Senior Software Engineer, Full Stack (Zero to One Labs)

## About the Role As a Senior Software Engineer at Affirm, specifically within the Zero to One Labs (ZT1) innovation lab, you will be a crucial part of a team that is dedicated to turning bold ideas into validated new businesses. ZT1 operates with a unique level of autonomy and speed, focusing on hypothesis-driven experiments that aim to quickly prototype and test high-impact opportunities. The role involves working closely with product managers and cross-functional partners, with direct exposure to senior leadership, indicating a high level of responsibility and influence within the company. Given the emphasis on AI as a core enabler across the stack, engineers in this team are expected to leverage AI-first tools and approaches, including AI-assisted development, agentic workflows, automation, and rapid prototyping.

The day-to-day of this role is characterized by rapid sprint cycles, where ideas quickly evolve from concept to AI-powered prototypes and real-world testing. It demands an engineer who is not only skilled in full-stack development and AI but also has an eye for product and design, capable of translating ideas into functional, AI-enabled prototypes that can be tested with users or stakeholders. The ideal candidate thrives in ambiguity, moves quickly, and takes ownership from end to end in an AI-centric environment, balancing speed with sound engineering judgment.

Reporting structures and team dynamics are critical in ZT1, with an emphasis on collaboration, feedback, and growth. As a senior engineer, you will be expected to lead by example, contribute to the operations and availability of your team’s artifacts, and foster a culture of quality and ownership.

## What You Will Do - Own and deliver quarterly goals for your team, ensuring alignment with the company's overall strategy.

• Lead engineers through ambiguity to solve open-ended problems, supporting them throughout the delivery process.
• Collaborate with product management, design, and analytics teams in the product development lifecycle, participating in ideation and articulating technical constraints.
• Identify project, process, technology, or business issues, advocating for them, and leading in solving them.
• Ensure the operations and availability of your team’s artifacts by creating and monitoring metrics, escalating when needed, and supporting on-call efforts.
• Foster a culture of quality and ownership on your team by setting or improving code review and design standards.
• Develop talent on your team by providing feedback and guidance, leading by example.
• Participate in tech talks and write about your experiences to share knowledge beyond your team.
• Support the development of new features or system components with elegant, simple, and extensible designs.

## What We Are Looking For - A total of 4+ years of experience as a software engineer, with a focus on full-stack development.

• Experience in designing, developing, and launching backend systems at scale with technologies like Python, Kotlin, AWS, MySQL, and Kubernetes.
• Proficiency in shipping web apps using declarative UI frameworks like React or Vue.
• Strong experience leveraging AI tools, agentic coding workflows, and automation to accelerate development, prototyping, and problem-solving.
• Ability to define a technical plan for the delivery of a significant feature or system component.
• High-quality coding skills that enable others to easily understand and use your code.
• Proficiency in making significant changes in a large code base and developing tools and practices that enable this.

## Nice to Have - Experience working in an innovation lab or a similar fast-paced, autonomous environment.

• Knowledge of fintech and digital payments systems.
• Experience with cloud-based technologies and containerization.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.

## Benefits and Perks - Competitive compensation package.

• Opportunity to work with a dynamic, innovative team in a rapidly growing company.
• Access to cutting-edge technologies and tools.
• Support for professional development and continuous learning.
• Flexible, remote work environment with stipends for home office setup.
• Comprehensive health insurance and wellness programs.
• Generous PTO policy and holidays.
• Equity in a company that is revolutionizing the financial services industry.

- Develop a strong foundation in full-stack development and stay updated with the latest AI tools and technologies.

• Showcase your ability to work in fast-paced environments by highlighting projects or roles where you had to rapidly prototype and test ideas.
• Emphasize your experience with AI-first tools and approaches, such as AI-assisted development and automation, in your portfolio or resume.
• Prepare to talk about your approach to problem-solving in ambiguous, open-ended scenarios, and how you lead teams through such challenges.
• Research Affirm's technology stack and products to understand how your skills align with the company's goals and be ready to discuss your findings.
• Be prepared to discuss your experience with code review and design standards, and how you foster a culture of quality and ownership within a team.
• Show enthusiasm for the fintech and digital payments industry, and highlight any relevant experience or knowledge you have in this area.