Staff Software Engineer

About PayJoy
PayJoy is a mission-first financial service provider dedicated to helping under-served customers in emerging markets to achieve financial stability and success.  We lend through our patented technology that turns a smartphone into digital collateral, and our cutting-edge machine learning, data science, and anti-fraud AI allow us to offer the lowest cost and qualify the most customers in the industry.  As of 2024 we have brought billions of dollars in credit to 12 million customers, doubling in the last two years while remaining strongly profitable and sustainable for the long term.

This role
As the Engineering Lead for Cloud Infrastructure and Developer Productivity, you will lead the development and operations of a robust AWS and Kubernetes-based platform. This platform serves as the backbone for all backend applications at PayJoy, ensuring scalability, resilience, security and cost efficiency. You will play a key role in designing and implementing new features, optimizing workflows, and empowering developers to deliver their best work. In addition to leading the technical aspects, you will be responsible for maintaining the infrastructure for Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) and supporting developers with onboarding, troubleshooting, and incident management.
This role will require close collaboration with cross-functional teams, to understand their evolving needs and ensure the platform adapts accordingly. With a deep emphasis on automation, performance, and reliability, you will help create a streamlined development and deployment environment that maximizes the productivity of all technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and Manage Kubernetes Platform on AWS
-Develop, maintain, and scale an AWS and Kubernetes-based infrastructure that supports all backend applications at PayJoy. -Design, implement, and optimize cloud and container-based solutions to ensure high availability, resilience, and cost-effectiveness.-Conduct code reviews, manage infrastructure as code (IaC), and implement CI/CD pipelines to promote best practices for code quality, reliability, and security.
• Develop and Enable Code Quality Standards
-Design and implement platform features and enhancements to meet application and developer needs, prioritizing code scalability, cost optimization, and automated testing.-Write and review code to ensure it meets high standards of quality, robustness, and scalability.-Act as a technical mentor, providing guidance to team members on writing efficient, maintainable code, including reviews and paired programming as necessary.
• Lead CI/CD and DevOps Practices
-Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines, including Docker image creation, Kubernetes deployment artifacts, and environment provisioning.-Establish and maintain logging, monitoring, and alerting systems to streamline application development and deployment processes.-Collaborate with teams to reduce downtime and improve deployment speed and reliability.
• Cross-Team Collaboration and Application Onboarding
-Partner with product and engineering teams to understand new backend applications and identify onboarding requirements for our platform.-Work closely with cross-functional teams to plan, architect, and implement solutions that fit within the broader platform strategy.-Evaluate side-effects of onboarding new applications, address any compatibility issues, and create seamless pathways for new app integration.
• On-Call Rotation and Incident Management
-Participate in the on-call rotation, providing technical leadership in incident response and resolution.-Conduct thorough post-mortem analysis of incidents, document findings, and implement process improvements to prevent future issues.-Work alongside SREs and other engineers to troubleshoot issues, triage incidents, and perform root-cause analysis to continuously improve platform reliability.
• Optimize Developer Productivity and Resource Utilization
-Develop tools, templates, and documentation to make it easier for developers to work on the platform, enhancing productivity.-Monitor and analyze platform performance to identify cost-saving opportunities and ensure efficient resource usage.-Drive automation initiatives to reduce manual intervention, streamline operations, and free up developer time for core product work.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in software engineering or DevOps, with a strong background in cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred), Kubernetes, and CI/CD.
• Technical proficiency in Python, Go, or another backend language, with experience writing production-grade code and implementing scalable solutions.
• Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and container orchestration; strong familiarity with Helm, Terraform, and other IaC tools.
• Proven experience leading or mentoring engineering teams, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment.
• Solid knowledge of modern DevOps practices, including infrastructure as code, monitoring, logging, and security best practices.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach to incident resolution and performance optimization.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts effectively to non-technical stakeholders, with strong collaboration skills across diverse teams.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with DataDog, Prometheus, Grafana, or similar monitoring and logging tools.
• Knowledge of financial technology (Fintech) and the specific requirements around security, compliance, and data protection.
• Prior experience in incident management and participating in on-call rotations.

Benefits

• Company-funded health, dental, and vision insurance for employee and immediate family
• Company-funded employee life and disability insurance
• 3% employer 401k contribution
• Company holidays; 20 days vacations; flexible sick leave
• $2,000 USD annual Coworking Travel Perk
• $2,000 USD annual Professional Development Perk
• $500 USD annual Fitness Perk
• $250 USD Home Office equipment allowance
• $250 USD Headphone allowance Commuter benefit

PayJoy is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and we welcome and encourage people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
PayJoy Principles
Finance for the next billion * Ownership * Break Through Walls * Live Communication * Transparency & Directness * Focus on Scale * Work-Life Balance * Embrace Diversity * Speed * Active Listening