Senior Backend Engineer (Payments Platform)

Xero; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Xero is seeking an engineer to shape the technical foundation of money movement and enable new product lines globally. You will design and build reliable, scalable, and secure backend services on modern stacks with AWS, delivering operational excellence and measurable business impact.

You will work on payments orchestration, risk and fraud prevention, multi-provider integrations, and a global bill payment product.

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of system architecture, API design, and databases (SQL/NoSQL).
• Ability to break down complex problems into actionable solutions and drive agile execution.
• Hands-on backend development using modern stacks and AWS.
• Mentor teammates and foster an inclusive culture while delivering reliable systems.

Responsibilities

• Designing and building payment platform capabilities, such as orchestration, risk and fraud prevention, and multi-provider integrations.
• Building out a global bill payment product to streamline how small businesses manage their cash flow.
• Developing core high-throughput platform services using modern backend stacks alongside AWS.
• Integrating and leveraging artificial intelligence capabilities to accelerate development workflows and enhance engineering productivity.

Skills

System architecture

API design

SQL & NoSQL

Agile execution

Backend development

AWS / cloud-native

Hands-on coding

Mentoring

Distributed systems

High-throughput

Tools

C#

Java

Golang

C++

AWS

Job description

• In this role, you will help shape the technical foundation for money movement capabilities while unlocking new product lines globally. You will contribute to the design and development of reliable, scalable, performant, and secure services for the platform, ensuring operational excellence and direct business outcomes
• This is a rare chance to join an early-stage initiative, contribute to foundational architectural decisions, and have a visible impact on the future of small businesses. By writing production code and developing proof-of-concepts, you will help solve complex financial technology challenges at a massive scale
• The Payments Platform team is the engine powering money movement across the entire ecosystem, collaborating closely with product, security, risk, and operations
• We are a highly collaborative collective that values technical excellence, inclusion, and continuous innovation. Together, we work cross-functionally to translate complex business needs into resilient engineering solutions that support millions of subscribers
• Designing and building payment platform capabilities, such as orchestration, risk and fraud prevention, and multi-provider integrations
• Building out a global bill payment product to streamline how small businesses manage their cash flow
• Developing core high-throughput platform services using modern backend stacks alongside AWS
• Integrating and leveraging artificial intelligence capabilities to accelerate development workflows and enhance engineering productivity

• Deep understanding of system architecture, API design, and both SQL and NoSQL databases
• Demonstrated ability in breaking down complex problems into clear, actionable solutions while driving agile execution to deliver results
• Proficiency in modern backend stacks such as C#, Java, Golang, or C++, alongside cloud-native platforms like AWS
• Passion for staying hands-on by contributing directly to production code, proof-of-concepts, and technical deep dives
• Strong collaborative skills with a desire to mentor fellow team members, share technical knowledge, and foster an inclusive culture
• A proven track record of delivering highly available, distributed backend systems and high-throughput services under real-world constraints