Staff Software Engineer - SRE, Backend (Reliability Engineering)

Affirm; San Jose (CA); Remote; USD 200,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking company as a Staff Software Engineer in Reliability Engineering, where you will play a pivotal role in shaping the technical strategy and enhancing application performance. This exciting position involves collaborating across teams to ensure operational excellence, driving incident management processes, and advocating for quality standards. With a focus on backend systems design and distributed technologies, you will leverage your extensive experience in AWS, Python, and Kubernetes to deliver high-quality solutions. Embrace the opportunity to work in a remote-first environment that values inclusivity and innovation.

Benefits

Health Coverage

Stipends

Time Off

Stock Purchase Plans

Qualifications

• 7+ years in backend systems design and development.
• Extensive experience with distributed systems and cloud technologies.

Responsibilities

• Provide data and visibility on application performance.
• Drive incident management and analysis processes.
• Set technical strategy aligned with business goals.

Skills

Backend Systems Design

Python

Kotlin

Distributed Systems

AWS

MySQL

Spark

Kubernetes

Incident Management

Change Management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Equivalent Practical Experience

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

MySQL

Spark

Job description

Staff Software Engineer - SRE, Backend (Reliability Engineering)

Join to apply for the Staff Software Engineer - SRE, Backend (Reliability Engineering) role at Affirm

Role Overview

Affirm is reinventing credit to make it more honest and friendly, giving consumers the flexibility to buy now and pay later without any hidden fees or compounding interest.

Responsibilities

• Provide data and visibility on application performance to teams and leadership.
• Guide the development of Service Level Objectives (SLOs).
• Drive incident management and analysis processes.
• Implement change management and deployment practices.
• Engage in service and architectural discussions.
• Recommend observability and alerting configurations.

Team Expertise Areas

• Infrastructure, platform, and distributed systems.
• Capacity management, load, and chaos testing.
• Automation, observability, and configuration management.
• Development and product experience.

What You'll Do

• Set technical strategy aligned with business goals.
• Collaborate across teams to ensure technical sustainability and manage risks.
• Define and advocate for operational processes and solutions.
• Own team operations, monitoring, and on-call readiness.
• Promote a culture of quality and ownership through standards and advocacy.
• Develop talent through feedback, guidance, and leading by example.

What We Look For

• 7+ years in backend systems design, development, and launch, using languages like Python or Kotlin.
• Extensive experience with distributed systems using AWS, MySQL, Spark, Kubernetes.
• 7+ years in SRE or production engineering roles.
• Proven track record in delivering features and deprecating functionality with high-quality code.
• Comfort with ambiguity and understanding of system architectures.
• Strong communication skills for effective collaboration.
• Equivalent practical experience or a related degree.

Compensation & Benefits

Base pay range: $200,000 - $275,000 (varies by location). Equity grade: 13. Affirm offers comprehensive benefits including health coverage, stipends, time off, and stock purchase plans.

Location & Work Environment

Remote within the US, with some roles possibly requiring occasional office presence. Affirm is a remote-first company committed to inclusive hiring practices.