Senior Software Engineer, Backend (ML Training and Serving)

Affirm, Inc.; Saskatoon; Remote; CAD 153,000 - 213,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% health coverage

Tech stipend

Flexible time off

ESPP (stock purchase plan)

Job summary

Affrim is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join the ML Training & Serving team, building and operating infrastructure for model training and serving at scale. The role spans distributed systems, ML infra, and platform engineering, with emphasis on reliability, developer velocity, and durable systems across the company.

You’ll own quarterly goals, collaborate across product and analytics, and lead with ownership and strong technical judgment.

Qualifications

• 4+ years designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale.
• Experience with AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes for distributed systems.
• Ability to define a technical plan for delivering major features.
• Proven track record of safe codebase changes and tool development.
• Ownership of growth: seek feedback from team and stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication across a global team.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver quarterly goals for your team and mentor engineers.
• Collaborate with product, design, and analytics in ideation and constraint discussions.
• Identify and lead solutions to project, process, or technology issues.
• Maintain operations and availability of team artifacts with metrics and on-call support.
• Set and advocate for high code quality and design standards beyond your team.
• Develop talent by giving feedback and guiding peers.

Skills

Backend systems

Distributed systems

Python/Kotlin

Ownership & collaboration

Tools

AWS

MySQL

Kubernetes

Job description

At Affrim, we exist for the moments that matter—giving people a clear, predictable way to pay over time, with no hidden fees, no surprises, and no tradeoffs on what matters most.

About The Team

Machine Learning is central to how affirm delivers on its mission, powering decisions across underwriting, fraud, servicing, and personalization. We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our ML Training & Serving engineering team, the team that builds and operates the critical infrastructure that enables models to be trained and served across affirm.

This role sits at the intersection of distributed systems, ML infrastructure, and platform engineering. We value engineers who listen closely, invite feedback, and work effectively across organizational boundaries, while maintaining a high bar for ownership, technical judgment, and execution. Strong candidates care about building reliable shared platforms, improving developer velocity, and creating durable systems that enable teams across the company to move faster with confidence.

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 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.

Experience training and deploying models for production is a nice to have.

Base Pay Grade - N

Equity Grade - 6

Employees new to Affrim typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affrim 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 Affrim Holdings, Inc. (parent company).

CAN base pay range per year: $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-first with flexibility built in

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 Designed For You

Our benefits reflect our commitment to care, transparency, and flexibility. Here are a few highlights:

• Health coverage at no cost: We cover 100% of premiums for employees and their dependents.
• Spending stipends: Monthly stipends support your tech setup, and the ability to choose health and wellness options that are right for you.
• Time off to recharge: Flexible time off and generous holiday calendars help you rest when you need to.
• Own a piece of what you build: Our employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets you buy affirm stock at a discount.

We're committed to providing an inclusive interview process, including accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need support, we're happy to help.

For positions based in San Francisco or Los Angeles: Affrim considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.