Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Authentication Experience)

Affirm; Hamilton; On-site; CAD 153,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Affirm is redefining credit by offering a transparent, low-friction buy-now-pay-later experience. You will own backend orchestration layers driving Web and Mobile surfaces, working to deliver high-availability, low-latency systems and owning quarterly team objectives.

We value collaboration across product, design and analytics, with a focus on secure, scalable services and clean, testable code. Remote Canada roles are common, with some office-based options where appropriate.

Qualifications

• 4+ years designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale.
• Experience with Python or Kotlin.
• Experience building highly available distributed systems with AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes.
• Proximity to web/mobile layers and backend-for-frontend concepts.
• Ability to define technical plans for significant features with simple, extensible design.
• Ownership mindset and proactive growth through feedback and collaboration.
• Strong written and verbal communication with a global engineering team.

Responsibilities

• Own quarterly goals; lead engineers through ambiguity and delivery.
• Collaborate with product, design and analytics; discuss risks and trade-offs.
• Identify issues and lead initiatives to solve them.
• Support operations and on-call availability; monitor artifacts.
• Set and improve code review and design standards across the team.
• Mentor teammates and lead by example to develop talent.

Skills

Backend systems

Python

Kotlin

AWS

MySQL

Kubernetes

Frontend integration

Code quality

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

Affirm is reinventing credit to make it more honest and friendly, giving consumers the flexibility to buy now and pay later without any hidden fees or compounding interest.
Auth Experience owns the customer journeys during authentication, verification, and fraud journeys. You'll work to build the backend orchestration layers that drive our Web and Mobile surfaces. In this role, you will need to gain a deep understanding of the business, product and engineering context, and utilize that context to own and deliver high-availability and low-latency systems that affirm customers use every day.

What You'll Do

• You will be responsible for owning and delivering quarterly goals for your team, leading engineers on your team through ambiguity to solve open-ended problems, and ensuring that everyone is supported throughout delivery.
• 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 proactively identify project, process, technology or business issues, advocate for them, and lead in solving them.
• 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 foster a culture of quality and ownership on your team by setting or improving code review and design standards for your team, and advocating for them beyond your team through your writing and tech talks.
• You will help develop talent on your team by providing feedback and guidance, and leading by example.

What We Look For

• You have 4+ years of experience designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale using languages like Python or Kotlin.
• You have a track record of developing highly available distributed systems using technologies like AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes.
• You have experience working close to the web and mobile layers, with an understanding of frontend design patterns such as fraud prevention and backend-for-frontend.
• You have experience defining a technical plan for the delivery of a significant feature or system component with an elegant, simple and extensible design. You write high quality code that is easily understood and used by others.
• You are proficient at making significant changes in a large code base, and have developed a suite of tools and practices that enable you and your team to do so safely.
• Your experience demonstrates that you take ownership of your growth, proactively seeking feedback from your team, your manager, and your stakeholders.
• You have strong verbal and written communication skills that support effective collaboration with our global engineering team.

Pay Grade - N

Equity Grade - 6

Employees new to affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job-related skills.

Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents). In addition, the employees may be eligible for equity rewards offered by affirm holdings, inc. (parent company).

CAN base pay range per year: CAD $153,000 - $213,000.

Location - Remote Canada

This remote role is open only to candidates residing in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, or Saskatchewan.

Remote

Affirm is proud to be a remote-first company! The majority of our roles are remote and you can work almost anywhere within the country of employment. affirmers in proximal roles have the flexibility to work remotely, but will occasionally be required to work out of their assigned affirm office. A limited number of roles remain office-based due to the nature of their job responsibilities.

Benefits

• Health care coverage - affirm covers all premiums for all levels of coverage for you and your dependents
• Flexible Spending Wallets - generous stipends for spending on Technology, Food, various Lifestyle needs, and family forming expenses
• Time off - competitive vacation and holiday schedules allowing you to take time off to rest and recharge
• ESPP - An employee stock purchase plan enabling you to buy shares of affirm at a discount

We believe It’s On Us to provide an inclusive interview experience for all, including people with disabilities. We are happy to provide reasonable accommodations to candidates in need of individualized support during the hiring process.