Cardless

Software Engineer - Backend

Cardless$165K — $260K *
Finance & Insurance
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of industry experience in backend systems
  • Strong understanding of distributed systems and APIs
  • Proficient in modern backend programming languages like Java or Python
  • Proven ability to deliver end-to-end technical projects
  • Deep expertise in backend domains such as databases and scaling systems
  • Genuine passion for creating impactful, maintainable systems

Responsibilities

  • Design and build scalable and high-performance backend systems
  • Contribute to architectural evolution of the platform
  • Own projects from inception to production, ensuring quality at each stage
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver features quickly
  • Identify and implement improvements in system reliability and performance
  • Provide technical guidance to peers across the engineering team

Benefits

  • Start-up equity opportunities
  • Comprehensive health, vision, and dental coverage for employees
  • 75% coverage for dependents on health, vision, and dental plans
  • Catered lunches provided
  • Monthly $250 commuter benefit
  • Generous parental leave policy
  • Team building activities and happy hours
  • Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off annually
  • Provision of Apple equipment for work
  • 401k retirement plan support
Full Job Description
Cardless is looking for an experienced backend engineer to join our exceptional team! You'll play a key role in designing, building, and scaling the systems that power our co-branded credit card platform spanning domains like applications, accounts, transactions, fraud, risk, and rewards.

As a software engineer, your responsibilities will include but not be limited to the following:

Responsibilities
  • Design and build scalable, secure, and high-performance backend systems and services that support Cardless's core financial products
  • Contribute to architectural discussions and decisions to evolve our platform as we grow
  • Take ownership of projects from design through production - including requirements gathering, implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, designers, other engineers, and stakeholders (external partners, risk, compliance) to deliver high-quality features quickly and reliably
  • Identify and drive improvements in system reliability, observability, performance, and developer experience
  • Provide technical guidance and thought partnership to peers across the engineering organization


What we look for
  • Strong experience designing and implementing backend systems and services that operate at scale (typically 5+ years of industry experience)
  • Solid understanding of distributed systems, APIs, databases, and infrastructure fundamentals
  • Proficiency with a modern backend language (e.g. Java, Python) and ecosystem
  • Track record of delivering complex technical projects end-to-end, collaborating effectively with cross-functional partners
  • Deep, low-level expertise in one or more backend domains (e.g., databases, scaling systems, distributed systems)
  • Passion for building robust, maintainable systems that have real-world impact for customers


Nice to have
  • Experience building and maintaining external, public-facing APIs
  • Familiarity with financial systems, reconciliation workflows, or data integrity challenges
  • Exposure to ML pipelines or feature stores


Compensation

Note: This role is open to experienced engineers only

This role has an annual starting salary range of $165,000-$260,000 + equity + benefits (see below). Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience, and specific work location.

Benefits

We're headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with a beautiful office in the Financial District. We're proud to offer our team excellent benefits:

Meaningful Start-up equity

100% health, vision & dental primary coverage

+ 75% health, vision & dental dependent coverage

Catered lunches

$250/month Commuter benefit

Parental leave

Team building events & happy hours

Flexible PTO with a minimum of 15 days off per year

Apple equipment

401k plan

Location

San Francisco, CA - our office is in the Jackson Square district. This role is 5 days a week in office.

About Cardless

Cardless is a financial technology company that offers a mobile payment platform for merchants. The company was founded in 2014 by Michael Spelfogel and Jonno Rodd. Cardless has offices in San Francisco, California and Sydney, Australia. The company's mission is to make payments faster, easier, and more secure for everyone.
Learn more about Cardless
Size
50 employees
Industry
Net Income
-$500,000
Founded
2014
5 Year Trend
+250%
Revenue
$1 million

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