Senior Backend Engineer (Serbia)

First Circle; United States; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Macbooks

Private health insurance

Training budgets

Travel to South East Asia

Job summary

First Circle, an SME-focused NeoBank expanding across APAC, seeks senior backend engineers. Build scalable backend services, design APIs, and drive production reliability in a fast-paced fintech environment. The role supports remote work with optional Belgrade office access and travel to SE Asia.

We value 5+ years in Kotlin/Java/Ruby, strong data modeling, and a curiosity for AI. Expect collaboration across product, design, and business to deliver impactful financial products in regulated

Qualifications

• 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.
• Experience in a startup fintech, payroll, payments, or banking is a strong plus (especially in regulated environments).
• Hands-on experience running services in production: debugging, incidents, resilience.
• Comfortable in a fast-moving environment where priorities evolve.
• Curiosity about AI and practical use of AI tools or LLM-powered features.

Responsibilities

• Build and evolve backend services and APIs that are fast, reliable, and easy to change.
• Take features from idea to production: shape with product/design, ship, measure, and improve.
• Help make architectural decisions and write clear technical proposals.
• Keep services running smoothly with monitoring, quick response, and user support.
• Review code and help engineers grow.
• Collaborate across product, design, and business to turn needs into technical solutions.
• No fixed budget; offers based on experience and market rate.
• Flexible hours and location; role can be worked remotely with option to use offices.
• Macbooks, private health insurance, training budgets and more.
• Opportunity to travel to South East Asia.

Skills

Backend systems

Kotlin/Java/Ruby

API design

Data modeling

Production debugging

AI curiosity

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.

• 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 you’re building LLM-powered features or using AI tools to work more effectively day to day.

What you’ll 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.

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

• Flexibility around working hours and location. The role can be worked remotely, with the option to work from one of our offices. We have co-working space in 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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