Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Reliability Platform)
Explicitly calls out "vibe coding" — rapid iteration and shipping — and combines that with AI-assisted development and practical use of LLMs.
About the Role
Build and lead development of a next-generation reliability platform for Affirm's production systems, combining distributed systems engineering with AI-assisted development to help teams understand, debug, and improve service health. The role emphasizes rapid iteration ('vibe coding') while maintaining high standards for reliability, quality, and maintainability.
Job Description
Role
Affirm is hiring a Senior Software Engineer (Backend, Reliability Platform) to design and build a next-generation reliability platform for production systems. The engineer will blend distributed systems engineering with AI-assisted development to provide a single place for teams to understand, debug, and improve the health of their services.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and deliver quarterly goals for the team and lead engineers through ambiguous, open-ended problems.
- Collaborate with product management, design, and analytics during ideation and decision-making, articulating technical constraints and trade-offs.
- Identify and drive resolution of project, process, technology, or business issues.
- Support operations and availability by creating and monitoring metrics, escalating when needed, and participating in on-call efforts.
- Foster a culture of quality and ownership by setting or improving code review and design standards and advocating for them across teams.
- Mentor and develop talent through feedback, guidance, and leading by example.
Requirements
- 4+ years total experience as a software engineer.
- Experience designing, developing, and launching backend systems at scale using technologies such as Python, Kotlin, AWS, MySQL, and Kubernetes.
- Experience shipping web apps with declarative UI frameworks (examples: React, Vue).
- Practical experience using LLMs or AI frameworks to enhance automation and guidance, including guardrails and citations.
- Demonstrated ability to define technical plans for significant features or components with simple, extensible designs and high-quality code.
- Proficiency making significant changes in large codebases with tooling and practices to do so safely.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills and demonstrated ownership of professional growth.
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent practical experience.
Compensation & Benefits
- CAN base pay range per year: $153,000 - $213,000 CAD.
- Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include monthly stipends for health, wellness, and tech spending, and eligibility for equity rewards.
- Benefits highlights: 100% subsidized medical coverage (plus dental and vision) for employees and dependents, Flexible Spending Wallets for technology/food/lifestyle/family-forming expenses, competitive vacation and holiday schedules, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP).
Location & Remote
- Remote role restricted to candidates residing in specific Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, or Saskatchewan.
- Affirm describes itself as remote-first: most roles are remote and employees can work almost anywhere within their country of employment, with occasional in-office requirements for proximal roles.