Xero

Staff / Lead Engineer - Payments Platform

Xero2 days ago
Location

CAN: VAN (333 Seymour St)

Type

Full Time

Salary

CAD 186,000 – 236,000

Level

Lead

Role

Lead Engineer

Posted

Jul 23, 2026

Full TimeLead

The role

Summary

Join Xero's Payments Platform team as a Staff/Lead Engineer to architect and build foundational payment infrastructure powering money movement globally. You'll design scalable, secure, high-throughput services, lead cross-functional initiatives including orchestration and fraud prevention, and shape the technical direction of early-stage payment products. This role combines hands-on engineering excellence with strategic leadership, requiring deep expertise in distributed systems, backend engineering, and cloud-native architecture.

What you'll do

Architect Payment Platform Services: Design and develop scalable, reliable, performant, and secure backend services for payment orchestration, risk management, and fraud detection. Create high-throughput, distributed systems that handle complex payment flows across multiple providers while maintaining operational excellence and meeting real-world performance constraints.
Lead Technical Direction and Strategy: Guide foundational architectural decisions for the Payments Platform, establish technical standards, and define the technical roadmap. Set best practices for system design, API development, and database architecture that will serve as the foundation for current and future payment products.
Drive Product Development Initiatives: Work directly with Product, Design, and Operations teams to translate complex business requirements into resilient engineering solutions. Champion the global bill payment product development and accelerate new payment product capabilities through robust platform design.
Mentor Engineering Team: Provide technical mentorship and leadership to engineers on the Payments Platform team, fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture. Guide engineers through complex technical challenges, promote continuous learning, and develop team capabilities in distributed systems and financial technology.
Contribute to Production Code and POCs: Maintain hands-on involvement by contributing directly to production code, technical deep dives, and proof-of-concepts. Solve complex financial technology challenges at scale, validate architectural approaches, and lead by example in code quality and technical excellence.
Integrate AI and Developer Productivity Tools: Champion adoption of artificial intelligence tools and practices across the engineering team to accelerate development workflows and enhance productivity. Evaluate and implement advanced AI capabilities that improve both engineering efficiency and platform capabilities.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Security, Risk, Operations, and Product teams to ensure payment solutions meet compliance, regulatory, and business requirements. Facilitate knowledge sharing and alignment across teams to deliver holistic payment platform solutions serving millions of Xero subscribers.

What we look for

Technical

Distributed Backend SystemsProven expertise designing and building highly available, distributed backend systems that operate reliably at scale under real-world constraints with high throughput requirements
System Architecture and API DesignDeep understanding of system architecture principles, microservices patterns, API design methodologies, and best practices for building scalable backend platforms
Database TechnologiesStrong proficiency with both SQL and NoSQL databases, including database design, optimization, consistency models, and selecting appropriate data persistence strategies for different use cases
Backend Programming LanguagesProficiency in modern backend stacks including C#, Java, Golang, C++, or equivalent languages used in high-performance backend systems
Cloud-Native DevelopmentHands-on experience building and deploying cloud-native applications on AWS or equivalent cloud platforms, including containerization, orchestration, and serverless architectures
Financial Systems KnowledgeUnderstanding of payment systems, financial technology concepts, compliance requirements, and challenges specific to building resilient payment platforms

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or Related FieldComputer Science, Software Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent field of study. Equivalent professional experience may substitute for formal degree requirements

Experience

Senior Backend Engineering RoleMinimum 7-10 years of professional backend engineering experience, with several years at senior or staff engineering levels contributing to mission-critical systems
High-Throughput Systems DevelopmentDemonstrated track record delivering highly available services handling significant transaction volumes, complex workflows, and stringent performance/reliability requirements
Technical LeadershipExperience leading technical initiatives, mentoring junior engineers, and influencing technical direction within teams or organizations
Cross-Functional Product DevelopmentSuccess collaborating with Product, Design, and other non-technical teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions and drive product delivery

Skills

Required skills

Distributed Systems DesignExpertise in designing fault-tolerant, scalable distributed systems with deep knowledge of consensus algorithms, eventual consistency, and handling edge cases in distributed environments
Microservices ArchitectureStrong experience building and maintaining microservices-based architectures, including service communication patterns, API gateways, and service orchestration
Database Design and OptimizationProficiency in relational database design, query optimization, indexing strategies, and NoSQL data modeling. Experience with both ACID and eventual consistency paradigms
Backend ProgrammingProduction-level expertise in at least one of: C#, Java, Golang, or C++. Strong fundamentals in object-oriented and functional programming paradigms
Cloud Platform EngineeringHands-on experience with AWS services, cloud infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD pipelines, and deploying production systems in cloud environments
API Design and RESTful ServicesExpertise designing robust, scalable APIs with proper versioning, error handling, rate limiting, and documentation. Understanding of API security and authentication patterns
Problem DecompositionDemonstrated ability to break down complex technical and business problems into clear, actionable components with well-defined interfaces and dependencies
Technical CommunicationStrong ability to articulate technical concepts, architectural decisions, and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders clearly and persuasively

Nice to have

Financial Services or Payment Systems ExperiencePrior experience working with payment platforms, fintech systems, or financial services backends. Understanding of PCI-DSS, AML, KYC, and payment regulatory requirements
Real-Time Systems and Event-Driven ArchitecturesExperience building event-driven systems, stream processing platforms, or systems requiring low-latency processing and real-time data consistency
AI/ML Tool IntegrationExperience leveraging AI tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or similar technologies to enhance development productivity and accelerate engineering workflows
Observability and MonitoringExpertise implementing comprehensive observability strategies including distributed tracing, metrics collection, logging, alerting, and incident response systems
Security and ComplianceKnowledge of secure coding practices, data protection regulations, encryption standards, and building systems with security-first architecture principles
Multi-Provider IntegrationExperience integrating with multiple external APIs and providers, handling provider-specific quirks, versioning strategies, and fallback mechanisms
Fraud Detection SystemsBackground with risk management, fraud detection algorithms, anomaly detection, or building systems that protect against financial risks and abuse

Compensation & benefits

Salary

CAD 186,000 – 236,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity and Performance Incentives

Competitive equity packages and variable pay/commissions based on individual and organizational performance, aligning your success with company growth

Comprehensive Health and Wellness Coverage

World-class health insurance, dental, vision, mental health support, and wellness programs supporting your overall wellbeing

Retirement and Financial Planning

Competitive retirement savings programs with employer matching and financial planning resources to support long-term financial security

Professional Development and Learning

Investment in continuous learning, conference attendance budgets, training programs, and opportunities to develop technical expertise and leadership skills

Flexible Hybrid Work Model

Work from home flexibility with 1-2 days per week in-office for collaboration. Based in Vancouver office with relocation support available for qualified candidates from Ontario and Alberta

Inclusive Culture and Belonging

Commitment to building diverse, inclusive teams where all engineers feel valued and have opportunities to contribute unique perspectives and grow

Global Xero Perks

Access to comprehensive employee perks program including wellbeing initiatives, professional development opportunities, and additional benefits supporting work-life balance

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Xero

Xero

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Xero is a global cloud-based accounting software platform for small businesses, offering accounting, payroll, invoicing, and more.

Wellington, New ZealandFounded 2005xero.com

Tech Stack

Languages
C#JavaGolangC++
Frameworks
Spring Boot.NET CoreGin or EchogRPC
Databases
PostgreSQLMySQLDynamoDBRedisMongoDBElasticsearch
Tools
AWS EC2, RDS, SQS, SNSDocker and KubernetesGit and GitHubJenkins, GitLab CI, or AWS CodePipelineTerraform or CloudFormationDatadog, New Relic, or PrometheusApache Kafka or AWS Kinesis
Other
RESTful API DesignGraphQLMessage Queuing SystemsACID Transactions and Distributed ConsensusAI Development Tools
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