# Senior Software Engineer, Data Platform & AI Enablement **Company:** [Airwallex](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/airwallex) Senior Software Engineer for Airwallex's Platform Engineering team, focusing on architecting next-generation distributed systems infrastructure and AI enablement capabilities. This role requires 5+ years of large-scale distributed systems experience with deep expertise in Java/Kotlin/Go, stream processing frameworks (Kafka, Flink, Spark), and Kubernetes. You will lead technical decision-making on foundational storage, real-time data processing, and AI-driven knowledge platforms while mentoring mid-level engineers across a global organization processing petabytes of data at scale. **Role:** Backend Engineer **Seniority:** Senior **Locations:** US - Seattle **Remote:** yes **Salary:** 180000–240000 USD [Apply](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/airwallex/396cd4cf-a1c6-47fa-829b-b7ee6c963206) Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/jobs/airwallex/senior-software-engineer-data-platform-ai-enablement-396cd4cf --- ## Responsibilities - Architect and Build Core Infrastructure Components: Lead technical decision-making and custom development for foundational storage and high-availability service layers. Design and implement next-generation distributed infrastructure that powers Airwallex's real-time AI enablement platform across 30+ global regions. - Optimize Distributed Systems Performance: Conduct deep-dive performance tuning and systems optimization focusing on state management, checkpointing, and exactly-once semantics. Ensure millisecond-level accuracy in data processing and achieve sub-second latency requirements for mission-critical financial transactions at global scale. - Develop AI Infrastructure and Knowledge Platform: Architect and implement the 'Knowledge Platform' enabling AI-driven product capabilities through scalable vector indexing, agentic workflows, and real-time data streaming. Integrate machine learning infrastructure with core platform systems to enable intelligent automation and predictive capabilities. - Own Full Software Development Lifecycle for Distributed Systems: Take end-to-end ownership of high-performance distributed systems handling batch and streaming workloads processing petabytes of data. Oversee design, implementation, testing, deployment, and operational stability across the complete SDLC in production environments. - Advocate for Engineering Excellence and Best Practices: Drive adoption of elite software engineering practices across the organization. Contribute to shared tooling, SDKs, and automation frameworks that enhance team productivity and maintain consistent code quality standards company-wide. - Mentor and Lead Technical Teams: Act as technical mentor for mid-level engineers, providing guidance through design reviews and technical leadership. Drive project delivery through clear architectural decisions and foster a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence. ## Requirements ### education - {"name":"Computer Science Fundamentals","description":"Strong foundation in computer science principles including algorithms, data structures, memory management, and networking protocols. Ability to apply first-principles thinking to complex technical problems."} - {"name":"Formal Education or Equivalent Practical Experience","description":"Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent professional experience demonstrating mastery of fundamental CS concepts and systems-level programming."} ### technical - {"name":"Distributed Systems Architecture","description":"Deep understanding of distributed systems design patterns, consensus algorithms, and large-scale system architecture. Expertise in building systems that maintain consistency, availability, and partition tolerance across global deployments."} - {"name":"Stream Processing and Real-Time Data","description":"Hands-on experience with stream processing frameworks (Apache Kafka, Apache Flink, Apache Spark Streaming) and ability to implement exactly-once semantics, checkpointing, and fault tolerance mechanisms for real-time data pipelines."} - {"name":"JVM Performance Optimization","description":"Advanced knowledge of JVM internals including garbage collection tuning, memory management, and profiling. Experience optimizing Java applications for low-latency, high-throughput environments processing massive data volumes."} - {"name":"Container Orchestration and Infrastructure","description":"Proficiency with Kubernetes for container orchestration, deployment automation, and managing distributed workloads. Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools and designing resilient deployment architectures."} - {"name":"OLAP Engines and Data Warehousing","description":"Experience with analytical databases and data warehouse technologies. Understanding of columnar storage, query optimization, and designing schemas for fast analytical queries on large datasets."} ### experience - {"name":"Large-Scale Distributed Systems","description":"Minimum 5+ years of hands-on experience building, operating, and scaling production distributed systems or infrastructure platforms. Demonstrated ability to handle systems processing massive data volumes with reliability requirements."} - {"name":"Platform and Infrastructure Engineering","description":"Proven track record architecting and maintaining foundational infrastructure platforms. Experience designing systems that enable other engineering teams and support company-wide technical innovation."} - {"name":"Zero-to-One Ownership","description":"Demonstrated ability to take full ownership of complex technical challenges from initial conception through production stability. Track record of driving projects to completion with minimal external dependencies."} - {"name":"Financial Services or High-Stakes Systems","description":"Preferred experience in fintech, payments, or other mission-critical environments where system reliability, consistency, and performance are non-negotiable. Understanding of regulatory requirements and compliance considerations."} ## Skills ### required - {"name":"Java","description":"Production-grade proficiency in Java for building high-performance, scalable backend systems. Deep expertise in writing efficient, maintainable code for large-scale distributed applications."} - {"name":"Kotlin","description":"Experience with Kotlin language for modern JVM-based development. Ability to leverage Kotlin's concurrency features and type system for building reliable distributed systems."} - {"name":"Go","description":"Proficiency in Go for systems programming and building concurrent applications. Experience with Go's goroutines and channels for implementing efficient, scalable infrastructure components."} - {"name":"Apache Kafka","description":"Advanced experience designing and operating Kafka clusters for distributed event streaming. Deep knowledge of partitioning strategies, replication, consumer groups, and exactly-once semantics."} - {"name":"Apache Flink","description":"Hands-on expertise building streaming applications with Apache Flink. Understanding of stateful stream processing, windowing, and checkpointing for fault-tolerant real-time computations."} - {"name":"Apache Spark","description":"Production experience with Apache Spark for large-scale batch and streaming data processing. Knowledge of Spark SQL, distributed compute optimization, and handling petabyte-scale datasets."} - {"name":"Kubernetes","description":"Advanced Kubernetes expertise for containerized infrastructure management. Experience designing scalable, resilient deployment architectures and managing stateful workloads in production."} - {"name":"Distributed Systems Design","description":"Deep understanding of distributed systems theory including CAP theorem, consensus algorithms, eventual consistency models, and handling network partitions in production systems."} - {"name":"System Performance Tuning","description":"Expertise in profiling, benchmarking, and optimizing system performance. Ability to identify bottlenecks and implement architectural improvements for low-latency, high-throughput systems."} ### preferred - {"name":"OLAP Engines","description":"Experience with analytical databases like ClickHouse, Druid, or similar technologies for implementing fast analytical queries on massive datasets. Understanding of columnar storage and query optimization techniques."} - {"name":"Vector Databases and AI Infrastructure","description":"Familiarity with vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, or similar) and building infrastructure for AI/ML applications. Experience implementing semantic search and AI knowledge platforms."} - {"name":"Agentic Workflows and LLM Integration","description":"Knowledge of building agentic AI systems and integrating large language models with backend infrastructure. Experience implementing intelligent automation workflows."} - {"name":"Financial Systems and Payments","description":"Background in fintech, payments processing, or other financial technology domains. Understanding of transaction settlement, foreign exchange, and compliance requirements in global payments."} - {"name":"gRPC and Protocol Buffers","description":"Experience with high-performance RPC frameworks and protocol buffer serialization. Expertise in designing efficient service-to-service communication architectures."} - {"name":"Infrastructure-as-Code Tools","description":"Proficiency with tools like Terraform, Helm, or similar for managing infrastructure deployment and configuration. Experience automating complex infrastructure provisioning."} - {"name":"Lakehouse Architecture","description":"Familiarity with lakehouse design patterns combining data lake and warehouse capabilities. Experience implementing open formats like Iceberg, Delta Lake, or Hudi for unified data platforms."} ## Tech stack ### tools - {"name":"Kubernetes","description":"Container orchestration platform for managing distributed deployments, scaling, and self-healing of containerized infrastructure."} - {"name":"Docker","description":"Containerization technology for packaging applications and dependencies ensuring consistent deployment across global regions."} - {"name":"Terraform","description":"Infrastructure-as-code tool for provisioning and managing cloud resources, enabling reproducible and version-controlled infrastructure."} - {"name":"gRPC","description":"High-performance RPC framework for efficient service-to-service communication in distributed microservices architectures."} ### others - {"name":"Protocol Buffers","description":"Language-agnostic serialization format enabling efficient data interchange between distributed systems components."} - {"name":"Lakehouse Architecture","description":"Unified data platform design combining data lake and warehouse capabilities using open formats for flexible analytics."} - {"name":"Exactly-Once Semantics","description":"Distributed systems principle ensuring data processing consistency and accuracy even during system failures and retries."} - {"name":"Real-Time Data Streaming","description":"Infrastructure for continuous, low-latency data processing and analytics enabling real-time business intelligence and AI features."} ### databases - {"name":"OLAP Engines","description":"Analytical databases optimized for complex queries on large datasets, supporting real-time analytics requirements for financial data."} - {"name":"ClickHouse","description":"Columnar OLAP database providing fast analytical queries and excellent compression for time-series financial data analysis."} - {"name":"Vector Databases","description":"Specialized databases for storing and querying vector embeddings, enabling semantic search and AI-powered knowledge retrieval."} ### languages - {"name":"Java","description":"Primary language for backend system development and distributed systems implementation at Airwallex, particularly for performance-critical components."} - {"name":"Kotlin","description":"Modern JVM language used for concise, expressive backend development with enhanced type safety and functional programming capabilities."} - {"name":"Go","description":"Systems programming language utilized for building lightweight, concurrent infrastructure components and CLI tooling."} ### frameworks - {"name":"Apache Kafka","description":"Event streaming platform powering real-time data pipelines and event-driven architecture at global scale across Airwallex infrastructure."} - {"name":"Apache Flink","description":"Stream processing framework for stateful, event-driven applications enabling real-time analytics and data transformation."} - {"name":"Apache Spark","description":"Distributed computing framework for large-scale batch and streaming data processing supporting petabyte-scale analytics."} - {"name":"Spring Boot","description":"Microservices framework for building scalable, production-grade Java applications with embedded containers and operational features."} ## Benefits ### benefits - {"name":"Equity and Stock Options","description":"Participate in Airwallex's success through competitive equity packages. As a $11 billion valued company backed by leading investors including Sequoia and Visa, you benefit from significant upside potential."} - {"name":"Competitive Healthcare Coverage","description":"Comprehensive health insurance including medical, dental, and vision coverage. Mental health support and wellness programs designed for high-performing engineering teams."} - {"name":"Unlimited Professional Development","description":"Access to technical training, conference attendance, and learning budgets. Opportunity to work on cutting-edge infrastructure challenges alongside world-class engineers and advance your career trajectory."} - {"name":"Global Mobility and Relocation Support","description":"Work with a team spanning 27 offices globally. Support for relocation, visa sponsorship, and the opportunity to collaborate with talented engineers worldwide."} - {"name":"Flexible Work Arrangements","description":"Hybrid and remote flexibility supporting your work-life balance. Access to state-of-the-art office infrastructure in Seattle and worldwide locations."} - {"name":"Generous Time Off and Leave Policies","description":"Competitive vacation allowance, parental leave, and sabbatical programs. Paid time off supporting your well-being and personal priorities."} - {"name":"High-Impact Mission","description":"Contribute to building the global payments and financial platform empowering 250,000+ businesses worldwide. Work on problems with meaningful business impact and societal relevance."} - {"name":"Mentorship and Leadership Growth","description":"Clear pathways for advancing to staff engineer and leadership roles. Opportunities to mentor mid-level engineers and shape technical direction across teams."} ## Compensation - **max:** 280000 - **min:** 185000 - **currency:** USD - **stockOptions:** true ## Interview process ### steps ## Full description ## **About Airwallex** Airwallex is the only unified payments and financial platform for global businesses. Powered by our unique combination of proprietary infrastructure and software, we empower over 250,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more – with fully integrated solutions to manage everything from business accounts, payments, spend management and treasury, to embedded finance at a global scale. Proudly founded in Melbourne, we have a team of over 2,300 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 27 offices around the globe. Valued at US$11 billion and backed by world-leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Visa, Mastercard, Robinhood Ventures, Sequoia, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, and Lone Pine Capital, Airwallex is leading the charge in building the global payments and financial platform of the future. If you’re ready to do the most ambitious work of your career, join us. ## **Attributes We Value** We hire successful builders with founder-like energy who want real impact, accelerated learning, and true ownership. You bring strong role-related expertise and sharp thinking, and you’re motivated by our mission and [operating principles](https://www.airwallex.com/us/operating-principles). You move fast with good judgment, dig deep with curiosity, and make decisions from first principles, balancing speed and rigor. You're humble and collaborative; turn zero‑to‑one ideas into real products, and you “get stuff done” end-to-end. You use AI to work smarter and solve problems faster. Here, you’ll tackle complex, high‑visibility problems with exceptional teammates and grow your career as we build the future of global banking. If that sounds like you, let’s build what’s next. # **Location:** Seattle ## **Who You Are & Role Overview** The Platform Engineering team is architecting Airwallex’s next-generation foundational infrastructure. We are moving beyond standard pipelines to build a high-performance, distributed ecosystem that powers real-time AI enablement and global financial data. We aim to push the boundaries of distributed storage, stream processing, and service-layer interfaces. We are looking for "Engineers’ Engineers"—builders who enjoy diving into the internals of distributed systems, optimizing JVM performance, and implementing robust architectural patterns like Lakehouse and real-time data. ## ## **In this role, you will:** * **Architect & Build:** Lead technical decision-making and custom development for core infrastructure components, extending from foundational storage to high-availability service layers. * **Systems Optimization:** Deep-dive into performance tuning and systems internals—such as state management, checkpointing, and exactly-once semantics—to ensure millisecond-level accuracy at global scale. * **AI Infrastructure:** Develop and integrate the "Knowledge Platform," enabling AI-driven products through scalable vector indexing, agentic workflows, and real-time data streaming. * **Distributed Systems at Scale:** Own the full SDLC for high-performance distributed systems (batch and streaming) that process petabytes of data across 30+ global regions. * **Engineering Rigor:** Advocate for elite software engineering practices, contributing to shared tooling, SDKs, and automation frameworks that enhance the productivity of engineering teams company-wide. * **Mentorship:** Act as a technical beacon and mentor for mid-level engineers, driving project delivery through design reviews and technical leadership. ## **You might be a great fit if you:** * **Experience:** Have 5+ years of experience building and operating large-scale distributed systems or infrastructure platforms. * **First Principles Thinking:** Possess a deep understanding of computer science fundamentals, including distributed systems, memory management, and networking protocols. * **The "Builder" Stack:** Are proficient in **Java, Kotlin, or Go**. You should have hands-on experience (or the desire to deep-dive) into the internals of **Kafka, Flink, Spark, Kubernetes, or OLAP engines**. * **Ownership Mindset:** Have a proven track record of taking 0-1 ownership of complex technical challenges, from initial design to production stability. * **Curiosity & Impact:** Are intrinsically motivated to explore emerging tech in AI/ML infrastructure and real-time systems to create tangible business impact. ## **Applicant Safety Policy: Fraud and Third-Party Recruiters** _To protect you from recruitment scams, please be aware that Airwallex will not ask for bank details, sensitive ID numbers (i.e. passport), or any form of payment during the application or interview process. All official communication will come from an @_[_airwallex.com_](http://airwallex.com) _email address. Please apply only through_ [_careers.airwallex.com_](http://careers.airwallex.com) _or our official LinkedIn page._ _Airwallex does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms/recruiters. Airwallex will not pay any fees to search firms/recruiters if a candidate is submitted by a search firm/recruiter unless an agreement has been entered into with respect to specific open position(s). Search firms/recruiters submitting resumes to Airwallex on an unsolicited basis shall be deemed to accept this condition, regardless of any other provision to the contrary._ ## **Equal opportunity** Airwallex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and anyone seeking employment at Airwallex is considered based on merit, qualifications, competence and talent. We don’t regard color, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, citizenship, sex, marital or family status, disability, gender, or any other legally protected status when making our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.