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 Overview

Role 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.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the long-term technical architecture and engineering direction across multiple teams.
• Lead the design, development, and evolution of highly scalable, fault-tolerant, and secure distributed systems.
• Review critical system designs and provide architectural guidance for high-impact engineering initiatives.
• Drive engineering excellence by establishing best practices in software design, system reliability, observability, security, and performance optimization.
• Partner with Engineering Managers and technical leaders to solve complex cross-team engineering challenges.
• Mentor senior engineers and help grow technical capabilities across the engineering organization.
• Identify technical risks, evaluate trade-offs, and drive strategic technology decisions aligned with business goals.
• Lead technical investigations, root cause analysis, and continuous improvements for large-scale production systems.
• Collaborate with Product, Platform, Infrastructure, Security, and Business teams to deliver reliable and scalable solutions.
• Stay hands-on with implementation when necessary, particularly for critical architectural components and complex technical problems.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience: Extensive professional software engineering experience, including a proven track record of building large-scale distributed systems and leading technical architecture across multiple engineering domains.
• Languages: Highly proficient in Java, Go, or other modern backend programming languages.
• System Design & Architecture: Strong expertise in microservices, event-driven architectures, cloud-native application design, reliability engineering, observability, and performance optimization.
• Data & Messaging: Deep practical experience with messaging systems (Kafka), caching layers (Redis), and relational/NoSQL databases with query tuning and optimization.
• Infrastructure: Experience designing and operating applications on modern cloud platforms (GCP, AWS) and hybrid infrastructures.
• Mindset & Domain: Strong background in fintech or high-scale, highly regulated environments; exceptional communication skills to influence technical decisions without direct authority.

Benefits

• Performance Bonus - Get rewarded for the impact you make
• Private Insurance - Comprehensive health coverage for you
• Paid Time Off - Take the time you need to recharge and come back stronger
• Learning & Development - Company-sponsored training, courses, and professional certifications
• Hybrid Work Arrangement - Enjoy the flexibility of working both remotely and from the office
• Career Growth - Work closely with experienced leaders and take on meaningful ownership as we scale
• Employee Perks - Enjoy exclusive discounts, partnerships, and lifestyle perks
• Collaborative & High-Ownership Culture - Work with smart, driven people in cross-functional teams, take ownership, and make a meaningful impact for our users.