Backend Software Engineer - Evergreen Posting

Self; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 145,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Bonuses

Health insurance

Flexible vacation

Educational assistance

Gym membership

Casual dress

Remote work options

Parental leave

Job summary

Self Financial is seeking a Backend Software Engineer to own and evolve services powering our mobile app and web experiences. You will work with a high-performing engineering team, mentor juniors, and make tradeoffs for scalable, secure systems in a fast-paced environment.

You will design and implement backend APIs using Python, Flask, or FastAPI, integrate with PostgreSQL/MySQL, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver customer-focused improvements.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience with ownership of backend services.
• Strong knowledge of Python and web fundamentals.
• Solid understanding of REST APIs and backend-system integration.
• Experience with Git and collaborative workflows.
• Proven track record of reliable, secure, and maintainable code.
• Effective communication and independent work in cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain backend services and APIs using Python, Flask, and FastAPI.
• Develop REST endpoints for web and mobile clients with scalable, maintainable design.
• Work with PostgreSQL/MySQL to model data and optimize queries.
• Integrate with external services such as payments, bureaus, and analytics.
• Write clean, tested, secure, and reliable code; review peers’ work.
• Collaborate with product/design/QA to ship user-focused improvements.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to team best practices and docs.

Skills

Python

Flask

FastAPI

REST APIs

Distributed systems

Code reviews

Mentoring

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/SE

Tools

PostgreSQL

MySQL

AWS

Docker

Job description

Self Financial is a venture-backed, high-growth FinTech company with a mission to increase economic inclusion and financial resilience by empowering people to build credit and build savings.

We\'re looking for people who share our passion and are driven to tackle challenges, find solutions and make the financial space better for the communities we serve.

Our team is passionate about challenging the status quo of the credit industry by providing people accessible tools to take control of their credit. Executing on our mission requires deep collaboration across our teams to ensure our products reach the people who can benefit from them the most, particularly the 100 million+ Americans who have no or low credit.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. To that end, we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

Backend Software Engineer - Evergreen Posting

This posting is evergreen, meaning we\'re building a pipeline of strong candidates for anticipated openings on this team rather than filling a single, immediate role. We may reach out now or in the future as positions become available. Interviews will be conducted in-person out of our Austin, TX headquarters.

Please note: we are only able to consider candidates who are U.S. citizens or current green card holders, and we are not able to provide visa sponsorship of any kind at this time, including for current or future employment.

About the role

As a Backend Software Engineer and Self, you\'ll build and own the services and APIs that power Self Financial\'s mobile app and web experiences, working alongside a high-performing team of engineers. This role is designed for someone who can operate independently, make sound technical tradeoffs, and mentor engineers earlier in their careers. You\'ll contribute to backend services and APIs, strengthen the team\'s approach to distributed systems and scalability, and build high-quality software in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with frequent releases.

We care deeply about creativity, quality, learning, and delivering reliable, secure systems to a large customer base.

What you\'ll do

• Design, build, and maintain backend services and APIs using Python, Flask, and FastAPI, with real ownership over your area of the system.
• Design and implement REST endpoints consumed by web and mobile clients, with an eye toward scalability and long-term maintainability.
• Work with relational databases (PostgreSQL/MySQL) to model data, write efficient queries, and make sound schema and indexing decisions.
• Integrate with third-party services such as payment processors, credit bureaus, messaging, and analytics tools.
• Write clean, maintainable code and provide thoughtful, constructive code reviews for other engineers.
• Apply and help reinforce best practices for testing, security, performance, and safe releases across the team.
• Collaborate with Product, Design, Frontend Engineering, QA, and your engineering manager to scope and ship user-focused improvements.
• Debug complex issues, dig into unfamiliar parts of the codebase, and deepen the team\'s understanding of Self\'s backend architecture.
• Contribute to team rituals, documentation, and continuous improvement, and help raise the technical bar for those around you.

What you bring

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, including meaningful ownership of backend services in production.
• Strong working knowledge of Python and solid understanding of web application fundamentals.
• Solid understanding of REST APIs and how backend services communicate with clients and other systems, including tradeoffs in API design.
• Comfort with Git and common software development workflows, including code review and collaborative development practices.
• A track record of writing reliable, tested, secure, and maintainable code.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a cross-functional team.

What makes you stand out

• Professional experience with Flask or FastAPI in production environments.
• Experience using agentic engineering tools (e.g., Claude, OpenAI/Codex, Copilot) to accelerate development workflows.
• Bachelor\'s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience preferred.
• Strong experience with SQL and relational database design, including performance tuning.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred), containers (Docker), or message queues in production systems.
• A track record of mentoring other engineers or leading technical initiatives, even informally.
• Personal, professional, or open-source projects that demonstrate strong backend craftsmanship and system design thinking.

Anticipated salary range for this level position: $145,000-175,000 annually. Individual pay and level is based on factors unique to each candidate, including skill set, experience, and other job-related reasons.

Benefits and Perks:

We have the compensation and benefits you expect. But there\'s one thing that Self Financial can offer that many companies cannot: we can positively change the world, while making a profit. We are a team of Builders, empowering our customers to build their dreams. We have a Do the Right Thing ethos in all that we do, and we hope you value that approach, too.

Our perks include:

• Company equity in the form of Stock Options
• Performance-based bonuses
• Generous employer-paid health, vision and dental insurance coverage
• Flexible vacation policy
• Educational assistance
• Free gym membership
• Casual dress code
• Team building events and activities
• Remote work arrangements/ flexible work schedule
• Paid parental leave

Self Financial requires all employees hired to successfully pass a background check.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

At this time, we are only able to consider applicants who are U.S. Citizens or Green Card Holders for employment opportunities. We appreciate your understanding.