Staff Software Engineer

About the role

You will own the end-to-end reliability and evolution of the CI infrastructure that powers engineering velocity at Affirm. This role demands deep accountability for the design, scalability, and operational integrity of build and deployment pipelines across multiple services and platforms. You will drive the implementation of monitoring, alerting, and incident response processes to ensure minimal downtime and fast feedback for developers. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional engineering teams to streamline integrations and deployment workflows while identifying and resolving pain points. A core part of this role is evangelizing CI/CD best practices and fostering a culture of technical excellence and ownership. You will contribute directly to the strategic vision for continuous integration and developer productivity infrastructure. You will mentor other engineers on CI systems and help elevate the overall engineering efficiency standards.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Architect and scale the design, reliability, and performance of build and pipelines across diverse services and platforms.
• Optimize build times, test coverage, and reporting to ensure fast and reliable feedback cycles for developers.
• Implement comprehensive monitoring, alerting, and incident response processes for CI systems to minimize operational downtime.
• Partner with product and platform engineering teams to enable smooth integrations and deployment workflows.
• Identify developer pain points and lead targeted initiatives that improve productivity through tooling, automation, and best practices.
• Evangelize CI/CD practices across the organization to raise engineering efficiency and consistency standards.
• Contribute to the strategic vision and long-term roadmap for continuous integration and developer productivity infrastructure.
• Lead and mentor CI engineers, cultivating a culture of ownership, collaboration, and technical rigor.
• Align CI systems and priorities with broader product and platform goals in partnership with engineering leadership.
• Drive the adoption of modern build systems and optimize frameworks for large monorepos to support scale.
• Leverage cloud-native environments such as AWS and Kubernetes to build resilient and efficient CI workflows.
• Apply infrastructure-as-code practices to ensure reproducible and maintainable CI environments.
• Utilize strong programming skills in languages such as Python, Kotlin, or Java to guide technical decisions and implement solutions.
• Balance long-term strategic vision with immediate impact to deliver measurable improvements in developer experience.

Requirements

• Demonstrate proven experience driving and leading engineering efforts in CI, build systems, or developer productivity domains.
• Bring a strong background in modern build systems such as GitHub Actions, Buildkite, or Artifactory.
• Show familiarity with cloud-native environments including AWS and Kubernetes, along with infrastructure-as-code practices.
• Maintain a solid programming background in languages such as Python, Kotlin, or Java, with the ability to guide technical decision-making.
• Exhibit excellent problem-solving skills and the capacity to balance long-term vision with short-term execution.
• Meet the requirement of either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor's degree in a related technical field.
• Demonstrate proficiency in managing build systems and frameworks for large monorepos at scale.
• Have active contributions to open source projects or prior experience with large-scale software development at a leading technology company, which is considered a plus.
• Meet the requirement of either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor's degree in a related technical field.
• Show a proven track record of owning complex CI pipelines and ensuring high availability and performance.
• Exhibit strong written and verbal communication skills to collaborate effectively with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Bring a mindset focused on automation, reliability, and continuous improvement in all engineering practices.

Nice to have

• Previous experience contributing to or building internal developer platforms or CI platforms.
• Hands-on work with containerization and orchestration tools that integrate with CI workflows.
• Knowledge of security and compliance considerations within CI pipelines.
• Experience implementing self-service tooling for engineering teams.

Practical notes

• This role is based in the United States and requires eligibility to work in the country without sponsorship.
• Employment is full-time and remote, with no mandatory travel requirements.
• Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
• Candidates must meet all stated requirements and qualifications.