Senior Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Cards)

Affirm, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 265,000 - 325,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage 100% for you and your家

Tech stipend

Generous time off

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

Affirm is seeking a Senior Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Cards) to define the technical direction and roadmap for the Cards platform. You will lead from the front, applying AI to build fast, reliable systems while guiding architectural choices and championing best practices across teams.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with stakeholders, and drive ownership culture to deliver scalable solutions with strong reliability and performance.

Qualifications

• Experience driving change across large engineering organizations.
• Track record of leading critical projects and coordinating multiple teams for company-wide results.
• Experience creating and executing technical strategy to improve reliability and responsiveness.
• Ownership mindset and ability to influence a culture of accountability.

Responsibilities

• Define the technical direction and long-term roadmap for Cards.
• Lead from the front by using AI to accelerate delivery and quality.
• Stay connected with industry leaders to inform the team’s growth and strategy.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across all teams at Affirm to balance technical excellence with business results.
• Foster ownership culture and drive scalable, efficient architectures across teams.
• Architect and guide platform choices to ensure reliability and consistency.
• Mentor engineers and promote best practices to help team grow.

Skills

Technical leadership

AI literacy

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring engineers

Architectural decisions

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Job description

Senior Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Cards)

Remote US

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.

We are reinventing credit cards entirely. We are working directly with card issuers to change how credit is used throughout the world, creating new types of cards that work for both their everyday lives and large purchases with extremely straightforward, flexible terms. We are looking for a Senior Staff Software Engineer to take on a critical role in defining and leading technical excellence. You’ll partner with other engineering leaders in revolutionizing the way the team works, shaping the culture of engineering across Cards.

You will lead from the front on AI while holding the bar high on quality. You’ll collaborate with engineering leaders, create and implement technical strategy across full-stack teams, and coordinate closely with stakeholders to build scalable, reliable, and high-performing solutions. You'll help shape best practices, guide architectural choices, and drive the successful delivery of critical initiatives.

This role requires a high level of technical ability, leadership and project management skills, strong cross-functional communication, and a customer-first mindset.

What You'll Do

• Lead the vision – Define the technical direction, long-term technical roadmap, and strategic initiatives in Cards.
• Be a role model - Lead from the front as an example in using AI to build fast, take initiative, and revolutionize how we work.
• Stay close to industry leaders in FinTech, learning from what is happening in the market to build our team.
• Work closely with stakeholders across all teams at Affirm to champion and implement technical excellence in conjunction with business results
• Create and influence a strong ownership culture across teams, with high accountability and investment for building for scale and efficiency
• Architect and contribute to decisions on the right platform, tools, and technologies to support consistency and reliability
• Mentor and lead – Guide a strong group of engineers by championing best practices, and helping them grow

What We Look For

• Experience driving change across large engineering organizations
• Track record of successfully leading critical projects and leveraging multiple engineering teams across organizational boundaries for company-wide results
• Extensive experience developing and implementing technical strategy that drove prominent change in reliability and responsiveness
• You embody an ownership mindset and help influence a similar culture to those around you
• Collaborative partnership across engineering teams and cross-functional stakeholders
• Experience mentoring and growing engineers up to Staff level
• You have strong verbal and written communication skills that can help influence and share critical decisions with stakeholders
• This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field.

Base Pay Grade- R

Equity Grade- 15

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: $265,000 - $325,000

USA base pay range (all other U.S. states) per year: $236,000 - $296,000

Remote-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 youOur 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.

Demographic Survey Statement (US-based roles)

Affirm is dedicated to building an inclusive culture where affirmers belong and have an equal opportunity to thrive.

To help us assess our outreach efforts, we invite candidates to voluntarily share information through a short demographic survey. This information is:

• Completely optional
• Anonymized and stored in aggregate
• Not accessible to recruiters or hiring managers at the individual level
• Never used in any hiring decision

Your decision to provide or withhold this information will not impact your candidacy in any way.

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Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in affirm’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.