Staff Backend Engineer, Observability Lead — Remote

Affirm, Inc.; Seattle (WA); Remote; USD 230,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage for you and dependents

Monthly tech setup stipends

Time off and holidays

Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)

Job summary

AFFIRM, Inc. is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead Observability. You will own the telemetry pipeline architecture for 200+ TB/day, design cost‑efficient log sampling, and drive observability integration across AI coding agents and code review processes.

You will shape a year‑long technical strategy, mentor six engineers, and partner with product, design, and analytics to ensure scalable, reliable systems. Remote‑first with Seattle area opportunities.

Qualifications

• 8+ years designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale.
• Experience with distributed systems and telemetry pipelines.
• Strong knowledge of modern observability practices (SLOs, sampling, cardinality).
• Track record of cross‑functional collaboration and shipping features.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of the telemetry pipeline for 200+ TB/day.
• Design log sampling strategies to reduce volume and cost.
• Shape observability integration into development workflows with AI coding aids.
• Set a year‑long technical roadmap and guide execution across teams.
• Collaborate with product management, design, and analytics to ensure sustainability and manage risks.

Skills

Backend design

Python/Kotlin

Distributed systems

Observability

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

AWS

MySQL

Flink

Kubernetes

OpenTelemetry

Kafka

Terraform

Job description

AFFIRM, Inc. is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead Observability. You will own the telemetry pipeline architecture for 200+ TB/day, design cost‑efficient log sampling, and drive observability integration across AI coding agents and code review processes.

You will shape a year‑long technical strategy, mentor six engineers, and partner with product, design, and analytics to ensure scalable, reliable systems. Remote‑first with Seattle area opportunities.