Senior Backend Software Engineer

Branch Overview

Imagine a world where every person has improved access to financial services. People could start new businesses, pay for their children’s education, cover their emergency medical bills – the possibilities to improve life are endless. 

Branch is a global technology company revolutionizing financial access for millions of underserved banking customers today across Africa and India. By leveraging the rapid adoption of smartphones, machine learning and other technology, Branch is pioneering new ways to improve access and value for those overlooked by banks. From instant loans to market-leading investment yields, Branch offers a variety of products that help our customers be financially empowered.

Branch’s mission-driven team is led by the co-founders of Kiva.org and one of the earliest product leaders of PayPal. Branch has raised over $100 million from leading Silicon Valley investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Visa. 

 With over 32 million downloads, Branch is one of the most popular finance apps in the world.

Job Overview

Branch launched in India in early 2019 and has seen rapid adoption and growth. In 2020 we are building out a full Engineering team in India to accelerate our success here. This team will work closely with our engineering team (based in the United States, Nigeria, and Kenya) to strengthen the capabilities of our existing product and build out new product lines for the company.

You will work closely with our Product and Data Science teams to design and maintain multiple technologies, including our API backend, credit scoring and underwriting systems, payments integrations, and operations tools. We face numerous interesting technical challenges ranging from maintaining complex financial systems to accessing and processing creative data sources for our algorithmic credit model. 

As a company, we are passionate about our customers, fearless in the face of barriers, and driven by data. As an engineering team, we value bottom-up innovation and decentralized decision-making: We believe the best ideas can come from anyone in the company, and we are working hard to create an environment where everyone feels empowered to propose solutions to the challenges we face. We are looking for individuals who thrive in a fast-moving, innovative, and customer-focused setting.

Here are some things you’ll do

• Build customer facing and internal products and APIs with industry best practices around security and performance in mind.
• Influence and shape the company’s technical and product roadmap by providing timely and accurate inputs and owning various outcomes.
• Collaborate with peers in other functional areas (Android, Machine Learning, Data, Devops, etc.) to identify potential growth areas and systems needed.
• Guide and mentor other younger engineers around you.
• Scaling our backend services to ever-growing levels of traffic and complexity.

Minimum Requirements

• You have strong experience (8+ years) of designing, coding, and shipping backend software for web-based or mobile products.
• Experience coordinating and collaborating with various business stakeholders and company leadership on critical functional decisions and technical roadmap.
• You have strong knowledge of software development fundamentals, including relevant background in computer science fundamentals, distributed systems, data storage, and agile development methodologies.
• You are able to utlize your knowledge and expertise to code and ship quality products in a timely manner.
• You have functional knowledge of other technical areas such as Android, Machine Learning, DevOps, etc and can contribute to related discussions and decisions.
• You are pragmatic and combine a strong understanding of technology and product needs to arrive at the best solution for a given problem.
• You are highly entrepreneurial and thrive in taking ownership of your own impact. You take the initiative to solve problems before they arise.
• You are an excellent collaborator & communicator. You know that startups are a team sport. You listen to others, aren’t afraid to speak your mind and always try to ask the right questions. 
• You are excited by the prospect of working in a distributed team and company, working with teammates from all over the world.

Benefits of Joining

• Mission-driven, fast-paced and entrepreneurial environment
• Competitive salary and equity package
• A collaborative and flat company culture
• Remote first, with the option to work in-person occasionally
• Fully-paid Group Medical Insurance and Personal Accidental Insurance
• Unlimited paid time off including personal leave, bereavement leave, sick leave
• Fully paid parental leave - 6 months maternity leave and 3 months paternity leave
• Monthly WFH stipend alongside a one time home office set-up budget
• $500 Annual professional development budget 
• Discretionary trips to our offices across the globe, with global travel medical insurance 
• Team meals and social events- Virtual and In-person

Context for the Candidates:

Blockchain engineers are tasked with building secure, scalable, and high-performance decentralized applications. This discussion focuses on how to utilize key technologies—Node.js, Rust, Go, TypeScript, Ethers.js, viem, and Hardhat—in smart contract and blockchain system development, while addressing the practical challenges that arise in such projects.

Key Discussion Points:

• How do you integrate Node.js, Rust, Go, and TypeScript in blockchain-backed applications?

• Discuss the trade-offs between using Rust or Go for performance-critical blockchain services.

• What are the key challenges in ensuring the security and scalability of smart contracts using tools like Ethers.js, viem, and Hardhat?

• How do you approach testing, debugging, and deploying smart contracts in a decentralized environment?

• Share best practices for gas optimization, contract upgradability, and backend scalability.

Evaluation Criteria:

1. Technical Knowledge:

• Strong knowledge of Node.js, Rust, Go, and TypeScript with practical experience in blockchain development.

• Proficiency in Ethers.js, viem, Hardhat, and smart contract lifecycle (development, testing, deployment).

• Understanding of security best practices, performance optimizations, and scalability in decentralized systems.

2. Problem-Solving and Integration Skills:

• How candidates approach integrating smart contract solutions with backend services using Node.js, Rust, Go, and TypeScript.

• Solutions proposed for common challenges in blockchain projects such as gas fees, security vulnerabilities, and system bottlenecks.

3. Experience and Expertise:

• Minimum of 2 years of IT experience, including hands-on development with the specified technologies.

• Practical knowledge of blockchain architecture, consensus mechanisms, and decentralized application deployment.

4. Innovation and Critical Thinking:

• Candidates’ ability to think creatively about system architecture, proposing scalable and secure solutions for blockchain-based applications.

• Discussion on the future potential of blockchain technology and how the tech stack can evolve.

5. Communication and Team Collaboration:

• Clear articulation of technical challenges and how to address them in a team setting.

• Ability to lead or contribute to discussions in a way that encourages collaboration and team-driven problem-solving.

Total Experience:1-2 Years

Job Type: Contract

Notice: Immediate Joiner

• 1-2 years proven track record of development and design work in the IT industry, preferably in a software product based organization
• Java, springboot, and Microservices
• SQL
• Startup product experience – hustled through various tech, products, stacks
• Having strong experience in Data structures and Algorithms.(Must).
• Good to have experience in Complex Problem solving

We are seeking a highly skilled Java Developer to join our team. The ideal candidate should have at least 5 years of experience in Java development and be able to work from the office.

Responsibilities:

• Develop high-quality software design and architecture using Java technology
• Produce clean, efficient, and maintainable code
• Conduct code reviews and testing to identify and fix software defects
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify and solve complex software problems
• Design, develop and maintain software applications using Java technology
• Debug and troubleshoot software defects

Requirements:

• Proven experience as a Java Developer with at least 5+ years of experience
• Knowledge of web frameworks such as Spring, Hibernate, and Struts
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and software development life cycle (SDLC)
• Experience with source code management tools such as Git or SVN
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work independently
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Immediate joiners preferred

If you are a Java Developer with a strong work ethic and a passion for developing high-quality software solutions, we encourage you to apply.

Job Summary :

      As a Software Development Engineer, you will be responsible for end-to-end delivery of software components all the way to production. In this position you will partner with our globally distributed cross-functional teams, product managers and other internal stakeholders. This position requires understanding business & technical requirements, designing clean solutions, implementing them and managing these systems. A key aspect of the role is to understand the digital commerce businesses part of KBX and implement technology systems that favourably align with business initiatives and requirements. The position will be evaluated in terms of the quality of the technology development, ongoing management of the systems and impact on business metrics.

Responsibilities :

• Work closely with cross functional teams to and deliver quality technology solutions
• Operational rigor for a rapidly growing tech stack and live portals
• Regular communication with management on status and risks.
• Measure success metrics and influence evolution of the tech product
• Be resourceful and find creative solutions to complex technical challenges.

Basic Qualifications :

• Ability to understand business requirements and build technology solutions that factor in the business requirements completely
• Possess an extremely sound understanding of basic areas of Computer Science such as Algorithms, Data Structures, Object Oriented, Databases.
• Excellent coding skills 
• Great problem solving skills and propensity to learn and develop tech talent.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science and years of Software Development experience

Preferred Qualifications :

• Understanding on Web programming is must; full stack experience would be a plus.
• Understanding on AWS Cloud Stack (EC2, Lambda, Dynamo DB, Aurora) would be a plus
• Knowledge of serverless development
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.