# Engineer - Reporting, Insights and Data-in
**Company:** [Xero](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/xero)
Join Xero's Reporting team as a software engineer building mission-critical reporting and financial insights capabilities for small businesses. You'll own engineering projects end-to-end—from design through production—while solving complex challenges in performance optimization, financial data accuracy, and system scale. This role combines technical depth with customer impact, supporting 160+ million monthly reports while collaborating with Product, Design, and cross-functional teams to evolve Xero's reporting platform.
**Role:** Backend Engineer
**Seniority:** Mid
**Locations:** CAN: Vancouver (333 Seymour St)
**Salary:** 131800–150000 CAD
[Apply](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/xero/0b316f05-d2f3-4596-be9e-ebaf52632e94)
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/jobs/xero/engineer-reporting-insights-and-data-in
---
## Responsibilities

- Design and implement flexible reporting experiences: Build customer-facing reporting capabilities that allow users to combine business data, reshape views, save custom configurations, and seamlessly explore underlying transactions. Ensure user-friendly interfaces support both simple queries and complex financial analysis workflows.
- Optimize reporting engine performance: Architect and improve query performance across the reporting engine to ensure complex financial queries remain responsive as data volumes scale and customer needs evolve. Analyze bottlenecks using profiling tools and implement database optimization strategies.
- Ensure calculation accuracy and data consistency: Build automated verification systems and data validation checks that maintain financial correctness when transactions are corrected or source data changes. Implement mechanisms to keep reporting results up to date and prevent data inconsistencies.
- Develop shared reporting platform capabilities: Create reusable platform components and standardized patterns that enable other product teams (Payroll, Tax, Inventory) to build consistently on shared reporting foundations. Establish consistent calculation methods, permission models, and performance patterns.
- Improve data traceability and transparency: Make reported financial numbers easier to inspect and trace back to their source transactions while preserving existing reports, layouts, and established workflows. Implement audit trails and transaction-level visibility features.
- Explore AI-assisted engineering workflows: Apply AI tools to enhance engineering workflows and system verification processes. Investigate new approaches for customers to describe financial questions and dynamically shape reports using AI-assisted capabilities while maintaining accountability for output quality.
- Own end-to-end delivery and production support: Take full ownership of assigned initiatives from early investigation and design through development, testing, deployment, and ongoing production support. Monitor system health, respond to issues, and continuously improve reliability and performance.

## Requirements

### education

- {"name":"Software engineering fundamentals","description":"Strong foundation in computer science, software engineering, or equivalent practical experience demonstrating mastery of core programming concepts, data structures, algorithms, and architectural principles."}
- {"name":"Continuous learning mindset","description":"Demonstrated commitment to continuous professional development, staying current with emerging technologies, design patterns, and industry best practices in backend engineering and data systems."}

### technical

- {"name":"Production software engineering","description":"Demonstrated track record of delivering and operating reliable software in production environments with strong understanding of software development lifecycle, testing strategies, and deployment practices."}
- {"name":"Data-intensive systems and databases","description":"Practical, hands-on experience working with relational databases, complex SQL queries, and data-heavy systems. Deep understanding of how schema design, indexing, and query optimization directly impact application performance at scale."}
- {"name":"Performance optimization and profiling","description":"Ability to identify performance bottlenecks using profiling and monitoring tools, analyze query execution plans, and implement optimizations that meaningfully improve response times for complex operations."}
- {"name":"Financial data correctness","description":"Proven ability to build automated verification systems, data validation frameworks, and comprehensive testing strategies to ensure accuracy of financial calculations and prevent data integrity issues."}
- {"name":"System design and trade-offs analysis","description":"Skill in navigating ambiguous technical problems, weighing architectural trade-offs between performance, scalability, and maintainability, and delivering pragmatic solutions without unnecessary complexity."}
- {"name":"Cross-functional collaboration","description":"Demonstrated ability to communicate technical reasoning clearly, incorporate constructive feedback, and work effectively with Product Managers, Designers, and other engineering teams to align on priorities and solutions."}

### experience

- {"name":"End-to-end ownership","description":"Experience taking ownership across the full delivery lifecycle—from understanding customer requirements and designing solutions through implementation, testing, and production support—demonstrating accountability for outcomes."}
- {"name":"Reporting or analytics systems","description":"Prior experience building or maintaining reporting platforms, analytics systems, or business intelligence tools is valuable but not required. Understanding of reporting requirements, drill-down capabilities, and data exploration patterns is beneficial."}
- {"name":"Financial software","description":"Background working with financial software, accounting systems, or fintech products provides valuable context for understanding data accuracy requirements and regulatory compliance considerations, though not mandatory."}
- {"name":"AI tools in engineering workflows","description":"Interest and experience applying AI-assisted tools (code generation, testing, documentation) to engineering work, combined with mature judgment about verifying outputs and maintaining quality accountability."}

## Skills

### required

- {"name":"Backend development and API design","description":"Strong backend engineering skills including RESTful or GraphQL API design, microservices architecture, and experience building scalable server-side systems that handle high transaction volumes."}
- {"name":"SQL and relational database expertise","description":"Advanced proficiency writing complex SQL queries, designing efficient schemas, understanding query optimization, and working with databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQL Server in production environments."}
- {"name":"System performance analysis","description":"Ability to profile applications, analyze database query plans, identify bottlenecks using APM and monitoring tools, and implement performance improvements across frontend-to-database layers."}
- {"name":"Data validation and testing","description":"Expertise building comprehensive automated tests including unit tests, integration tests, and data validation frameworks that verify correctness of complex calculations and edge cases in financial systems."}
- {"name":"Problem-solving and design thinking","description":"Strong analytical and creative problem-solving abilities including the capacity to break down ambiguous requirements, design elegant solutions, and balance technical trade-offs pragmatically."}
- {"name":"Communication and collaboration","description":"Excellent written and verbal communication skills with ability to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders, document decisions clearly, and give and receive constructive feedback effectively."}

### preferred

- {"name":"Query optimization and database tuning","description":"Experience optimizing large-scale queries, implementing indexing strategies, and tuning database configuration for high-throughput analytical workloads handling millions of operations."}
- {"name":"Reporting or business intelligence systems","description":"Familiarity with reporting architectures, OLAP vs OLTP considerations, data cube design, or analytics query engines. Understanding of how customers explore and visualize financial data."}
- {"name":"Accounting or financial domain knowledge","description":"Background understanding of accounting principles, general ledger mechanics, financial statement preparation, or SaaS accounting platforms. Knowledge of data integrity requirements in regulated financial systems."}
- {"name":"Cloud infrastructure and DevOps","description":"Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and monitoring practices that support production reliability."}
- {"name":"AI and machine learning tools","description":"Practical experience using AI-assisted development tools (GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) for code generation, documentation, and problem-solving, combined with critical evaluation of generated outputs."}
- {"name":"Agile and collaborative engineering practices","description":"Experience in fast-moving product teams using Agile methodologies, participating in code reviews, pair programming, and contributing to team culture through mentorship and knowledge sharing."}

## Tech stack

### tools

- {"name":"Git and version control","description":"Proficiency with Git workflows, including branching strategies, code review processes, and collaborative development practices that enable quality control and traceability."}
- {"name":"Monitoring and observability","description":"Experience with APM tools (New Relic, DataDog, Prometheus), logging frameworks, distributed tracing, and metrics collection to diagnose performance issues and maintain system visibility."}
- {"name":"Testing frameworks and CI/CD","description":"Hands-on experience with automated testing frameworks, continuous integration platforms, and deployment pipelines that ensure code quality and enable safe, frequent releases."}
- {"name":"Database tools and profiling","description":"Familiarity with query analysis tools, database profilers, EXPLAIN plans, and monitoring utilities for diagnosing and optimizing database performance at scale."}

### others

- {"name":"Financial data standards and compliance","description":"Understanding of financial reporting standards, general ledger mechanics, transaction posting principles, and potential regulatory requirements affecting data accuracy and audit trails."}
- {"name":"API design and documentation","description":"Experience designing clean, well-documented APIs for internal platform teams and external integrations, including considerations for backward compatibility and versioning."}
- {"name":"Performance metrics and SLOs","description":"Familiarity with defining and monitoring Service Level Objectives (SLOs), response time targets, and reliability metrics appropriate for customer-facing reporting systems."}

### databases

- {"name":"Relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server)","description":"Production experience with relational database systems used for financial data storage. Strong understanding of ACID properties, transaction isolation levels, and data consistency guarantees critical for accounting."}
- {"name":"Read replicas and analytical databases","description":"Experience with database replication strategies, analytical databases, or OLAP systems designed for fast reporting queries against large volumes of historical financial data."}
- {"name":"Caching layers","description":"Practical experience with Redis, Memcached, or similar in-memory caching systems for optimizing query performance and reducing database load for frequently accessed reporting data."}

### languages

- {"name":"Primary backend language (C#, Java, Go, or Python)","description":"Expertise in a compiled or strongly-typed backend language. Xero's platform likely uses C# or similar enterprise languages for core accounting systems and reporting infrastructure."}
- {"name":"SQL","description":"Advanced SQL skills including window functions, CTEs, query optimization, and performance tuning for complex financial queries against large datasets."}
- {"name":"JavaScript/TypeScript","description":"JavaScript or TypeScript knowledge for understanding full-stack systems, working with reporting UIs, and collaborating with frontend teams building query builders and report visualization components."}

### frameworks

- {"name":"Enterprise backend frameworks","description":"Experience with frameworks appropriate for building robust financial systems such as .NET Core, Spring Boot, Django, or Go frameworks that emphasize reliability and scalability."}
- {"name":"Real-time data processing","description":"Familiarity with frameworks or patterns for streaming data updates, event-driven architecture, and handling real-time transaction feeds to keep reporting views current."}

## Benefits

### benefits

- {"name":"Health and wellness programs","description":"Comprehensive health coverage including medical, dental, and vision benefits. Wellness programs supporting physical and mental health with access to fitness resources, counseling, and preventative care."}
- {"name":"Retirement and financial security","description":"World-class retirement plans including employer matching contributions and investment options to support long-term financial planning and security."}
- {"name":"Generous paid time off","description":"Flexible leave policies with dedicated wellbeing days that enable work-life balance. Generous annual vacation allowance with flexibility to take time off for rest, travel, and personal priorities."}
- {"name":"Professional development budgets","description":"Dedicated annual allowances for conferences, courses, certifications, and training programs that support continuous learning and career growth in software engineering."}
- {"name":"Variable compensation and equity","description":"Eligibility for annual performance bonuses and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) tied to individual and company performance, allowing you to share in Xero's growth and success."}
- {"name":"Xero Perks and lifestyle benefits","description":"Exclusive Xero employee benefits program with perks covering travel, wellness, learning, and lifestyle activities that enhance quality of life outside work."}
- {"name":"Hybrid work flexibility","description":"Modern work arrangement with 1-2 days per week in Vancouver office for collaboration and team connection, with flexibility to work remotely from home on other days for focused technical work."}
- {"name":"Learning culture and mentorship","description":"Access to mentorship programs, internal knowledge sharing sessions, and a growing engineering team where you can influence technical direction and team practices."}

## Compensation

- **max:** 150000
- **min:** 131800
- **currency:** CAD
- **stockOptions:** true

## Interview process

### steps

- {"name":"Application screening","description":"Your application will be reviewed by Xero's recruitment team using AI-assisted screening based on job-related qualifications, with all candidates reviewed by human recruiters to ensure fair consideration before any hiring decisions."}
- {"name":"Initial recruiter conversation","description":"Introductory call with a recruiter to discuss your background, experience with data systems and reporting platforms, and alignment with the role's technical requirements and team culture."}
- {"name":"Technical assessment or code review","description":"Technical evaluation assessing your backend development skills, SQL proficiency, system design thinking, and problem-solving approach. May include a take-home coding exercise, online technical assessment, or discussion of past projects."}
- {"name":"Engineering team interview","description":"Conversations with 1-2 current engineers from the Reporting team to discuss technical depth, architectural thinking, performance optimization experience, and collaboration style. Expect questions on data systems and reporting challenges."}
- {"name":"Product and cross-functional alignment","description":"Discussion with Product Manager or designer to assess your understanding of customer needs, ability to think through ambiguous requirements, and communication skills with non-technical stakeholders."}
- {"name":"Leadership conversation","description":"Final round discussion with a team lead or engineering manager covering team contributions, growth mindset, working in hybrid environments, and long-term career aspirations at Xero."}

## Full description
**The role / impact**

You will build software that helps small businesses understand their performance, trust their numbers and make informed decisions. Your work will support the evolution of reporting at Xero, giving customers more flexible ways to explore financial data, shape reports and trace results back to the transactions behind them.

You will take ownership of engineering problems from design through production, balancing performance, accuracy and ease of use. Working closely with Product, Design and other engineers, you will turn complex requirements into reliable software while protecting the reports and workflows customers already depend on.

Through clear communication, constructive feedback and knowledge sharing, you will also help shape a growing Vancouver team. You will have room to question existing approaches, test ideas and contribute to how the team builds and delivers software.

**The team / how they connect**

You will join the **Reporting team within Reporting, Insights and Data-In**, building customer-facing experiences and shared platform capabilities that support reporting across Xero.

The team helps customers understand business performance and prepare financial statements, while enabling product areas such as Payroll, Tax and Inventory to build on shared reporting foundations. With more than **160 million reports run each month**, the work combines customer impact with engineering challenges in performance, financial correctness and scale.

As the Vancouver team grows, you will have the opportunity to influence both the technology and the team’s ways of working.

**The team is currently working on / Initially, you will focus on**

* Building flexible reporting experiences that let customers combine business data, reshape views, save configurations and explore underlying transactions.
* Improving reporting engine performance so complex queries remain responsive as data volumes and customer needs grow.
* Keeping calculations accurate and results up to date when transactions are corrected or source data changes.
* Creating shared reporting capabilities that other product teams can use, including consistent calculations, permissions and performance patterns.
* Making reported numbers easier to inspect and trace back to their source, while preserving existing reports, layouts and workflows.
* Using AI to improve engineering workflows and verification, while exploring new ways for customers to describe financial questions and shape reports.

Your initial ownership could include a customer-facing reporting capability, a performance improvement or a shared platform component, taking the work from early investigation through to production.

**Where and how you can work**

**This role is based in Vancouver.** We operate on a hybrid model where you will spend one to two days a week in the office for collaborative technical discussions and team alignment, with the flexibility to work from home on the other days.

**Here are some of the things we are looking for**

* You bring strong software engineering experience and a track record of delivering and operating reliable software in production.
* You have practical experience working with data-intensive systems, relational databases or complex queries, with an understanding of how design choices affect performance.
* You care about data correctness and can build automated checks that give the team confidence in calculations and system behaviour.
* You can work through ambiguous problems, weigh technical trade-offs and deliver useful improvements without overcomplicating the solution.
* You take ownership across the delivery lifecycle, from understanding customer needs and shaping an approach to testing, deployment and production support.
* You communicate your reasoning clearly, welcome constructive challenge and collaborate with Product, Design and engineering partners.
* You are interested in applying AI tools to engineering work, with the judgement to verify outputs and remain accountable for quality.

Experience with reporting, analytics or financial software would be valuable.

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.

**Compensation & Total Rewards**

At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We believe in a Total Package philosophy - ensuring your value is recognized through a holistic lens that includes base salary, performance incentives, and world-class benefits.

The expected base salary range for this role is **131,800 - 150,000 CAD**.

Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role.

In addition to base pay, Xero’s roles are eligible for the following forms of variable compensation:

* **Variable Pay:** Permanent employees are eligible to participate in our annual bonus and equity (RSU) programs. You may also be eligible for performance-based cash or equity (RSUs) incentives depending on your role level, and company performance.
* **Comprehensive Benefits:** World-class health, wellness, and retirement programs.[ **Xero Perks**](https://careers.xero.com/inside-xero/benefits-wellbeing/) including Wellbeing days, generous leave, and dedicated professional development budgets.

This is a posting for an existing vacancy.

Xero uses AI to help screen applications based on job-related qualifications. These tools assist our recruiters but do not make automated hiring decisions. A human recruiter reviews all candidates before any hiring action is taken.