Software Engineer - Backend

Cardless, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health + Dental + Vision coverage

Catered lunches

Commuter benefit

Parental leave

Team building events

Flexible PTO

Apple equipment

401k plan

Job summary

Cardless, Inc. is seeking an experienced backend engineer to design, build, and scale systems powering a co-branded credit card platform.

You will own projects end-to-end, contribute to architecture discussions, and collaborate with product, design, and risk/compliance teams to deliver robust features. Ideal candidates have 5+ years in backend engineering, strong distributed systems knowledge, and proficiency in Java or Python.

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience designing backend systems and services.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems, APIs, databases, and infra fundamentals.
• Proficiency with a modern backend language (Java or Python) and ecosystem.
• Track record delivering complex projects end-to-end with cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Design and build scalable, secure backend systems for Cardless’s core products.
• Contribute to architectural discussions and platform evolution.
• Own projects from design through production: requirements, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance.
• Collaborate with product, design, engineering, and stakeholders to deliver high-quality features quickly.
• Identify and drive improvements in reliability, observability, performance, and developer experience.
• Provide technical guidance and thought partnership across the engineering org.

Skills

Backend design

Distributed systems

APIs

Databases

Java/Python

End-to-end delivery

Observability

Reliability

Mentoring

Job description

Cardless is looking for an experienced backend engineer to join our exceptional team! You’ll play a key role in designing, building, and scaling the systems that power our co‑branded credit card platform spanning domains like applications, accounts, transactions, fraud, risk, and rewards.

As a software engineer, your responsibilities will include but not be limited to the following:

Responsibilities

• Design and build scalable, secure, and high‑performance backend systems and services that support Cardless’s core financial products

• Contribute to architectural discussions and decisions to evolve our platform as we grow

• Take ownership of projects from design through production — including requirements gathering, implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance

• Collaborate cross‑functionally with product managers, designers, other engineers, and stakeholders (external partners, risk, compliance) to deliver high‑quality features quickly and reliably

• Identify and drive improvements in system reliability, observability, performance, and developer experience

• Provide technical guidance and thought partnership to peers across the engineering organization

What we look for

• Strong experience designing and implementing backend systems and services that operate at scale (typically 5+ years of industry experience)

• Solid understanding of distributed systems, APIs, databases, and infrastructure fundamentals

• Proficiency with a modern backend language (e.g. Java, Python) and ecosystem

• Track record of delivering complex technical projects end‑to‑end, collaborating effectively with cross‑functional partners

• Deep, low‑level expertise in one or more backend domains (e.g., databases, scaling systems, distributed systems)

• Passion for building robust, maintainable systems that have real‑world impact for customers

Nice to have

• Experience building and maintaining external, public‑facing APIs

• Familiarity with financial systems, reconciliation workflows, or data integrity challenges

• Exposure to ML pipelines or feature stores

Why Cardless

You’ll join a collaborative, fast‑moving team that values craftsmanship, curiosity, and impact. We’re building products that enable leading brands to offer credit in new ways — and we’re just getting started.

Compensation

Note: This role is open to experienced engineers only

This role has an annual starting salary range of $165,000-$260,000 + equity + benefits (see below). Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location.

Benefits

We're headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a beautiful office in the Financial District. We're proud to offer our team excellent benefits:

Meaningful Start‑up equity

100% health, vision & dental primary coverage

75% health, vision & dental dependent coverage

Catered lunches

$250/month Commuter benefit

Parental leave

Team building events & happy hours

Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off per year

Apple equipment

401k plan

Location

San Francisco, CA — our office is in the Jackson Square district. This role is 5 days a week in office.