Backend Software Engineer (Up to ₹8 LPA) - Stifons

Stifons Limited; India; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity package

Hybrid work setup

Fully paid group medical insurance

Generous paid time off and holidays

Fully paid parental leave (12 weeks) +

26 weeks maternity leave

Monthly WFH stipend + $500 home office

Annual professional development budget

Quarterly team meet-ups / lunches

Job summary

Branch International is hiring a Backend Engineer to design, build, and scale core financial infrastructure across lending, KYC, payments, and risk systems. You will work with Product, Operations, Compliance, and Data Science teams to deliver reliable APIs and services that power customer experiences at scale.

You will collaborate with Android, ML, Data, and DevOps teams, tackle complex reliability challenges, and own code from design through to production with an emphasis on security and

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of backend design, coding, testing, and shipping for web/mobile.
• Experience working with product managers, designers, and engineers to deliver features.
• Strong fundamentals in CS, data structures, APIs, databases.
• Ability to write clean, well-tested code and ship on time.
• Willingness to learn across frontend, Android/iOS, DevOps, data, or infra.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain customer-facing and internal products and APIs with security and reliability.
• Contribute to product decisions by evaluating trade-offs and executing on solutions.
• Collaborate with engineers across Android, ML, Data, DevOps to support shared systems.
• Participate in on-call rotations and improve system reliability.
• Refactor code, reduce technical debt, and boost developer productivity.

Skills

Backend design

APIs

Databases

Web fundamentals

Distributed systems

Testing

Security

Observability

Async communication

Collaborative work

Job description

Branch Overview

Branch is a leading AI‑powered lending fintech with 50M+ downloads across India and Africa. We use alternative data and machine learning to expand financial access for millions of people traditionally excluded from the formal financial system. Founded by the former CEO of Kiva.org and backed by leading investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Visa, and the IFC, Branch combines mission‑driven impact with world‑class technology and scale. In India, Branch operates as a regulated digital lending institution and Middle Layer NBFC, building trusted and accessible financial products for millions of customers across the country. Our 250+ member India team is growing rapidly and works across technology, data science, risk, product, and operations to solve high‑impact problems at scale. Certified as a Great Place to Work in 2025, Branch offers the opportunity to build meaningful careers while shaping the future of inclusive fintech in one of the world’s fastest‑growing digital economies.

About the role

You will work closely with our Product, Operations, Compliance and Data Science teams to build and scale critical financial infrastructure across lending, KYC, payments, fraud prevention, and collections. The work spans backend platforms, decisioning and underwriting systems, third‑party financial integrations, and internal operations tooling. Our engineering team tackles a wide range of technical challenges from designing reliable, high‑scale financial systems and orchestrating complex compliance workflows to leveraging alternative data and real‑time signals to power intelligent risk and credit decisions. As an engineering team, we value bottom‑up innovation and decentralized decision‑making; we believe the best ideas can come from anyone in the company and are working hard to create an environment where everyone feels empowered to propose solutions to the challenges we face. We are looking for individuals who thrive in a fast‑moving, innovative, and customer‑focused setting.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain customer‑facing and internal products and APIs, following best practices around security, performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Contribute to technical and product decisions by providing thoughtful input, raising trade‑offs, and helping execute on agreed‑upon solutions.
• Collaborate with engineers across functional areas (Android, Machine Learning, Data, DevOps, etc.) to support shared systems and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Participate in on‑call rotations and operational work, helping diagnose issues, improve system reliability, and reduce future incidents.
• Continuously improve existing systems by refactoring code, reducing technical debt, and improving developer productivity.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience designing, coding, testing, and shipping backend software for web‑based or mobile products.
• Experience working closely with product managers, designers, and other engineers to deliver features and improvements aligned with business needs.
• Solid understanding of software development fundamentals, including computer science basics, data structures, APIs, databases, and modern development practices.
• Ability to write clean, maintainable, and well‑tested code and ship quality software in a timely manner.
• Comfortable learning and contributing across adjacent technical areas such as frontend, Android/iOS, DevOps, data, or infrastructure, as needed.
• Pragmatic problem‑solving, balancing technical correctness, product requirements, and delivery timelines to arrive at effective solutions.
• Takes ownership of work, proactively identifying issues, improving systems, and following through to completion with guidance when needed.
• Strong collaborator and communicator, valuing feedback and contributing constructively to discussions.
• Excited about working in a distributed, globally diverse team, collaborating across time zones and cultures.
• Motivated to grow technical depth and scope, learning from peers and taking on increasing responsibility over time.

Core Engineering Expectations

• Engineering craft and judgment: balance technical excellence with business and consumer needs; research and seek opinions to identify the best solution; weigh technical debt; deep understanding of web fundamentals, data modeling, and distributed systems; apply proven design patterns; incorporate automated testing; ensure security, performance, and observability; navigate unfamiliar codebases; decompose ambiguous projects into granular, estimable tasks; treat delivery commitments as commitments of the rest of the team; consider ripple effects; partner with product, design, and other functions; push back when spec is wrong.
• AI proficiency: use AI to amplify logic, not replace; decompose problems into clear steps; hold AI‑generated output to rigorous standards; detect hallucinations; manage tool context; mitigate agentic workflow risks; treat AI‑era security as fundamental; stay current with evolving AI landscape; continuously raise productivity ceiling; automate mundane tasks.
• Operating principles: high‑velocity, high‑quality decisions; manage own time, energy, and quality; initiate problem solving before they arise; maintain momentum through setbacks; uncompromising attention to detail; simplify complex; clear communication; treat engineering as a team sport; provide candid feedback; operate with integrity; own what shipped; architecting and writing code plus testing, monitoring, documenting, and owning incidents; disciplined, async‑friendly communication; keep commitments reliable.

Benefits of Joining

• Competitive salary and equity package.
• Fast‑paced, collaborative, and high‑autonomy work culture.
• Hybrid work setup designed for flexibility and work‑life balance.
• Fully paid group medical insurance and personal accident insurance.
• Generous paid time off, plus company‑declared public holidays.
• Fully paid parental leave for fathers and non‑birthing parents (12 weeks), plus 26 weeks of statutory maternity leave.
• Monthly WFH stipend, along with a one‑time home office setup budget of $500.
• Annual professional development budget of $500.
• Quarterly social meet‑ups and sponsored monthly team lunches.

We’re looking for more than just qualifications -- if you’re unsure that you meet the criteria but identify with our vision of providing equal opportunity to everyone to access financial services, please do not hesitate to apply!

Branch International is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The company does not and will not discriminate in employment on any basis prohibited by applicable law.