Staff Software Engineer, Scale
Backend Engineer · Staff · Full Time
Opens Airwallex's application page
Role
What you'll do.
Airwallex is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join their Scale team, building embedded finance infrastructure for major enterprise clients like Rippling and SHEIN. This role requires 8+ years of Java/Spring Boot experience and focuses on multi-tenant platform architecture, cross-domain product features, and solutions engineering that directly impacts million-dollar deals.
Responsibilities
- Embedded Finance Platform Development: Build and maintain multi-tenant infrastructure powering major 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
- System Architecture Design: Architect systems handling cross-data-center scenarios with high availability, low latency, and high throughput requirements
- Multi-Team Leadership: Lead initiatives across Product, Design, Compliance, and Sales teams with measurable technical and business impact
- Performance Optimization: Make strategic decisions balancing performance optimization versus development velocity based on business impact analysis
- Enterprise Integration Support: Influence deal outcomes through architectural decisions enabling multi-million dollar contracts and competitive differentiation
Qualifications
What we look for.
Technical
Java/Spring Boot Expertise
8+ years of professional software engineering experience with Java and Spring Boot framework
System Design Abstraction
Proven ability to make appropriate abstraction decisions balancing flexibility and simplicity in system design
Scale Architecture Experience
Design systems for scale, maintainability, and production excellence in high-traffic environments
Cross-functional Communication
Demonstrate clean communication skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders
Education
Computer Science or Related Field
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
Continuous Learning
Demonstrated commitment to staying current with modern software engineering practices and technologies
Experience
Multi-team Leadership
8+ years leading multi-team initiatives with measurable technical or business impact
Cross-functional Collaboration
Experience thriving in environments spanning Product, Design, Compliance, and Sales teams
Production System Management
Hands-on experience managing production systems with enterprise-grade availability requirements
Skills
Required
Java
8+ years of professional experience with Java programming language
Spring Boot
Expert-level proficiency in Spring Boot framework for enterprise application development
System Architecture
Proven ability to design scalable, maintainable systems for production environments
Cross-functional Communication
Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Performance vs Velocity Trade-offs
Strategic decision-making on optimization priorities based on business impact
Multi-team Leadership
Experience leading initiatives across multiple engineering and business teams
Preferred
Fintech Experience
Nice to haveBackground in financial technology, payments, or regulated industry environments
High-scale Performance Tuning
Nice to haveExperience with systems handling 100k+ QPS, large user bases, and strict latency SLAs
Multi-tenant SaaS Architecture
Nice to havePlatform architecture experience serving multiple enterprise clients
PostgreSQL
Nice to haveAdvanced database design and optimization skills with PostgreSQL
Redis
Nice to haveExperience with Redis for caching and session management in distributed systems
Apache Kafka
Nice to haveStreaming platform experience for real-time data processing
Cloud Platforms
Nice to haveProficiency with AWS, GCP, or Azure for scalable infrastructure deployment
OAuth2.0
Nice to haveAuthentication and authorization framework implementation experience
API Design
Nice to haveRESTful API design and developer documentation creation
Cross-region Deployment
Nice to haveExperience with multi-region systems and data residency compliance
Solutions Engineering
Nice to haveCustomer-facing technical experience translating business needs to technical solutions
Tech stack
Languages
Frameworks
Databases
Tools
Other
Compensation
Pay and benefits.
Base·GBP 120,000 – 180,000
Equity·Stock options
Benefits
Equity Participation
Share in company success through equity compensation as part of a US$8 billion valued fintech unicorn
Global Career Growth
Opportunities to work across 26 international offices and develop expertise beyond engineering
Technical Leadership Development
Career progression paths toward technical leadership, product roles, or entrepreneurship
World-Class Team
Collaborate with exceptional engineers, product thinkers, and designers across global offices
Meaningful Impact
Direct influence on financial services used by millions through infrastructure serving major enterprise clients
Regulatory Domain Expertise
Develop specialized knowledge in financial regulation, compliance, and cross-border payments
Enterprise Sales Exposure
Gain experience influencing multi-million dollar deals through technical architecture decisions
Process
Interview steps.
- 01
Initial Screen
Phone or video call with hiring manager to discuss background, experience, and role alignment
- 02
Technical Deep Dive
System design interview focusing on multi-tenant architecture, scalability, and Java/Spring Boot expertise
- 03
Cross-functional Scenario
Case study demonstrating ability to work with Product, Compliance, and Sales teams on complex technical decisions
- 04
Architecture Review
Present and defend technical architecture decisions for enterprise-scale financial systems
- 05
Team Fit Interview
Meet with Scale team members to assess collaboration style and cultural alignment
- 06
Leadership Assessment
Discussion of multi-team leadership experience and approach to driving measurable impact
- 07
Final Round
Senior leadership meeting to discuss career goals, company vision alignment, and offer details
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 8+ years of software engineering experience (8+ for Staff) 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
Have led multi-team initiatives with measurable technical or business impact
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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