Staff Backend Engineer, Observability Platform Lead

Affirm, Inc.; New York (NY); Remote; USD 204,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% covered health insurance for you+

Monthly tech stipends

Flexible time off

ESPP

Job summary

AFFIRM is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead Observability. You will own the telemetry pipeline architecture for scaling systems, drive log sampling strategies to balance signal and cost, and align observability with AI-assisted development.

You’ll mentor six engineers and collaborate closely with infrastructure and product teams. You will set technical strategy for the team on a year-long horizon, champion reliability and performance, and help ensure instrumentation completeness across

Qualifications

• 8+ years designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale.
• Experience with AWS, MySQL, Flink, and Kubernetes.
• Built or operated high-volume telemetry systems (metrics, logs, and traces).
• Knowledge of modern observability practices and SLOs.
• Proven track record delivering major features with clear plans.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of AFFIRM’s telemetry pipeline for 200+ TB/day.
• Design log sampling strategies to reduce volume and cost.
• Define how observability fits into AI-assisted development.
• Set technical strategy for the team on a yearly horizon.
• Collaborate with product, design, and analytics to ensure sustainability and manage risks.
• Advocate for scalable technical solutions and operational processes.
• Own team operations and on-call readiness with playbooks and monitoring.
• Set code standards and mentor through writing and talks.
• Develop team by giving feedback and leading by example.

Skills

Backend design

Python

Kotlin

Distributed systems

Observability

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

AWS

MySQL

Flink

Kubernetes

OpenTelemetry

Kafka

Terraform

Job description

AFFIRM is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead Observability. You will own the telemetry pipeline architecture for scaling systems, drive log sampling strategies to balance signal and cost, and align observability with AI-assisted development.

You’ll mentor six engineers and collaborate closely with infrastructure and product teams. You will set technical strategy for the team on a year-long horizon, champion reliability and performance, and help ensure instrumentation completeness across