Senior Software Engineer, Scale

Senior Software Engineer · Senior · Full Time

UK - LondonGBP 80k – 120k4mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Senior Software Engineer role at Airwallex's Scale team, focused on building embedded finance platform infrastructure for enterprise clients. The position involves architecting multi-tenant systems, designing cross-domain product features, and creating solutions for enterprise prospects while working with high-scale financial technology systems.

Responsibilities

  • Embedded Finance Platform Development: Build and maintain multi-tenant infrastructure powering enterprise clients like Rippling, Navan, Qantas, and SHEIN with enterprise-grade SLAs
  • Cross-Domain Product Features: Own complex features spanning business, regulatory, and technical domains including tax systems, compliance flows, and monetization tools
  • Solutions Architecture: Design technical integrations for enterprise prospects by translating business requirements into scalable technical solutions
  • High-Scale System Design: Architect systems handling 100k+ QPS with strict latency requirements and cross-data-center scenarios
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product, Design, Compliance, and Sales teams to deliver integrated solutions
  • Performance Optimization: Make strategic decisions on performance vs velocity trade-offs based on business impact and technical constraints

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Java/Spring Boot Expertise

    5+ years of hands-on experience building enterprise applications with Java and Spring Boot framework

  • System Design Skills

    Ability to balance flexibility and simplicity in system architecture and component design

  • High-Scale Performance

    Experience with systems handling 100k+ QPS, large user bases, and strict latency SLAs

  • Multi-tenant Architecture

    Understanding of SaaS platform architecture patterns and multi-tenancy design principles

Education

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience

Experience

  • Software Engineering

    Minimum 5 years of professional software development experience in enterprise environments

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration

    Proven track record working with Product, Design, Compliance, and Sales teams

  • Production Systems

    Experience designing for scale, maintainability, and production excellence

Skills

Required

  • Java Programming

    5+ years of professional Java development experience

  • Spring Boot Framework

    Deep understanding of Spring ecosystem and microservices architecture

  • System Architecture

    Ability to design scalable, maintainable systems with appropriate abstraction levels

  • Cross-Functional Communication

    Clear communication skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders

  • Production System Design

    Experience with scale, maintainability, and production excellence principles

Preferred

  • Fintech Experience

    Nice to have

    Background in financial technology, payments, or regulated industry environments

  • PostgreSQL

    Nice to have

    Advanced database design and optimization skills

  • Redis

    Nice to have

    Experience with caching strategies and in-memory data stores

  • Apache Kafka

    Nice to have

    Event streaming and real-time data processing capabilities

  • Cloud Platforms

    Nice to have

    Proficiency with AWS, GCP, or Azure for scalable infrastructure

  • OAuth2.0

    Nice to have

    Authentication and authorization implementation experience

  • API Design

    Nice to have

    RESTful API design and developer documentation skills

  • Cross-Region Deployment

    Nice to have

    Multi-region architecture and data residency compliance experience

Tech stack

Languages

JavaSQL

Frameworks

Spring BootOAuth2.0

Databases

PostgreSQLRedis

Tools

KafkaAWSGCPAzure

Other

Multi-tenant SaaSAPI DesignCross-region deployment

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·GBP 80,000 – 120,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity Participation

    Stock options in a US$8 billion valued fintech unicorn with potential for significant growth

  • Global Career Growth

    Opportunities to work across 26 offices worldwide and develop international expertise

  • Professional Development

    Exposure to enterprise sales, regulatory landscapes, and technical leadership opportunities

  • Cutting-Edge Technology

    Work with latest fintech infrastructure serving 200,000+ global businesses

  • Equal Opportunity Employment

    Inclusive workplace valuing diversity across all backgrounds and identities

  • Disability Accommodation

    Support and accommodations for employees with disabilities or special needs

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Application Review

    Initial screening of resume, portfolio, and GitHub contributions focusing on Java/Spring Boot experience

  2. 02

    Technical Phone Screen

    45-60 minute technical discussion covering system design principles, Java fundamentals, and fintech domain knowledge

  3. 03

    System Design Interview

    Architecture discussion focusing on multi-tenant systems, high-scale performance, and cross-domain integrations

  4. 04

    Coding Assessment

    Live coding session or take-home project demonstrating Spring Boot proficiency and clean code practices

  5. 05

    Cross-Functional Interview

    Behavioral interview with Product/Sales stakeholders assessing communication skills and business acumen

  6. 06

    Final Technical Round

    Deep dive with senior engineers on complex scenarios, performance optimization, and production system design

  7. 07

    Cultural Fit Interview

    Discussion of Airwallex values, operating principles, and career growth aspirations

Full posting

Original listing.

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 200,000 businesses worldwide – including Brex, Rippling, 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 2,000 of the brightest and most innovative people in tech across 26 offices around the globe. Valued at US$8 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. 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.

What the Scale Team Does

  • Embedded Finance Platform: Build and maintain the multi-tenant infrastructure powering companies like Rippling, Navan, Qantas, and SHEIN. You'll architect systems that aggregate requests from all platform customers, meeting enterprise-grade SLAs for availability, latency, and throughput while handling cross-data-center scenarios.

  • Cross-Domain Product Features: Own features that require synthesizing knowledge across business, regulatory, and technical domains—areas where no single existing team has full coverage, like tax systems, compliance-driven flows, or monetization tools.

  • Solutions Architecture: Design integrations for enterprise prospects by translating their business requirements into technical solutions. Your architectural decisions directly influence deal outcomes—from enabling multi-million dollar contracts to differentiating in competitive sales.

Who You Are

You might be a great fit if you

  • Have 5+ years of software engineering experience in Java/Spring Boot

  • Excel at making the right level of abstraction—balancing flexibility and simplicity in system/component design

  • Demonstrate clean communication across technical and non-technical stakeholders

  • Make pragmatic decisions on when to optimize for performance vs. velocity based on business impact

  • Thrive in cross-functional environments spanning Product, Design, Compliance, and Sales

  • Design for scale, maintainability, and production excellence

Bonus if you have

  • Fintech, payments, or regulated industry experience

  • High-scale performance tuning (100k+ QPS, large user bases, strict latency SLAs)

  • Multi-tenant SaaS or platform architecture background

  • Proficiency with PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka, or cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure)

  • Experience with OAuth2.0, API design, or developer documentation

  • Cross-region deployment or data residency compliance experience

  • Solutions engineering or customer-facing technical experience

Why Join Us

  • Build Something That Matters: Your work directly impacts how millions of people use financial services. Companies like Rippling and SHEIN rely on infrastructure you'll build. You're not just writing code—you're shaping how businesses embed finance.

  • Grow Beyond Engineering: You'll develop expertise that extends beyond technical skills: understanding customer business models, navigating regulatory landscapes, influencing enterprise sales. This is career growth that prepares you for technical leadership, product roles, or even founding your own company.

  • Join a World-Class Team: Work with exceptional engineers, product thinkers, and designers across the globe. At Airwallex, you'll be challenged, supported, and surrounded by people who are building something meaningful together.

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 email address. Please apply only through 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.

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