Senior Backend Engineer

First Circle; Manila; Remote; PHP 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Macbooks

Private health insurance

Training budgets

Travel opportunities

Job summary

First Circle is expanding its senior engineering team in a primarily remote setup, with optional office work. We’re building and operating production-grade backend services and APIs, emphasizing speed, reliability, and scalable architecture.

As a senior developer, you’ll shape features end-to-end, collaborate with product and design, and help drive growth across SE Asia. Prior fintech or banking experience is a strong plus, and curiosity about AI is valued.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building and operating production backend systems in Kotlin, Java, or Ruby.
• Strong foundations in API design and relational databases.
• Experience in fintech, payroll, payments, or banking is a strong plus.
• Hands-on production experience: debugging, incidents, resilience.
• Adaptable to fast-moving environments with evolving priorities.
• Curiosity about AI and practical usage of AI tools.

Responsibilities

• Build and evolve backend services and APIs that are fast, reliable, and easy to change.
• Take features from idea to production: shape approach with product and design, ship, measure, and improve.
• Help make architectural decisions and balance speed with robust long-term solutions.
• Keep services running smoothly with clear monitoring, quick responses, and user support.
• Review code, share knowledge, and help other engineers grow.
• Collaborate across product, design, and business to translate needs into technical solutions.

Skills

Backend development

Kotlin/Java/Ruby

API design

Relational databases

Production systems

Fintech experience

AI curiosity

Job description

Job Description:

First Circle is an SME-focused, credit-centric, and multi-product NeoBank in SE Asia which is fast-growing (>100%), profitable, and internationalising soon.

We started life as an SME lender in the Philippines in 2016 to solve the SME credit gap by using technology to systemise underwriting, deliver exceptional UX, and automate away delivery costs. We’ve delivered our clients the fastest, cheapest, most flexible credit line available to businesses anywhere in Southeast Asia. We’ve been rewarded with both fast growth and exceptional unit economics, a rare combination in our space.

Over the past two years we’ve expanded our product range to include business bank accounts & payments, e-Invoices, corporate credit cards, rooftop solar, and most recently deposits catalysed by securing a full bank charter in the Philippines. In 2027, we’ll expand our geographical coverage to include at least two new markets in APAC.

Our excellent track record results from our people & culture. We combine high standards & intensity with a collegiate environment. Our barometers of success are the rate of personal growth of our people, how long high performers choose to stay, and ensuring we we raise the bar with every hire.

We are now hiring senior developers to drive meaningful impact during our most ambitious year of growth to date.

Building in developing markets like the Philippines presents unique challenges, given the state of digital infrastructure. We are building virtually everything in-house, which is not easy, but its a lot of fun. We have a track record of solving seemingly impossible problems that defeated many other start-ups, and the opportunity ahead remains enormous.

What youll do

• Build and evolve backend services and APIs that are fast, reliable, and easy to change.
• Take features from first idea to production: shape the approach with product and design, ship it, measure what happens, and improve it.
• Help make architectural decisions, write clear technical proposals, and balance speed with solutions that will hold up over time.
• Keep your services running smoothly by setting up clear ways to spot issues early, respond quickly, and support users when something goes wrong.
• Review code, share what you know, and help other engineers grow.
• Work across product, design, and business to turn real needs into practical technical solutions—and explain the trade-offs clearly.

• 5+ years of experience building and operating production backend systems in Kotlin, Java, or Ruby.

• Strong foundations in API design, relational databases, and data modeling, with a clear sense of how to keep data consistent as systems scale.
• Experience in a startup environment, fintech, payroll, payments, or banking is a strong plus (especially if you’ve shipped products in regulated environments).
• Hands-on experience running services in production: debugging effectively, investigating incidents, and making systems more resilient afterwards.
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving environment where priorities can evolve.
• Curiosity about AI and practical experience using it, whether youre building LLM-powered features or using AI tools to work more effectively day to day.

• No fixed budget, we hire globally and adjust offers based on experience and market rate.

• Primarily remote, with the option to work from our office. We have offices in London, Hong Kong, Singapore & Belgrade where other senior engineers are based.
• Macbooks, private health insurance, training budgets and more!
• Opportunity to travel to South East Asia.

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