Software Engineer II, Backend – Merchant Advocacy

Affirm

Software Engineer II developing backend solutions for Affirm's Merchant & Partner Lifecycle team. Building lifecycle-orchestrator service to modernize codebase and improve system availability.

Posted 5/9/2026full-timeRemote • California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Washington • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $142,000 - $210,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSDistributed SystemsGRPCJavaKotlinKubernetesMySQLPython

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design & expand the backbone of our platform to scale to hundreds of thousands of merchants from all around the world
Design and align the scope of work with other teams to deliver cross-team projects
Partner with Engineering Manager and Team Lead to execute the long-term vision of the team
Execute technical strategy for broad or complex requirements with insightful and forward-looking approaches that go beyond the direct team and solve large open-ended problems
Utilize agentic development tools like Claude Code to automate parts of the development process
Improve engineering standards, tooling, and processes throughout the organization

Requirements

What you’ll need

3+ years of experience as a backend software engineer
Familiarity with Domain-Driven Design, distributed systems, and how architectural decisions affect performance and maintainability
Experience with concepts such as data models, API design (http and RPC), state machines, event-driven architecture, and database design
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. Must be proficient in asynchronous communication–written tech specs, ADRs, project plans, etc.
Experience designing, developing, and launching backend systems (our stack: AWS, gRPC, Snowflake, Kotlin, Python, MySQL, Kubernetes). Java and Kotlin experience are especially helpful.
Prior experience with monitoring and alerting systems (sentry.io, rollbar, chronosphere, kibana)
This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Health care coverage - Affirm covers all premiums for all levels of coverage for you and your dependents
Flexible Spending Wallets - generous stipends for spending on Technology, Food, various Lifestyle needs, and family forming expenses
Time off - competitive vacation and holiday schedules allowing you to take time off to rest and recharge
ESPP - An employee stock purchase plan enabling you to buy shares of Affirm at a discount

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

backend software engineeringDomain-Driven Designdistributed systemsdata modelsAPI designstate machinesevent-driven architecturedatabase designAWSKotlin

Soft Skills

communication skillsasynchronous communication

Certifications

Bachelor’s degree