Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Capacity Modeling)
Affirm is hiring a Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Capacity Modeling) for a remote role open to applicants in Canada. It pays $153k-$213k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Affirm.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this software engineer role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
- This is listed as a remote role.
- The posting mentions Python, Kotlin and AWS among its tools and skills.
- Affirm has 224 other open roles on Level.
- Posted within the past week.
AI in this role
Senior backend software engineer building and maintaining statistical capacity models and scaling distributed systems at Affirm.
At Affirm, we exist for the moments that matter—giving people a clear, predictable way to pay over time, with no hidden fees, no surprises, and no tradeoffs on what matters most.
The Capacity Modeling team ensures Affirm can safely handle forecasted traffic—especially during peak sales events—by translating demand forecasts into concrete, testable capacity plans. They build and maintain statistical capacity models that map traffic inputs (e.g., checkout volume, app opens, batch/job activity) to resource outputs (CPU, memory, connections) and then convert those forecasts into recommended capacity settings such as pod counts, HPA ranges, and/or infrastructure sizing changes across regions and environments.
What You'll Do
· You will be responsible for owning and delivering quarterly goals for your team, leading engineers on your team through ambiguity to solve open-ended problems, and ensuring that everyone is supported throughout delivery.
· You will support your peers and stakeholders in the product development lifecycle by collaborating with product management, design & analytics by participating in ideation, articulating technical constraints, and partnering on decisions that properly consider risks and trade-offs.
· You will proactively identify project, process, technology or business issues, advocate for them, and lead in solving them.
· You will support the operations and availability of your team’s artifacts by creating and monitoring metrics, escalating when needed, and supporting “keep the lights on” & on-call efforts.
· You will foster a culture of quality and ownership on your team by setting or improving code review and design standards for your team, and advocating for them beyond your team through your writing and tech talks.
· You will help develop talent on your team by providing feedback and guidance, and leading by example.
What We Look For
· You have 4+ years of experience designing, developing and launching backend systems at scale using languages like Python or Kotlin.
· You have a track record of developing highly available distributed systems using technologies like AWS, MySQL and Kubernetes.
· You have experience supporting scale up and down of large scale sales event such as Prime Day, Black Friday Cyber Monday, or other sales holidays
· You have tuned autoscaling, CPU/Memory, and multi-threading for compute type workloads.
· You have experience defining a technical plan for the delivery of a significant feature or system component with an elegant, simple and extensible design. You write high quality code that is easily understood and used by others.
· You are proficient at making significant changes in a large code base, and have developed a suite of tools and practices that enable you and your team to do so safely.
· Your experience demonstrates that you take ownership of your growth, proactively seeking feedback from your team, your manager, and your stakeholders.
· You have strong verbal and written communication skills that support effective collaboration with our global engineering team.
· This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
Pay Grade - N
Equity Grade - 6
Employees new to Affirm typically come in at the start of the pay range. Affirm focuses on providing a simple and transparent pay structure which is based on a variety of factors, including location, experience and job-related skills.
Base pay is part of a total compensation package that may include monthly stipends for health, wellness and tech spending, and benefits (including 100% subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision for you and your dependents). In addition, the employees may be eligible for equity rewards offered by Affirm Holdings, Inc. (parent company).
CAN base pay range per year: CAD $153,000 - $213,000.
Location - Remote Canada
This remote role is open only to candidates residing in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, or Saskatchewan.
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
#LI Remote
Remote-first with flexibility built in
Affirm is proud to be a remote-first company. Most roles can be done from almost anywhere within the country of employment. Some positions may occasionally require in-person work at an Affirm office, and a few are office-based due to the nature of the work. All new hires will be invited to attend an in-person onboarding experience.
Benefits designed for you
Our benefits reflect our commitment to care, transparency, and flexibility. Here are a few highlights:
- Health coverage at no cost: We cover 100% of premiums for employees and their dependents.
- Spending stipends: Monthly stipends support your tech setup, and the ability to choose health and wellness options that are right for you.
- Time off to recharge: Flexible time off and generous holiday calendars help you rest when you need to.
- Own a piece of what you build: Our employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) lets you buy Affirm stock at a discount.
We’re committed to providing an inclusive interview process, including accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you need support, we’re happy to help.
For positions based in San Francisco or Los Angeles: Affirm considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, as required by law.
By clicking "Submit Application," you acknowledge that you have read Affirm's Global Candidate Privacy Notice and consent to the use of your personal information as described.
How we rate this
Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Capacity Modeling) at Affirm rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Pay
- This job starts at
- $153k
- Typical software engineer job
- $168k
This posting starts 9% below the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs
Questions you could be asked
- What's a project where you used Python hands-on?
- Walk me through how you've used Kotlin in your day-to-day work.
- What are the limits of AWS that you've run into, and how did you work around them?
- What's a project where you used MySQL hands-on?
- Walk me through how you've used Kubernetes in your day-to-day work.
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Python, Kotlin, AWS, MySQL, and Kubernetes. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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