Senior II/Lead Software Engineer - Global KYC and Onboarding

Sponsor Finder; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 111,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

RSU

Wise Benefits

Job summary

Wise is seeking a Staff Backend Engineer (IC4) to shape architecture across verification services and drive scalable, secure backend systems. You will mentor engineers, collaborate with product and design, and help improve automation and performance in a cross‑functional, globally distributed team.

As part of the Global KYC and Onboarding squad in the Servicing department, you’ll contribute to a configuration-driven platform, refactor microservices, and push for high reliability while

Qualifications

• 10+ years of Java 8+ knowledge with Spring framework.
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Strong system design for distributed, high-throughput services.
• Track record of mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives.
• Security best practices and data protection knowledge.
• Excellent problem-solving and attention to detail.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience with financial or KYC verification systems is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain high-performance backend services using Java, Spring Boot, and cloud technologies.
• Lead technical initiatives to improve verification systems focusing on automation, reliability, and performance.
• Collaborate with product managers to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Mentor junior engineers through code reviews and technical guidance.
• Drive architectural decisions and strategy for verification systems.
• Build internal tools to help verification agents work efficiently.
• Share knowledge and best practices to strengthen the engineering culture.

Skills

Java 8+

Spring Framework

SQL & NoSQL

Distributed systems

Mentoring engineers

Security best practices

Communication skills

KYC/financial verification

Job description

Job Description

We are the Global KYC and Onboarding squad in the Servicing department and we have a mission: to enable teams at Wise to expand and fine-tune the business in a "config change" manner all across the globe, while remaining compliant and safe for the customers. There are three teams in the squad: Business Onboarding Verification, Personal Onboarding Verification and Wise Platform Verification (our B2B platform).

The scale we operate at: In FY2025, 15.6 million people and businesses used Wise, we onboarded over 5.9 million new customers (~500k/month), and moved £145.2bn across borders (~£400m/day) across 160+ countries and 40+ currencies. Our verification systems aren't supporting tools — they're core production infrastructure that protects customers, enables growth, and must stay reliable under constant change in regulations, policies, and evolving threat patterns.

All of the teams are diverse, cross-functional groups passionate about solving complex problems with elegant solutions. We bring together backend and frontend engineers, mobile developers, designers, data analysts, and product managers who collaborate closely to deliver exceptional customer experiences. Our teams are responsible for the critical verification journeys that business and personal customers complete before using Wise's products. We own the entire verification lifecycle – from document collection flows and automated review systems to agent tooling and compliance monitoring. We operate with high ownership in a bottom-up, transparent culture, make data-driven decisions, and celebrate both technical excellence and customer impact. Right now we're focused on building KYC/FinCrime as a configuration-driven product, refactoring and building new scalable microservice systems, and increasing automation using ML/AI where it genuinely improves decisioning, review quality, and operational efficiency — with safe fallbacks and clear observability.

As IC4, you'll shape architecture across the squad's services, lead the technical direction on initiatives like the configuration-driven KYC platform, and raise the engineering bar through mentorship and cross-team influence. As a team that touches both regulatory requirements and customer experience, we have unique opportunities to innovate in a space traditionally resistant to change.

By joining one of our teams, you'll directly impact these customers by transforming a traditionally frustrating experience into one that's fast, intuitive, and fair. Your code will help individuals and small businesses access global banking faster, enable entrepreneurs to pay international employees on time, and allow people like you and your teammates support their families across borders without friction. We're not just building verification systems – we're removing barriers that stand between our customers and their financial freedom.

We need like-minded engineers in all the teams in the squad, so we'll use the interview process to discover where your unique skills shine brightest. Ultimately, we want to match you with the team that perfectly aligns with your experience and sets you up for success!

Qualifications

As a Staff Backend Engineer (IC4), you'll provide technical leadership within your team, designing and implementing scalable, resilient systems that power our verification platform. You'll tackle complex engineering challenges, mentor other engineers, and collaborate with product and design to create solutions that make verification faster, more accurate, and more customer-friendly.

What You'll Do:

• Design, build and maintain high-performance, scalable backend services using Java, Spring Boot, and cloud technologies.

• Lead technical initiatives that improve our verification systems, focusing on automation, reliability, and performance

• Collaborate with product managers to translate business requirements into technical solutions

• Mentor junior engineers, providing technical guidance and code reviews

• Drive architectural decisions and technical strategy for verification systems

• Build internal tools that help our verification agents work efficiently

• Contribute to our engineering culture through knowledge sharing and best practices

What We're Looking For:

• You have 10+ years of Java 8+ knowledge, recent experience with Spring framework

• Experience in working with SQL and NoSQL database

• Strong system design skills with experience building distributed, high-throughput services

• Track record of leading technical initiatives and mentoring other engineers

• Strong understanding of security best practices and data protection principles

• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail

• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences

• Experience with financial or KYC verification systems is a plus

Additional Information

Interested? Find out more:

• How we work – a practical guide

• Wise Tech Stack (2025 update)

• Our Engineering career map

• Scaling our Infrastructure; how we make it work

• Wise Engineering –https://medium.com/wise-engineering

What do we offer:

• Starting salary:Base salary of £111000- £145000 + RSU

• Wise Benefits

#LI-JS1 #LI-Hybrid

For everyone, everywhere. We're people building money without borders — without judgement or prejudice, too. We believe teams are strongest when they are diverse, equitable and inclusive.

We're proud to have a truly international team, and we celebrate our differences.

Inclusive teams help us live our values and make sure every Wiser feels respected, empowered to contribute towards our mission and able to progress in their careers.

If you want to find out more about what it's like to work at Wise visitWise.Jobs.

Keep up to date with life at Wise by following us onLinkedInandInstagram.

Company Description

Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money. Min fees. Max ease. Full speed.

Whether people and businesses are sending money to another country, spending abroad, or making and receiving international payments, Wise is on a mission to make their life easier and save them money.

As part of our team, you will be helping us create an entirely new network for the world's money. For everyone, everywhere.

More aboutour mission.