World-class health, wellness, and retirement programs. Xero Perks including Wellbeing days, generous leave, and dedicated professional development budgets.

This is a posting for an existing vacancy.

Xero uses AI to help screen applications based on job-related qualifications. These tools assist our recruiters but do not make automated hiring decisions. A human recruiter reviews all candidates before any hiring action is taken.