# Senior Software Engineer, Backend
**Company:** [Plaid](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/plaid)
Plaid is seeking a Senior Backend Software Engineer to design and build scalable financial data infrastructure that powers connections between thousands of financial institutions and innovative applications. The ideal candidate will drive technical excellence, develop high-performance backend services, and contribute to Plaid's mission of unlocking financial freedom through robust and secure technology solutions.
**Role:** Backend Engineer
**Seniority:** Senior
**Locations:** San Francisco HQ
**Salary:** 190800–286800 USD
[Apply](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/plaid/58033600-5c9e-40bc-877e-64479e957a1e)
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/jobs/plaid/senior-software-engineer-backend-58033600
---
## Responsibilities

- Backend Service Development: Design and maintain high-performance, reliable, and scalable backend services with a focus on architectural excellence and system design
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with product managers, designers, and other engineering teams to define and implement innovative features that meet product and customer needs
- Code Quality and Maintenance: Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code while developing comprehensive automated testing strategies to ensure system reliability
- Technical Leadership: Provide technical mentorship, review code changes, and help maintain high technical standards across the engineering team

## Requirements

### education

- {"name":"Academic Background","description":"Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field preferred; equivalent professional experience will be considered"}

### technical

- {"name":"Database Experience","description":"Proven experience with MySQL or other relational database systems"}
- {"name":"Microservices Architecture","description":"Strong background in designing and implementing microservices-based architectures"}
- {"name":"System Design","description":"Advanced skills in system design, performance optimization, and scalable architecture"}

### experience

- {"name":"Professional Experience","description":"Minimum of 5+ years of professional software engineering experience with a proven track record of successful project deliveries"}
- {"name":"Leadership Experience","description":"Demonstrated ability to mentor junior engineers and provide technical guidance"}

## Skills

### required

- {"name":"Backend Development","description":"Advanced proficiency in building scalable backend services"}
- {"name":"Cross-Functional Collaboration","description":"Strong communication and project management skills"}

### preferred

- {"name":"Financial Technology Experience","description":"Prior experience in fintech or financial data integration platforms"}

## Tech stack

### tools

- {"name":"CI/CD","description":"Modern continuous integration and deployment tools"}
- {"name":"Kubernetes","description":"Container orchestration for microservices"}

### others

- {"name":"API Development","description":"RESTful and GraphQL API design and implementation"}

### databases

- {"name":"MySQL","description":"Relational database expertise explicitly mentioned in job requirements"}
- {"name":"PostgreSQL","description":"Potential alternative relational database"}

### languages

- {"name":"Python","description":"Likely primary backend development language"}
- {"name":"Go","description":"Potentially used for performance-critical services"}

### frameworks

- {"name":"Microservices Framework","description":"Experience with modern microservices development frameworks"}

## Benefits

### benefits

- {"name":"Equity Compensation","description":"Stock options available as part of total compensation package"}
- {"name":"Diversity and Inclusion","description":"Commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workplace"}
- {"name":"Equal Opportunity","description":"Non-discriminatory hiring practices with focus on equitable opportunities"}

## Compensation

- **max:** 286800
- **min:** 190800
- **currency:** USD
- **stockOptions:** true

## Interview process

### steps

- {"name":"Initial Screening","description":"Review of resume and initial qualification assessment"}
- {"name":"Technical Phone Screen","description":"Preliminary technical interview to evaluate coding skills and system design knowledge"}
- {"name":"Onsite/Virtual Interviews","description":"Multiple rounds of technical interviews including coding challenges, system design, and behavioral assessments"}
- {"name":"Final Interview","description":"Meeting with senior leadership to assess cultural fit and overall team alignment"}

## Full description
We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London and Amsterdam.

Plaid’s mission is to unlock financial freedom for everyone by making money movement and access to financial data simple and secure. As a Software Engineer, you will design and build the systems that power how millions of people connect to their finances. You will work across the stack, from reliable backend services and APIs to intuitive applications that bring those systems to life. You will collaborate with engineers, product managers, and designers to ship products that make financial services more accessible and transparent. At Plaid, engineers take ownership early, grow quickly, and see their work reach millions of users.

**Responsibilities:**

* Design & Development: Build and maintain backend services with a focus on performance, reliability and scalability.
* Collaboration: Work closely with product managers and other stakeholders to define and implement new features that meet product and customer needs.
* Code Quality: Write clean, maintainable and efficient code.
* Testing & Debugging: Develop automated tests to ensure the quality and reliability of the codebase. Troubleshoot and resolve issues.
* Engage in hands-on coding and architectural design, setting and maintaining high technical standards for a high performing team.
* Grow the team via mentorship and leadership, reviewing technical documents and code changes.

**Qualifications:**

* 5+ years of experience with extensive experience in software engineering with a proven track record of shipping successful projects.
* Experience with MySQL or other relational databases.
* Experience working with microservices.
* Excellent coding, testing, and system design skills.
* Prior experience with cross functional collaboration, communication and project management skills.
* Demonstrated leadership skills and the ability to mentor and guide junior engineers.
* Ability to work with operations, product, design, and data science.

Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!

Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your application or interviews due to a disability, please let us know at accommodations@plaid.com.

Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice [here](https://plaid.com/legal/#candidate-privacy-notice).