Staff Software Engineer (Continuous Integration)

Affirm
Canada
Remote

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior-level CI/CD specialists who can lead engineering efforts and optimize large-scale development pipelines.

Best fit for

  • Senior CI engineers with experience in large-scale monorepos and cloud-native environments
    — “Proficiency with managing build systems and frameworks for large monorepos
  • Candidates who have led CI/CD initiatives at leading tech companies or open source projects
    — “Active contributor to open source projects or previous experience with large-scale software development at a leading tech company is a plus.
  • Individuals with strong technical decision-making skills and a focus on developer productivity
    — “Solid programming background (Python, Kotlin, Java, or similar) and ability to guide technical decision-making.

Things to consider

  • This role may require occasional in-office work despite being remote-first
    — “occasionally be required to work out of their assigned Affirm office
  • Candidates must be eligible for equity rewards, which may vary based on employment status
    — “employees may be eligible for equity rewards offered by Affirm Holdings, Inc.

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with optimizing build pipelines and reducing feedback cycles
    — “Ensure fast, reliable feedback cycles for developers by optimizing build times, test coverage, and reporting.
  • Emphasize leadership in CI/CD practices and mentoring others in the team
    — “Lead and mentor other CI engineers, fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration, and technical excellence.
  • Showcase a track record of implementing monitoring and incident response for CI systems
    — “Implement monitoring, alerting, and incident response processes for CI systems to minimize downtime.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with GitHub, Buildkite, and infrastructure-as-code practices
    — “Strong background in modern build systems (e.g. GitHub, Buildkite, Artifactory).
  • Include examples of improving developer productivity through automation and tooling
    — “Identify developer pain points and lead initiatives to improve productivity through tooling, automation, and best practices.
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • design and optimize build and pipelines
  • implement monitoring and alerting
  • lead and mentor CI engineers
  • align CI systems with broader goals
Typical background
background in CI/CDexperience in build systems

Skills & requirements

Required

Continuous IntegrationBuild SystemsCloud-native EnvironmentsMonitoringIncident Response

Preferred

Open Source ContributionLarge-scale Software Development

Stack & domain

GitHubBuildkiteArtifactoryAWSKubernetesPythonKotlinJavaCollaborationCommunicationProblem-solvingSoftware EngineeringContinuous IntegrationDeveloper Productivity

About the role

Original posting from Affirm via Greenhouse

Affirm is reinventing credit to make it more honest and friendly, giving consumers the flexibility to buy now and pay later without any hidden fees or compounding interest.

We are seeking a seasoned Staff Engineer to help drive our Continuous Integration (CI)  team. This role is critical in ensuring the reliability, scalability, and efficiency of our development pipelines, enabling engineers across the company to ship high-quality software quickly and confidently. The Staff Engineer will help drive the design, implementation, and optimization of systems that support automated testing, build orchestration, and deployment.

What you’ll do

Systems & Operations

Own the design, scalability, and reliability of build and pipelines across multiple services and platforms.

Ensure fast, reliable feedback cycles for developers by optimizing build times, test coverage, and reporting.

Implement monitoring, alerting, and incident response processes for CI systems to minimize downtime.

Collaboration & Enablement

Work closely with across engineering to ensure smooth integrations and deployment workflows.

Identify developer pain points and lead initiatives to improve productivity through tooling, automation, and best practices.

Evangelize CI/CD practices across the organization to raise engineering efficiency standards.

Leadership & Strategy

Contribute to and help drive the vision for continuous integration and developer productivity infrastructure.

Lead and mentor other CI engineers, fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration, and technical excellence.

Partner with engineering leadership to align CI systems with broader product and platform goals.

What we look for

Proven experience driving and leading engineering efforts in CI, build systems, or developer productivity domains.

Strong background in modern build systems (e.g. GitHub, Buildkite, Artifactory).

Familiarity with cloud-native environments (AWS, Kubernetes) and infrastructure-as-code practices.

Solid programming background (Python, Kotlin, Java, or similar) and ability to guide technical decision-making.

Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to balance long-term vision with short-term impact.

This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Proficiency with managing build systems and frameworks for large monorepos

Active contributor to open source projects or previous experience with large-scale software development at a leading tech company is a plus.

This position requires either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field.

About You:

You are driven by a passion for CI/CD and possess a deep commitment to enhancing developer experiences.

You excel in a collaborative team setting, valuing diverse perspectives and contributions.

You are proactive, taking initiative to solve complex systems challenges and drive impact across the organization.

Demonstrates curiosity about AI tools and emerging technologies, with a willingness to learn and leverage them to enhance productivity, collaboration, or decision-making.

Pay Grade - P

Equity Grade - 7

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: $181,000 - $241,000

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

#LI Remote

Affirm is proud to be a remote-first company! The majority of our roles are remote and you can work almost anywhere within the country of employment. Affirmers in proximal roles have the flexibility to work remotely, but will occasionally be required to work out of their assigned Affirm office. A limited number of roles remain office-based due to the nature of their job responsibilities.

We’re extremely proud to offer competitive benefits that are anchored to our core value of people come first. Some key highlights of our benefits package include: 

Health care coverage - Affirm covers all premiums for all levels of coverage for you and your dependents 

Flexible Spending Wallets - generous stipends for spending on Technology, Food, various Lifestyle needs, and family forming expenses

Time off - competitive vacation and holiday schedules allowing you to take time off to rest and recharge

ESPP - An employee stock purchase plan enabling you to buy shares of Affirm at a discount

We believe It’s On Us to provide an inclusive interview experience for all, including people with disabilities. We are happy to provide reasonable accommodations to candidates in need of individualized support during the hiring process.

[For U.S. positions that could be performed in Los Angeles or San Francisco] Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, Affirm will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

By clicking "Submit Application," you acknowledge that you have read Affirm's Global Candidate Privacy Notice and hereby freely and unambiguously give informed consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of your personal information as described therein.

Source: Affirm careers (Greenhouse)

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