Senior Backend Software Engineer

Pitch — Why this role matters

Help transform Spendesk into an AI‑first spend management platform. As part of our new AI/Data squad, you'll design and operate the services that power AI features end‑to‑end — from supplier recommendations to autonomous workflows that reduce manual toil. You'll collaborate closely with ML Engineers, PMs, and Designers, integrating best‑in‑class models via AWS Bedrock and building reliable, scalable APIs and pipelines. This is a greenfield opportunity with real product impact and latitude to shape our architecture around agents, orchestration, and evaluations.

Role Overview

We are looking for a talented Backend Software Engineer to join our AI/Data squad and help shape the future of spend management with AI.

As a Backend Software Engineer, you will take ownership of both functional and technical topics. You will have the opportunity to work across the entire feature lifecycle, including specification, technical design, development, testing, documentation, and maintenance.

Our stack

TypeScript

for backend and banking applications

React on the frontend

Python for building ML models and APIS (FastAPI) to serve predictive models

PostgreSQL for data storage; Redis, SQS, and Kafka for jobs and queues

Terraform to define our infrastructure

Kubernetes, Lambdas, and Step Functions to run our applications

AWS as our cloud provider (including AWS Bedrock for LLM access)

GitHub Actions for CI

Key Responsibilities

Design, build, and operate backend services and APIs that power AI features (performance, reliability, cost efficiency, and security by design).

Integrate LLMs via AWS Bedrock; define robust calling patterns, guardrails, and evaluation loops with ML Engineers.

Build asynchronous pipelines and orchestration for multi‑step workflows (e.g., Step Functions, SQS/Kafka, retries, idempotency).

Define data models, contracts, and interfaces enabling clear collaboration across squads; contribute to platform components reusable by other teams.

Instrument services with metrics, tracing, logs, and evaluations to measure quality (latency, accuracy, cost, user outcomes) and drive iteration.

Contribute to technical vision and deliver complex projects end‑to‑end; propose POCs/experiments and iterate quickly based on signal.

Improve engineering processes, tools, and systems to enhance productivity and scalability; champion "you build it, you run it".

Mentor and inspire fellow engineers; share best practices in reliability, performance, and secure coding.

How we work (AI/Data squad)

AI‑first, product‑led: prototype fast, test with real users, iterate based on data.

You build it, you run it: squads own deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvements.

Collaboration by default: work hand‑in‑hand with PM, Design, and ML Engineering; align on outcomes, not just outputs.

Pragmatic engineering: make clear trade‑offs; optimize for impact over theoretical perfection.

What we're looking for

Fluency in written and spoken English (our business language)

2+ years of experience in software development (5+ years for Senior Engineer positions)

Strong AI mindset

Proven track record of delivering high‑quality, scalable AI products

Ability to translate business and product concepts into technical solutions

Enthusiasm for working in a fast‑paced environment, with a focus on continuous growth and craft mastery

Strong customer‑centric mindset

Alignment with Spendesk's core values of empowering businesses to achieve more

Nice‑to‑haves (not required)

Experience integrating LLMs (Bedrock/OpenAI/Anthropic), prompt orchestration, guardrails, and evaluation frameworks.

Strong background in event‑driven architectures (Kafka/SQS), workflow engines (Step Functions), and resilient async processing.

Observability expertise (metrics/tracing/logging), SLOs/error budgets, and performance tuning at scale.

Security, compliance, and data privacy best practices in finance or SaaS contexts.

Working knowledge of React/Frontend to collaborate effectively across the stack.

Example projects you might work on

Accounting Assistant: Helps accountants collect receipts and context from end users

Budget Forecaster: Predicts budget needs based on historical data and business plans

Spend Data Agent: Provides budget owners with insights on budget performance and trends

Location and ways of working

We value regular in‑person collaboration. We're primarily hiring in Paris or London (flexible hybrid). Outstanding remote candidates may be considered; this is not a remote‑first role.

Hiring process

HR Screening call

Discussion with a Hiring Manager (Head of Engineering)

Technical interview: live coding (and/or technical design depending on seniority)

Final interview with leadership

As we are an international team, please submit your application and CV in English.

About Spendesk

Spendesk is the AI-powered spend management and procurement platform that transforms company spending. By simplifying procurement, payment cards, expense management, invoice processing, and accounting automation, Spendesk sets the new standard for spending at work. Its single, intelligent solution makes efficient spending easy for employees and gives finance leaders the full visibility and control they need across all company spend, even in multi-entity structures. Trusted by thousands of companies, Spendesk supports over 200,000 users across brands such as SoundCloud, Gousto, SumUp, and Bloom & Wild. With offices in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany, Spendesk also puts community at the heart of its mission. For more information:

About our people & culture

We believe that people do their best work when they're given the freedom to thrive and grow. That's why liberation is at the core of everything we do. We empower Spendeskers to take ownership of their work, to navigate ambiguity, and seize every opportunity. Spendeskers come from all over the world (35+ countries and counting) but we have plenty in common: we're bold, ever-curious, committed to kindness, and tackle every challenge with a positive mindset.

About our benefits

Our culture is built on trust, empowerment, and growth — with benefits to match

Flexible on-site and remote policy

Lunch 60% funded by Spendesk (Swile Card)

Alan Premium health insurance

A Gymlib pass to let off steam after a productive day at work

Access to for emotional and mental health wellbeing

Access to Vendredi allowing us to change the world

Latest Apple equipment

Great office snacks to fuel your day

A positive team to work with daily

Diversity & Inclusion

At Spendesk, we're committed to fostering an environment where all differences are encouraged, supported and celebrated. We're building our culture for everyone, with everyone. Our goal is to attract and build a diverse, equal and inclusive team, where everyone feels welcome and we truly embrace and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

What success looks like in your first 90 days

You've shipped a production backend service that powers an AI feature, with clear SLOs and observability in place.

You've integrated models via AWS Bedrock with appropriate guardrails and evaluation metrics, iterating based on real usage.

You've improved a platform capability (e.g., orchestration pattern, cost/perf optimization, or data contract) used by multiple squads.

You've delivered a POC or experiment that informed the roadmap and accelerated learning.