Staff/Principal Backend Engineer

Founded to transform retail finance, Ajaib Group is an Indonesian fintech unicorn breaking barriers to financial access. Having recently secured a $270M Series C—the single largest funding round in Southeast Asia over the past four years—we are backed by premier global investors including Y Combinator, Ribbit Capital, SoftBank, and SBI Holdings.To build world-class products, we assemble world-class talent. Supported by our fully remote work arrangement, our team spans Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, allowing you to work with brilliant engineers and builders from around the globe from wherever you are. We operate with an impact-driven purpose where everyone is the owner of our customers' satisfaction. Driven by a growth mindset and a fierce will to win, we refuse to settle and constantly push engineering boundaries.Role OverviewRole Overview As a Staff/Principal Backend Engineer at Ajaib, you serve as one of the company's highest technical leaders, driving the architecture and technical direction of our core platforms and services. You will work across multiple engineering teams to solve complex technical challenges, establish engineering standards, and ensure our systems remain scalable, reliable, secure, and performant as we continue to grow.ResponsibilitiesDefine and drive the long-term technical architecture and engineering direction across multiple teamsLead the design, development, and evolution of highly scalable, fault-tolerant, and secure distributed systemsReview critical system designs and provide architectural guidance for high-impact engineering initiativesDrive engineering excellence by establishing best practices in software design, system reliability, observability, security, and performance optimizationPartner with Engineering Managers and technical leaders to solve complex cross-team engineering challengesMentor senior engineers and help grow technical capabilities across the engineering organizationIdentify technical risks, evaluate trade-offs, and drive strategic technology decisions aligned with business goalsLead technical investigations, root cause analysis, and continuous improvements for large-scale production systemsCollaborate with Product, Platform, Infrastructure, Security, and Business teams to deliver reliable and scalable solutionsStay hands-on with implementation when necessary, particularly for critical architectural components and complex technical problemsRequirementsEducation: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experienceExperience: Extensive professional software engineering experience, including a proven track record of building large-scale distributed systems and leading technical architecture across multiple engineering domainsLanguages: Highly proficient in Java, Go, or other modern backend programming languagesSystem Design & Architecture: Strong expertise in microservices, event-driven architectures, cloud-native application design, reliability engineering, observability, and performance optimizationData & Messaging: Deep practical experience with messaging systems (Kafka), caching layers (Redis), and relational/NoSQL databases with query tuning and optimizationInfrastructure: Experience designing and operating applications on modern cloud platforms (GCP, AWS) and hybrid infrastructuresMindset & Domain: Strong background in fintech or high-scale, highly regulated environments; exceptional communication skills to influence technical decisions without direct authorityBenefitsPerformance Bonus - Get rewarded for the impact you makePrivate Insurance - Comprehensive health coverage for you Paid Time Off - Take the time you need to recharge and come back strongerLearning & Development - Company-sponsored training, courses, and professional certificationsHybrid Work Arrangement - Enjoy the flexibility of working both remotely and from the officeCareer Growth - Work closely with experienced leaders and take on meaningful ownership as we scaleEmployee Perks - Enjoy exclusive discounts, partnerships, and lifestyle perksCollaborative & High-Ownership Culture - Work with smart, driven people in cross-functional teams, take ownership, and make a meaningful impact for our users