Software Engineer - Backend
Cardless, San Francisco, CA, United States
Cardless is looking for an experienced backend engineer to join our exceptional team! You’ll play a key role in designing, building, and scaling the systems that power our co‑branded credit card platform spanning domains like applications, accounts, transactions, fraud, risk, and rewards.
Responsibilities
Design and build scalable, secure, and high‑performance backend systems and services that support Cardless’s core financial products
Contribute to architectural discussions and decisions to evolve our platform as we grow
Take ownership of projects from design through production — including requirements gathering, implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance
Collaborate cross‑functionally with product managers, designers, other engineers, and stakeholders (external partners, risk, compliance) to deliver high‑quality features quickly and reliably
Identify and drive improvements in system reliability, observability, performance, and developer experience
Provide technical guidance and thought partnership to peers across the engineering organization
What We Look For
Strong experience designing and implementing backend systems and services that operate at scale (typically 5+ years of industry experience)
Solid understanding of distributed systems, APIs, databases, and infrastructure fundamentals
Proficiency with a modern backend language (e.g. Java, Python) and ecosystem
Track record of delivering complex technical projects end‑to‑end, collaborating effectively with cross‑functional partners
Deep, low‑level expertise in one or more backend domains (e.g., databases, scaling systems, distributed systems)
Passion for building robust, maintainable systems that have real‑world impact for customers
Nice to have
Experience building and maintaining external, public‑facing APIs
Familiarity with financial systems, reconciliation workflows, or data integrity challenges
Exposure to ML pipelines or feature stores
Why Cardless
You’ll join a collaborative, fast‑moving team that values craftsmanship, curiosity, and impact. We’re building products that enable leading brands to offer credit in new ways — and we’re just getting started.
Note: This role is open to experienced (senior/staff+) engineers only.
This role has an annual starting salary range of $165,000‑$260,000 + equity + benefits (see above). Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location.
Benefits
Meaningful Start‑up equity
100% health, vision & dental primary coverage
➕ 75% health, vision & dental dependent coverage
Catered lunches
$250/month commuter benefit
Parental leave
✈️ Team building events & happy hours
Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off per year
️ Apple equipment
401k plan
Location
We're headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a beautiful office in the Mission District (near Dolores Park). We welcome employees who want to work from this office; we offer additional benefits to those who do, and relocation assistance to those who’d like to.
We regularly bring our team together for offsites & trips, about every 2 months, both for fun and for work. We cover all travel & lodging in these cases.
Senior‑seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Engineering and Information Technology
Industries
Technology, Information and Internet
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Responsibilities
Design and build scalable, secure, and high‑performance backend systems and services that support Cardless’s core financial products
Contribute to architectural discussions and decisions to evolve our platform as we grow
Take ownership of projects from design through production — including requirements gathering, implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance
Collaborate cross‑functionally with product managers, designers, other engineers, and stakeholders (external partners, risk, compliance) to deliver high‑quality features quickly and reliably
Identify and drive improvements in system reliability, observability, performance, and developer experience
Provide technical guidance and thought partnership to peers across the engineering organization
What We Look For
Strong experience designing and implementing backend systems and services that operate at scale (typically 5+ years of industry experience)
Solid understanding of distributed systems, APIs, databases, and infrastructure fundamentals
Proficiency with a modern backend language (e.g. Java, Python) and ecosystem
Track record of delivering complex technical projects end‑to‑end, collaborating effectively with cross‑functional partners
Deep, low‑level expertise in one or more backend domains (e.g., databases, scaling systems, distributed systems)
Passion for building robust, maintainable systems that have real‑world impact for customers
Nice to have
Experience building and maintaining external, public‑facing APIs
Familiarity with financial systems, reconciliation workflows, or data integrity challenges
Exposure to ML pipelines or feature stores
Why Cardless
You’ll join a collaborative, fast‑moving team that values craftsmanship, curiosity, and impact. We’re building products that enable leading brands to offer credit in new ways — and we’re just getting started.
Note: This role is open to experienced (senior/staff+) engineers only.
This role has an annual starting salary range of $165,000‑$260,000 + equity + benefits (see above). Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location.
Benefits
Meaningful Start‑up equity
100% health, vision & dental primary coverage
➕ 75% health, vision & dental dependent coverage
Catered lunches
$250/month commuter benefit
Parental leave
✈️ Team building events & happy hours
Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off per year
️ Apple equipment
401k plan
Location
We're headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a beautiful office in the Mission District (near Dolores Park). We welcome employees who want to work from this office; we offer additional benefits to those who do, and relocation assistance to those who’d like to.
We regularly bring our team together for offsites & trips, about every 2 months, both for fun and for work. We cover all travel & lodging in these cases.
Senior‑seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Engineering and Information Technology
Industries
Technology, Information and Internet
#J-18808-Ljbffr