Senior Software Engineer, Data Platform & AI Enablement Engineering Engineering • Seattle Americas , Seattle Seattle

Airwallex; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Airwallex is seeking an experienced Platform Engineer to shape the next-generation, high-performance infrastructure. You will lead architecture decisions, optimize distributed systems, and advance AI-enabled data platforms with real-time streaming across 30+ regions.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years in large-scale systems, strong CS fundamentals, and hands-on experience with Java/Kotlin/Go, Kafka, Flink, Spark, and Kubernetes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in building and operating large-scale distributed systems or infrastructure platforms.
• Strong CS fundamentals including distributed systems, memory management, and networking.
• Proficient in Java, Kotlin, or Go; hands-on with Kafka, Flink, Spark, Kubernetes, or OLAP engines.
• Demonstrated 0-1 ownership of complex technical challenges from design to production.
• Curious about AI/ML infrastructure and real-time systems and their business impact.

Responsibilities

• Architect andBuild core infrastructure components for high-availability services.
• Perform deep performance tuning and optimize state management, checkpointing, and exactly-once semantics.
• Develop and integrate the Knowledge Platform for AI-driven products with real-time data streaming and vector indexing.
• Own the SDLC for millisecond-scale, petabyte-scale distributed systems across global regions.
• Promote elite software engineering practices, tooling, SDKs, and automation to boost team productivity.
• Mentor mid-level engineers and drive delivery through design reviews and technical leadership.

Skills

Distributed systems

Java

Kotlin

Go

Kafka

Flink

Spark

Kubernetes

OLAP engines

Ownership

AI/ML infra

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Tools

Git

Docker

Terraform

Job description

About Airwallex

Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 250,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more – with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale.

Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,300 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 27 offices around the globe. Valued at US$11 billion and backed by world-leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. If you’re ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us.

Attributes We Value

We hire successful builders with founder-like energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, and you’re motivated by our mission and operating principles. You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, balancing speed and rigor.

You're humble and collaborative; turn zero‑to‑one ideas into real products, and you “get stuff done” end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, you’ll tackle complex, high‑visibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, let’s build what’s next.

Location: Seattle

Who You Are & Role Overview

The Platform Engineering team is architecting Airwallex’s next-generation foundational infrastructure. We are moving beyond standard pipelines to build a high-performance, distributed ecosystem that powers real-time AI enablement and global financial data.

We aim to push the boundaries of distributed storage, stream processing, and service-layer interfaces. We are looking for "Engineers’ Engineers"—builders who enjoy diving into the internals of distributed systems, optimizing JVM performance, and implementing robust architectural patterns like Lakehouse and real-time data.

In this role, you will:

• Architect & Build: Lead technical decision-making and custom development for core infrastructure components, extending from foundational storage to high-availability service layers.

• Systems Optimization: Deep-dive into performance tuning and systems internals—such as state management, checkpointing, and exactly-once semantics to ensure millisecond-level accuracy at global scale.

• AI Infrastructure: Develop and integrate the "Knowledge Platform," enabling AI-driven products through scalable vector indexing, agentic workflows, and real-time data streaming.

• Distributed Systems at Scale: Own the full SDLC for high-performance distributed systems (batch and streaming) that process petabytes of data across 30+ global regions.

• Engineering Rigor: Advocate for elite software engineering practices, contributing to shared tooling, SDKs, and automation frameworks that enhance the productivity of engineering teams company-wide.

• Mentorship: Act as a technical beacon and mentor for mid-level engineers, driving project delivery through design reviews and technical leadership.

You might be a great fit if you:

• Experience: Have 5+ years of experience building and operating large-scale distributed systems or infrastructure platforms.

• First Principles Thinking: Possess a deep understanding of computer science fundamentals, including distributed systems, memory management, and networking protocols.

• The "Builder" Stack: Are proficient in Java, Kotlin, or Go. You should have hands‑on experience (or the desire to deep-dive) into the internals of Kafka, Flink, Spark, Kubernetes, or OLAP engines.

• Ownership Mindset: Have a proven track record of taking 0-1 ownership of complex technical challenges, from initial design to production stability.

• Curiosity & Impact: Are intrinsically motivated to explore emerging tech in AI/ML infrastructure and real‑time systems to create tangible business impact.

Equal opportunity

Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We don’t regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.