Staff Software Engineer, Backend

About the role

Affirm is building a new team focused on enhancing the shopping and discovery experience within its platform. This role is central to developing the systems that power recommendations and search, directly impacting how consumers find and engage with products. You will contribute to a foundational platform that aims to make Affirm the go-to destination for shopping.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Define the technical direction for your team over a year-long horizon, guiding critical projects that align with business objectives.
• Partner with product management, design, and analytics throughout the development process, ensuring technical feasibility and managing associated risks.
• Act as a catalyst for team productivity by proposing and championing technical solutions and operational best practices.
• Oversee team operations and system uptime by establishing effective monitoring, on-call rotations, documentation, and alerting.
• Cultivate a high standard of code quality and ownership within the team through clear design principles and code review processes.
• Mentor and develop team members by providing constructive feedback and leading by example.

Requirements

• A minimum of 8 years of experience in designing and building large-scale backend systems using languages such as Python or Kotlin.
• Proven experience in developing highly available distributed systems with technologies including AWS, MySQL, Spark, and Kubernetes.
• Experience building user-facing features, including familiarity with UI frameworks like React.
• At least 2 years of dedicated experience in search or recommendation engine development.
• A history of successfully delivering significant features or system components, including the ability to plan and execute technical strategies.
• Comfort navigating complex systems from low-level code to high-level architecture.
• Demonstrated ability to incorporate feedback from engineering and cross-functional colleagues.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for effective collaboration.

Nice to have

• Experience in developing consumer experiences with UI frameworks such as React.

Skills & tools

• Backend Development: Python, Kotlin
• Distributed Systems: AWS, MySQL, Spark, Kubernetes
• UI Frameworks: React
• Search & Recommendations

Practical notes

• Base pay range: CAD $181,000 - $241,000 annually.
• Equity grade: 7.
• This role is open to candidates residing in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, or Saskatchewan.
• Affirm is a remote-first company.
• Benefits include 100% subsidized medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents, flexible spending stipends for technology, food, lifestyle, and family forming expenses, competitive time off, and an employee stock purchase plan.
• Reasonable accommodations are available for candidates with disabilities during the hiring process.