Lead backend observability architecture remotely from Canada, using distributed systems expertise to improve telemetry reliability, performance, and cost.
Affirm seeks a Staff Software Engineer as Observability’s technical lead. You will remain hands-on while defining strategy, mentoring six engineers, and partnering with infrastructure and product teams. The work spans telemetry pipelines, log sampling, wide events, and AI-assisted development instrumentation.
Key Responsibilities
Own Affirm’s telemetry pipeline architecture at 200+ TB dailyDesign log sampling strategies that preserve incident signalShape observability practices for agentic development and code reviewDefine technical strategy and drive cross-functional projectsMentor engineers and establish quality and operational standardsRequirements:
8+ years designing and launching scalable backend systemsExperience with Python or Kotlin and distributed systemsKnowledge of AWS, MySQL, Flink, and KubernetesTelemetry experience with OpenTelemetry, Kafka, or TerraformStrong communication and platform adoption experienceBring backend architecture, observability, and technical leadership to Affirm’s remote Canada engineering organization.