---
title: 'Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Identity International) at Affirm'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-backend-identity-international-affirm-united-kingdom-bf8w1bzq2gkg'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-18'
---

# Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Identity International) at Affirm

- **Company:** Affirm
- **Location:** United Kingdom
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-08-28
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/affirm/jobs/7979134003

## Job description

At Affirm, we exist for the moments that matter—giving people a clear, predictable way to pay over time, with no hidden fees, no surprises, and no tradeoffs on what matters most.

Identity at Affirm is mission-critical; it is the very first step of the customer journey and the foundation of global expansion. The International Expansion Unit (IEU) owns Identity for every market outside North America, placing our team at the center of Affirm’s global strategy. We are responsible for ensuring Affirm can enter and scale in new markets while operating compliantly across diverse regulatory environments.

Our scope includes building and expanding Identity Data Management, KYC Verification, and Decisioning capabilities, while driving architectural changes that impact Identity services globally. We don’t just execute; we influence the core platform’s evolution to support new risk models and market dynamics. Operating at the intersection of technical depth and regulatory complexity, we directly impact approval rates, conversion, and fraud exposure. By joining this team, you will shape the foundational processes that unlock revenue and build customer trust on a global scale.

## What You'll Do

- You will be responsible for setting technical strategy for your team on a year-long time scale, and help your team tie it together with critical, business-impacting projects.
- You will collaborate across teams in the product development lifecycle by collaborating with product management, design & analytics to ensure technical sustainability, risks and trade-offs are well understood and managed.
- You will act as a force-multiplier for your team through your definition and advocacy of technical solutions and operational processes.
- You take ownership of your team’s operations and availability by ensuring you have the right monitoring, triage rotations, playbooks, polcities, testing and alerting in place to support “keep the lights on” & on-call efforts.
- You will foster a culture of quality and ownership on your team by setting code review and design standards for your team, and advocating for them beyond your team through your writing and tech talks.
- You will help develop talent on your team by providing feedback and guidance, and leading by example.

## What We Look For

- You have 8+ years of experience designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale using languages like Python or Kotlin.
- You have an extensive track record of developing highly available distributed systems using technologies like AWS, MySQL, Spark and Kubernetes.
- You have experience delivering major features, system components or deprecating existing functionality in a system through the definition of a technical and execution plan. You write high quality code that is easily understood and used by others.
- You thrive in ambiguity, and are comfortable moving from low level language idioms all the way to the architecture of large systems to understand how they work.
- Your growth and impact trajectory demonstrates that you have mastered gathering and iterating on feedback from your engineering and cross-functional peers.
- You have strong verbal and written communication skills that support effective collaboration with our global engineering team.

Pay Grade - P Equity Grade - 7

Employees new to Affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job-related skills.

Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents). In addition, the employees may be eligible for equity rewards offered by Affirm Holdings, Inc. (parent company).

GBR base pay range per year: £142,000 - £190,000

Location - Remote UK

#LI-Remote

Remote-first with flexibility built in Affirm is proud to be a remote-first company. Most roles can be done from almost anywhere within the country of employment. Some positions may occasionally require in-person work at an Affirm office, and a few are office-based due to the nature of the work. All new hires will be invited to attend an in-person onboarding experience.

## Benefits designed for you

Our benefits reflect our commitment to care, transparency, and flexibility. Here are a few highlights:

- Health coverage at no cost: We cover 100% of premiums for employees and their dependents.
- Spending stipends: Monthly stipends support your tech setup, and the ability to choose health and wellness options that are right for you.
- Time off to recharge: Flexible time off and generous holiday calendars help you rest when you need to.
- Own a piece of what you build: Our employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets you buy Affirm stock at a discount.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive interview process, including accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need support, we’re happy to help.

For positions based in San Francisco or Los Angeles: Affirm considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.

By clicking "Submit Application," you acknowledge that you have read Affirm's [Global Candidate Privacy Notice](https://www.affirm.com/global-candidate-privacy-notice) and consent to the use of your personal information as described.

## About Affirm

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Affirm is a financial technology company that offers transparent, flexible buy now, pay later (BNPL) installment loans, a debit card, and a savings account, enabling consumers to pay over time without hidden fees.
- **Entity Type**: Public (NASDAQ: AFRM)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2012
- **Founders**: Max Levchin, Nathan Gettings, Jeffrey Kaditz, Alex Rampell

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Financial services – point-of-sale lending, digital payments, consumer banking.
- **Target customers**: B2C (consumers seeking flexible payment options) and B2B (merchants of all sizes, from SMBs to enterprise retailers).
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To deliver honest financial products that improve lives, offering transparency with no late fees or hidden charges.

## Products & Services
- **Adaptive Checkout**: An AI-powered checkout flow that optimizes payment options for each consumer.
- **AdaptAI**: A suite of AI tools for merchants to personalize offers and manage risk.
- **BoostAI**: An AI-driven feature that dynamically adjusts installment terms to increase approval rates.
- **Split Pay**: A BNPL product that lets consumers split purchases into biweekly payments.
- **Affirm Card**: A Visa debit card that allows cardholders to pay over time at any merchant that accepts Visa.
- **Affirm Money Account**: A high-yield savings account and debit card, held with Cross River Bank, Member FDIC.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: USD 5.17 billion (as of July 2026)
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue – USD 3.22 billion (trailing twelve months as of Q3 FY2026). Total funding raised (including debt financing) – USD 9.57 billion.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Partners include Bed Bath & Beyond, Royal Caribbean, Stripe (UK), Google, Costco, and Backcountry. Investors include Morgan Stanley, Sixth Street, and CPP Investments.
- **Growth Signals**: Nearly 27 million active consumers, 515,000 active merchants, and over $46 billion in Gross Merchandise Volume (LTM as of March 31, 2026). Revenue grew to $3.22B, and the company achieved positive net income of $52M in FY2025. Headcount increased 1.1% YoY to 2,132 employees, with active job postings up 103.8% year-over-year.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Transparency-first model**: No late fees, no compounding interest – a key differentiator in the BNPL space.
- **Machine learning underwriting**: Proprietary risk models that evaluate each transaction in real-time, reducing defaults while maintaining high approval rates.
- **Large merchant network**: 515,000+ active merchants, including major retailers, providing broad consumer reach.
- **Integrated ecosystem**: The Affirm Card and Money Account create a sticky financial platform beyond just checkout loans.

## Strategic Focus
- **International expansion**: Currently operating in the U.S., Canada, and the UK, with recent partnerships (e.g., Stripe in UK, Royal Caribbean in UK/Canada) signaling further global growth.
- **AI & personalization**: Continued investment in AI tools (AdaptAI, BoostAI) to improve merchant conversion and consumer experience.
- **Affirm Card growth**: Driving adoption of the card as a daily payment method, with 4.4 million card active consumers.
- **Capital partnerships**: Renewing and expanding capital partnerships (e.g., CPP Investments) to fund loan origination.

## Why Work Here
- **Remote-first culture**: Most roles are remote within the employee’s home country, with a simple, transparent compensation structure.
- **Generous benefits**: 18 weeks of paid parental leave for birth and non-birth parents, plus a 4-week return-to-work transition at full pay. 20 company-wide paid days off (“Away Days”) to collectively recharge. Flexible time off, mental healthcare programs, and “spending wallets” for tech, food, lifestyle, and family planning.
- **Learning & development**: Exciting learning programs to level up growth.
- **Employee community**: Active employee resource groups and supportive communities.
- **Compensation**: Transparent, flexible, remote-first structure. Example: Senior Software Engineer median salary ~$207,029/year.
- **Workplace ratings**: 3.8/5 on LinkedIn (638 reviews), with compensation rated 4.4/5, culture 3.6/5, and work-life balance 3.6/5.
- **Engineering culture**: Heavy technical team (29% of workforce in engineering/technical roles), with strong talent from PayPal, Amazon, Google, and Stripe.

## Sources
1. [affirm.com/careers](https://www.affirm.com/careers)
2. [linkedin.com/company/affirm](https://www.linkedin.com/company/affirm)
3. [investors.affirm.com/newsroom](https://investors.affirm.com/news-events/newsroom?page=1)

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