Principal Software Engineer, Architecture

About the Role

Join Affirm's Architecture Group as a Principal Software Engineer to lead the technical vision and delivery for our international expansion, with a primary focus on Europe. You will be instrumental in building compliant, localized, and robust systems while mentoring a new generation of technical leaders in the region.

Responsibilities

• Drive the long-term technical vision for Affirm’s international expansion, emphasizing compliance, localization, payments, and cross-border trade.
• Lead architectural strategy and roadmap definition for Europe in collaboration with domain tech leads, the broader Architecture Group, and EU leadership.
• Ensure Affirm’s systems are adaptable to country-specific requirements, including payments infrastructure, KYC/AML regulations, and localization needs.
• Define and uphold standards for design and code quality through reviews, mentoring, and hands-on architectural guidance.
• Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to influence international product direction and align business goals with robust system architecture.
• Guide cross-functional teams to deliver end-to-end solutions that integrate seamlessly with global Affirm platforms.
• Mentor senior Individual Contributors and formally establish a strong EU-based tech leads group.

Requirements

• Proven experience as a Principal Software Engineer or in a similar senior architectural leadership role.
• Deep expertise in designing and implementing scalable, secure, and compliant systems for international markets.
• Strong understanding of compliance (e.g., KYC/AML), localization, cross-border trade, and payment systems.
• Demonstrated ability to define and drive technical roadmaps and architectural strategy.
• Experience mentoring and developing technical talent and leaders.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to influence product and engineering leadership.
• Ability to work remotely from Spain.

About the Team

You will be a senior member of Affirm’s Architecture Group, reporting directly to the Head of Architecture with a dotted line to Affirm’s EU leadership. You will play a critical role in building Affirm’s technical leadership bench in Europe and ensuring our platform operates reliably, securely, and compliantly across diverse markets.