Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Identity Data)

Affirm; Seattle (WA); Remote; USD 173,000 - 255,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits (medical, dental, and

Job summary

Affirm, Inc. is hiring for an Identity Engineering leader who will own high-availability backend systems and authentication flows across products.

You will drive quarterly goals, collaborate with product, design and analytics, and champion quality and ownership in code and design standards. The role emphasizes building scalable systems with Python or Kotlin, using AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes, plus strong ownership and growth orientation.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale.
• Experience with highly available distributed systems using AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes.
• Ability to define a technical plan for delivering significant features with elegant design.
• Strong ownership, self-driven growth and stakeholder collaboration.
• Excellent verbal and written communication with global teams.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver quarterly goals for your team and guide engineers through ambiguity.
• Collaborate with product, design and analytics in the lifecycle of product development.
• Identify and lead solutions to project, process, technology or business issues.
• Support operations and availability of team artifacts; monitor metrics and on-call duties.
• Set and improve code review and design standards across the team; mentor others.

Skills

Backend design

Distributed systems

Python/Kotlin

Code quality

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

AWS

MySQL

Kubernetes

Job description

At affirm, 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 Affirms 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 - N

Equity Grade - 9

Employees 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 - $255,000

USA base pay range (all other U.S. states) per year: $173,000 - $233,000

Remote-first with flexibility built in

Affirm 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

• 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.