Staff Software Engineer, Scale

Airwallex; Greater London; On-site; GBP 95,000 - 177,000; Full time

Job summary

Airwallex in Greater London is looking for a Senior Software Engineer with over 8 years of experience in Java/Spring Boot. The role involves making critical architectural decisions for a multi-tenant infrastructure, designing technical solutions for enterprise clients, and collaborating cross-functionally. Candidates with fintech or regulated industry experience will have an advantage. A competitive compensation package of £95,000 to £177,000 plus bonus and RSU awaits. This is an opportunity to impact millions through financial services.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience in Java/Spring Boot.
• Ability to balance flexibility and simplicity in design.
• Demonstrated clean communication across technical/non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience in leading initiatives with measurable impact.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain multi-tenant infrastructure.
• Architect systems for enterprise-grade SLAs.
• Design integrations based on business requirements.

Skills

Java/Spring Boot

Technical Communication

Abstraction in System Design

Cross-functional Collaboration

Tools

PostgreSQL

Redis

Kafka

Cloud Platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure)

Job description

What the Scale Team Does

• Embedded Finance Platform: Build and maintain the multi‑tenant infrastructure powering companies like Rippling, Navan, Qantas, and SHEIN. Architect systems that aggregate requests from all platform customers, meeting enterprise‑grade SLAs for availability, latency and throughput while handling cross‑data‑center scenarios.
• Cross‑Domain Product Features: Own features that require synthesizing knowledge across business, regulatory and technical domains—areas where no single existing team has full coverage, such as tax systems, compliance‑driven flows or monetization tools.
• Solutions Architecture: Design integrations for enterprise prospects by translating their business requirements into technical solutions. Architectural decisions directly influence deal outcomes—enabling multi‑million dollar contracts and differentiating in competitive sales.

Who You Are

• Have 8+ years of software engineering experience (8+ for Staff) in Java/Spring Boot.
• Excel at making the right level of abstraction—balancing flexibility and simplicity in system/component design.
• Demonstrate clean communication across technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Make pragmatic decisions on when to optimize for performance versus velocity based on business impact.
• Thrive in cross‑functional environments spanning Product, Design, Compliance and Sales.
• Design for scale, maintainability and production excellence.
• Have led multi‑team initiatives with measurable technical or business impact.

Bonus if you have

• Fintech, payments or regulated industry experience.
• High‑scale performance tuning (100k+ QPS, large user bases, strict latency SLAs).
• Multi‑tenant SaaS or platform architecture background.
• Proficiency with PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka or cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure).
• Experience with OAuth2.0, API design or developer documentation.
• Cross‑region deployment or data residency compliance experience.
• Solutions engineering or customer‑facing technical experience.

Why Join Us

• Build Something That Matters: Your work directly impacts how millions of people use financial services. Companies like Rippling and SHEIN rely on infrastructure you’ll build.
• Grow Beyond Engineering: You'll develop expertise that extends beyond technical skills—understanding customer business models, navigating regulatory landscapes, influencing enterprise sales.
• Join a World‑Class Team: Work with exceptional engineers, product thinkers and designers across the globe.

Compensation Range: £95,000 - £177,000 + bonus + RSU

Equal opportunity

Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We don’t regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.