Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Identity Data)

Affirm; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 173,000 - 233,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage for you and dependents

Monthly stipends for health, wellness,

Flexible time off

Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)

Job summary

Affirm, Inc. is a remote-first company building a scalable identity platform. You will own and deliver backend systems for onboarding and authentication, working across product, design, and analytics to ship high-availability features.

You will drive architectural decisions, advocate best practices, and mentor teammates, while maintaining strong cross-functional collaboration with a global engineering team. This role emphasizes ownership and delivery excellence.

Qualifications

• 4+ years designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale using Python or Kotlin.
• Experience with highly available distributed systems using AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes.
• Ability to define a technical plan for delivery of a significant feature or system component with an elegant, simple and extensible design.
• Proven ability to make significant changes in a large code base with safe tooling and practices.
• Strong ownership mindset and proactive growth through feedback from team, manager and stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication supporting collaboration with a global engineering team.
• Equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor's degree in a related field.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver quarterly goals for your team, guiding engineers through ambiguity.
• Collaborate with product, design & analytics during ideation and risk-aware decision-making.
• Identify and lead resolution of project, process, technology, or business issues.
• Support operations and availability of team artifacts with metrics and on-call efforts.
• Set and improve code review and design standards beyond your team.
• Develop talent by giving feedback and leading by example.

Skills

Python/Kotlin

Distributed systems

AWS

MySQL

Kubernetes

Technical planning

Code quality

Ownership

Written communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Job description

At Affir, we exist for the moments that matter—giving people a clear, predictable way to pay over time, with no hidden fees, no surprises, and no tradeoffs on what matters most.Identity Engineering owns the systems responsible for onboarding all consumers and managing their authentication and verification journeys across affirm's product surfaces. In this role, you will need to gain a deep understanding of the business, product and engineering context, and utilize that context to own and deliver high-availability and low-latency systems on the critical paths for all of our products

What you'll do

• You will be responsible for owning and delivering quarterly goals for your team, leading engineers on your team through ambiguity to solve open-ended problems, and ensuring that everyone is supported throughout delivery.
• You will support your peers and stakeholders in the product development lifecycle by collaborating with product management, design & analytics by participating in ideation, articulating technical constraints, and partnering on decisions that properly consider risks and trade-offs.
• You will proactively identify project, process, technology or business issues, advocate for them, and lead in solving them.
• You will support the operations and availability of your team's artifacts by creating and monitoring metrics, escalating when needed, and supporting "keep the lights on" & on-call efforts.
• You will foster a culture of quality and ownership on your team by setting or improving code review and design standards for your team, and advocating for them beyond your team through your writing and tech talks.
• You will help develop talent on your team by providing feedback and guidance, and leading by example.

What we look for

• You have 4+ years of experience designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale using languages like Python or Kotlin.
• You have a track record of developing highly available distributed systems using technologies like AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes.
• You have experience defining a technical plan for the delivery of a significant feature or system component with an elegant, simple and extensible design. You write high quality code that is easily understood and used by others.
• You are proficient at making significant changes in a large code base, and have developed a suite of tools and practices that enable you and your team to do so safely.
• Your experience demonstrates that you take ownership of your growth, proactively seeking feedback from your team, your manager, and your stakeholders.
• You have strong verbal and written communication skills that support effective collaboration with our global engineering team.
• This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor's degree in a related field.

Pay Grade - NEquity Grade - 9Employees new to affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job-related skills. Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include equity rewards, monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents.)USA base pay range (CA, WA, NY, NJ, CT) per year: $195,000 - $255,000USA base pay range (all other U.S. states) per year: $173,000 - $233,000

#LI-RemoteRemote-first with flexibility built inAffirm is proud to be a remote-first company.

Most roles can be done from almost anywhere within the country of employment.

Some positions may occasionally require in-person work at an affirm office, and a few are office-based due to the nature of the work.

All new hires will be invited to attend an in-person onboarding experience.

Benefits designed for you

Our benefits reflect our commitment to care, transparency, and flexibility. Here are a few highlights:

• Health coverage at no cost: We cover 100% of premiums for employees and their dependents.
• Spending stipends: Monthly stipends support your tech setup, and the ability to choose health and wellness options that are right for you.
• Time off to recharge: Flexible time off and generous holiday calendars help you rest when you need to.
• Own a piece of what you build: Our employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets you buy affirm stock at a discount.

We're committed to providing an inclusive interview process, including accommodations for candidates with disabilities.

If you need support, we're happy to help.

For positions based in San Francisco or Los Angeles: affirm considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.