Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Identity International) at Affirm

JobFluent; United States; Remote; USD 78,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage for employees and/or d

Equity rewards (ESPP)

Visa sponsorship

Remote-first with flexibility

Flexible time off

Tech spending stipends

Job summary

affirm is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Identity International) to lead backend systems at scale from Madrid or remote. You will set technical strategy for your team and align it with key, business-impacting projects across product, design and analytics.

You will own operations and availability with monitoring, on-call rotations and playbooks, drive code quality and standards, and mentor teammates. Visa sponsorship is available for this Spain-based role.

Qualifications

• 8+ years designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale.
• Experience with AWS, MySQL, Spark and Kubernetes.
• Strong communication skills for global collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Set technical strategy for your team on a year-long time scale and align it with key business projects.
• Collaborate across product management, design, and analytics to ensure sustainability and manage risks.
• Define and advocate technical solutions and operational processes as a force-multiplier.
• Own your team’s operations and availability with monitoring, on-call rotations, and playbooks.
• Set code review and design standards and promote them beyond your team.
• Develop talent by providing feedback and leading by example.
• On-Call Rotation - There would be an on-call rotation for this role as a requirement.

Skills

Backend design

Distributed systems

Cloud platforms

Code quality

Team collaboration

On-call operations

Technical leadership

Tools

AWS

MySQL

Spark

Kubernetes

Job description

Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Identity International) in Madrid or Remote

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.

Identity at affirm is mission-critical; it is the very first step of the customer journey and the foundation of global expansion. The International Expansion Unit (IEU) owns identity for every market outside North America, placing our team at the center of affirm’s global strategy. We are responsible for ensuring affirm can enter and scale in new markets while operating compliantly across diverse regulatory environments.

Our scope includes building and expanding identity data management, KYC verification, and decisioning capabilities, while driving architectural changes that impact identity services globally. We don’t just execute; we influence the core platform’s evolution to support new risk models and market dynamics. Operating at the intersection of technical depth and regulatory complexity, we directly impact approval rates, conversion, and fraud exposure. By joining this team, you will shape the foundational processes that unlock revenue and build customer trust on a global scale.

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 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, polcities, 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 8+ years of experience designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale using languages like Python or Kotlin.
• You have an extensive track record of developing highly available distributed systems using technologies like AWS, MySQL, Spark and Kubernetes.
• 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 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 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 affirm 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 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.

We’re excited to announce that affirm 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 affirmers 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 affirm, 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.