Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Card) at Affirm

JobFluent; United States; Remote; USD 101,000 - 157,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship (Spain)

Job summary

Affirm is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Card) to lead EU card backend engineering. The role focuses on architecture across card systems, coordinating with EU teams, and ensuring high-performance, scalable services that process transactions in milliseconds.

The position requires 8+ years in software engineering, with strong Python, Kotlin, AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes experience. Remote-spanish flexibility and visa sponsorship are offered for Spain-based candidates.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8+ years of software engineering experience.
• Experience designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale.
• Proficient in Python, Kotlin, AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes.
• Experience delivering major features or components with a clear technical plan.

Responsibilities

• Set technical strategy for the team on a yearly horizon.
• Lead software engineering for all EU cards.
• Collaborate with product, design and analytics across the development lifecycle.
• Define and advocate technical solutions and operational processes.

Skills

8+ years exp

Backend architecture

Python

Kotlin

AWS

MySQL

Kubernetes

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Card) in Madrid or Remote

At Affi**rm**, 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. You will be the lead engineer for our EU teams. You will be responsible for architecture across cards and relationships with our EU counterparts. You'll work across stacks and across the company, working both in just-in-time transaction processing that has to take place in milliseconds, along with our ledgering and reconciliation systems in post-transaction processing. This is some of the more difficult, exciting, experimental engineering work in Affi**rm**. Join us and our team in Spain and Poland to help us revolutionize payments!

What you’ll do

• You will be responsible for setting technical strategy for your team on a year-long time scale, and help your team tie it together with critical, business-impacting projects.
• You will be the lead software engineer for all cards in the EU.
• You will collaborate across teams in the product development lifecycle by collaborating with product management, design & analytics to ensure technical sustainability, risks and trade-offs are well understood and managed.
• You will act as a force-multiplier for your team through your definition and advocacy of technical solutions and operational processes.
• You take ownership of your team’s operations and availability by ensuring you have the right monitoring, triage rotations, playbooks, policies, testing and alerting in place to support “keep the lights on” & on-call efforts.
• You will foster a culture of quality and ownership on your team by setting code review and design standards for your team, and advocating for them beyond your team through your writing and tech talks.
• You will help develop talent on your team by providing feedback and guidance, and leading by example.
• On-Call Rotation - There would be an on-call rotation for this role as a requirement.

What we look for

• You have a total of 8+ years of experience as a software engineer.
• You are proficient in designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale technologies like Python, Kotlin, AWS, MySQL, and Kubernetes
• You are proficient in developing front end applications.
• You have experience delivering major features, system components or deprecating existing functionality in a system through the definition of a technical and execution plan. You write high quality code that is easily understood and used by others.
• You thrive in ambiguity, and are comfortable moving from low level language idioms all the way to the architecture of large systems to understand how they work.
• Your growth and impact trajectory demonstrates that you have mastered gathering and iterating on feedback from your engineering and cross-functional peers.
• You have strong verbal and written communication skills that support effective collaboration with our global engineering team.

Base Pay Grade - P

Equity Grade - 6

Employees new to Affi**rm** typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affi**rm** 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 monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents). In addition, the employees may be eligible for equity rewards offered by Affi**rm** Holdings, Inc. (parent company).

Additional benefits include:

• Flexible Spending Wallets for tech, food and lifestyle
• Away Days - wellness days to take off work and recharge
• Employee Resource & Community Groups

We are able to offer visa sponsorship for this role, but do require that someone is based in Spain for the role.

Location - Remote Spain

Remote-first with flexibility built inAffi**rm** 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 Affi**rm** 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 Affi**rm** 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: Affi**rm** considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.

We’re excited to announce that Affi**rm** is now a remote-first company! The majority of our roles can be accomplished anywhere in the U.S. and Canada (with the exception of Quebec). While most Affi**r**ers will have the option to choose a remote-first accommodation, our offices in San Francisco, New York City, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Salt Lake City will remain operational and accessible for anyone to use on a voluntary basis.
At Affi**rm**, we’re using today’s technology to bring significant disruptive innovation to the financial industry. We focus on improving the lives of consumers by delivering simple, honest and transparent financial products.