Staff Software Engineer (L4) - Back End (Bangkok based, Relocation provided)

Agoda; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Agoda is seeking a skilled Data Engineer in Chicago, United States, with over 8 years of experience in backend systems and big data technologies. You'll architect and maintain data pipelines, collaborate with teams, and mentor others while driving innovation. A deep understanding of Java or similar languages, along with strong analytical skills, is essential. This role promises dynamic responsibilities in a rapidly growing fintech environment, along with opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience with strong proficiency in Java, Kotlin, Scala, or C#.
• Experience with big data technologies like Hadoop and real-time processing frameworks.
• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop robust backend systems and architect scalable data pipelines.
• Design, develop and maintain platforms across fintech.
• Mentor team members and drive innovative solutions.

Skills

Java

Kotlin

Scala

C#

SQL

Hadoop

Apache Spark

Scrum

Agile methodologies

Tools

Kubernetes

GitLab

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Job description

About Agoda

At Agoda, we bridge the world through travel. Our story began in 2005, when two lifelong friends and entrepreneurs, driven by their passion for travel, launched Agoda to make it easier for everyone to explore the world. Today, we are part of Booking Holdings [NASDAQ: BKNG], with a diverse team of over 7,000 people from 90 countries, working together in offices around the globe. Every day, we connect people to destinations and experiences, with our great deals across our millions of hotels and holiday properties, flights, and experiences worldwide. No two days are the same at Agoda. Data and technology are at the heart of our culture, fueling our curiosity and innovation. If you’re ready to begin your best journey and help build travel for the world, join us.

Get to Know Our Team

Fintech is one of the fastest growing areas in Agoda and we are rapidly expanding our tech team. We work closely with the finance business team and our Fintech product owners to reduce risk, drive efficiencies and move on new market opportunities in this exciting field. We have a wide range of projects from traditional finance to cutting‑edge customer fintech. For example, reconciliation using Big Data technologies, growing and optimizing customer payments options, tax calculations in milli‑second response times and a mesh of supplier payment options like virtual credit cards. It’s a hot field and the perfect mix of data engineering and backend engineering.

The Opportunity

In this role, you will not only develop robust backend systems but also architect and maintain scalable data pipelines and storage solutions that support complex data collection, processing, and analysis. Your dual expertise in backend and data engineering will play a crucial role in optimizing our financial technology solutions and driving informed business decisions through reliable data insights.

In This Role, You’ll Get to

• Think and own the full life cycle of our products, not just a single piece of code – from business requirements, technology selection, coding standards, agile development, unit and application testing, to CI/CD and proper monitoring
• Design, develop and maintain platforms and data pipelines across fintech
• Boost System Performance: build systems that are stable, scalable, and highly performant to meet the dynamic demands of the financial landscape
• Write great code and help others write great code – mentor people in your team and wider
• Collaborate with other teams and departments
• Exceptional problem‑solving skills coupled with a strategic mindset are essential. You possess the ability to adapt to new changes and the foresight to anticipate future needs. Leadership at Agoda isn’t just managing tasks but inspiring innovation and driving vision into reality
• Foster Cross‑Functional Collaboration: work with diverse teams to drive forward product and technology goals
• Shape our future team: Play a pivotal role in recruiting and onboarding exceptional talent

What You’ll Need To Succeed

• 8+ years of experience with strong proficiency in Java, Kotlin, Scala, or C# with a proven track record of developing high‑performance applications in production settings. Insightful experience with big data technologies like Hadoop, real‑time processing frameworks (e.g., Apache Spark), and advanced knowledge of SQL and data architecture
• Thinks in systems: their edge cases, failure modes, and life cycles
• Uses a metrics driven approach and can make informed decisions using data
• You are passionate about the craft of software development and constantly work to improve your knowledge and skills
• Experience with Scrum/Agile development methodologies
• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills
• Experience with operational excellence and a deep understanding of metrics, alarms and dashboards

It’s Great If You Have

• Experience working in a modern FinTech or Payments organization
• Domain knowledge in any of these areas: financial reconciliation, financial reporting, tax, payout methods like virtual credit cards or customer payments
• Hands‑on experience working with technologies like Spark for data processing, ETLs for data pipelines and queueing systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ)
• Core engineering infrastructure tools like GitLab for source control and Continuous Integration, Kubernetes
• Experience developing, maintaining and debugging large‑scale distributed systems
• Experience in leading projects, initiatives and/or teams, with full ownership of the systems involved

This position is based in Bangkok, Thailand (Relocation Provided).

Equal Opportunity Employer

At Agoda, we pride ourselves on being a company represented by people of all different backgrounds and orientations. We prioritize attracting diverse talent and cultivating an inclusive environment that encourages collaboration and innovation. Employment at Agoda is based solely on a person’s merit and qualifications. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity regardless of sex, age, race, color, national origin, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, citizenship, veteran or military status, and other legally protected characteristics. We will keep your application on file so that we can consider you for future vacancies and you can always ask to have your details removed from the file. For more details please read our privacy policy.

Disclaimer

We do not accept any terms or conditions, nor do we recognize any agency’s representation of a candidate, from unsolicited third‑party or agency submissions. If we receive unsolicited or speculative CVs, we reserve the right to contact and hire the candidate directly without any obligation to pay a recruitment fee.