Senior Backend Engineer: AI Platform & Gateways

Affirm, Inc.; Madison (WI); Remote; USD 173,000 - 255,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Stipends for tech setup

Flexible time off

ESPP

Job summary

Affir’s AI Platform team is hiring a backend engineer to design, develop, and launch large-scale backend systems using Python or Kotlin. You’ll own projects from design through production, work with AWS, MySQL, and Kubernetes, and help govern AI workloads with secure, scalable gateways and runtimes.

You’ll mentor engineers, influence design standards, and push for high-quality code and testing in a remote-first environment across the US.

Qualifications

• 4+ years designing, developing, and launching backend systems at scale.
• Experience with distributed systems and cloud infra (AWS, Kubernetes).
• Experience with AI frameworks and production-grade inference APIs is a plus.
• Strong communication and ownership in a remote, global team.

Responsibilities

• Plan, design, and own backend system decisions from design through launch and on-call.
• Build gateways, runtimes, and evaluation services for AI workloads at scale.
• Implement governance controls for identity, quota, routing, and caching.
• Collaborate with security, infra, and product teams to set guardrails.
• Develop and monitor metrics, runbooks, and on-call processes.
• Uphold high standards for code reviews, design, and testing.
• Leverage AI tools daily to improve development and operations.
• Mentor engineers and promote best practices across the team.

Skills

Backend design

Python

Kotlin

Distributed systems

AWS

MySQL

Kubernetes

LLMs/AI frameworks

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

AWS

MySQL

Kubernetes

Python

Kotlin

Job description

Affir’s AI Platform team is hiring a backend engineer to design, develop, and launch large-scale backend systems using Python or Kotlin. You’ll own projects from design through production, work with AWS, MySQL, and Kubernetes, and help govern AI workloads with secure, scalable gateways and runtimes.

You’ll mentor engineers, influence design standards, and push for high-quality code and testing in a remote-first environment across the US.