Software Engineer II, Backend (Merchant Advocacy)

Affirm; Canada; On-site; CAD 125,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care coverage

Flexible Spending Wallets

Competitive vacation and holiday schedules

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

Affirm is seeking a Backend Software Engineer to join their Merchant & Partner Lifecycle team. This remote-first role offers the opportunity to design and expand platform infrastructure to support a large number of merchants globally. The ideal candidate has over 3 years of experience, with expertise in various backend technologies including AWS, Kotlin, and Python.

Affirm provides competitive compensation, including health care coverage, flexible spending wallets, and generous time off policies. As a remote-first company, most roles can be performed from anywhere in Canada.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience as a backend software engineer.
• Excellent communication skills, proficient in asynchronous communication.
• Prior experience with monitoring and alerting systems.

Responsibilities

• Design & expand the backbone of our platform to scale to merchants globally.
• Align scope of work with other teams for cross-team projects.
• Execute technical strategy for large open-ended problems.

Skills

Backend software engineering

Domain-Driven Design

Distributed systems

API design

Event-driven architecture

Database design

Java

Kotlin

Monitoring systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience

Tools

AWS

gRPC

Snowflake

Python

MySQL

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.

The Merchant & Partner Lifecycle (M&PL) team is at the front‑line of affirm’s architectural transformation. We are addressing critical architectural risks by consolidating merchant lifecycle orchestration into a newly cohesive domain.

You will act as a technical leader building out the brand new lifecycle‑orchestrator service that’s at the heart of multiple connected systems. Your work will deliver immediate availability improvements through system simplification and isolation, and modernize older parts of the codebase.

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
• Partner with Engineering Manager and Team Lead to 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

• 3+ years of experience as a backend software engineer
• Familiarity with Domain‑Driven Design, distributed systems, and how architectural decisions affect performance and maintainability
• Experience with concepts such as 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—written tech specs, ADRs, project plans, etc.
• Experience designing, developing, and launching backend systems (our 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)
• This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field.

Compensation & Benefits

Pay Grade - L

Equity Grade - 5

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: $125,000 - $175,000.

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.

• 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.

For U.S. positions that could be performed in Los Angeles or San Francisco: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, affirm will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.