At a Glance
- Tasks: Join us to build a groundbreaking fintech solution and scale our core banking engine.
- Company: Be part of an innovative startup with a proven founding team in fintech.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, meaningful equity, and the chance to shape your own team.
- Other info: Fast interview process and full ownership of your projects.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the fintech space and see your code drive millions in payments.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in backend engineering, strong Elixir experience, and fintech knowledge.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
Important: if you are a talented experienced Team Lead, please apply, we are open to grow together.
Salary range: Competitive salary + meaningful equity (funded late seed, preparing for launch in Q1 2026).
Qualifications or experience required: 5+ years of working full-time as a software engineer (exceptions can be made for the right candidate).
Remote job: Yes. Remote restrictions: Europe (GMT +/– 2h). Remote work or relocation as an employee to France/UK.
The Opportunity: Join the founding engineering team building an innovative solution Empay for embedded finance market (B2B2C) across the UK & EU with further expansion to other regions. The market is just opening up – perfect timing to build something new & massive. If you’ve ever wanted to see your code become the core of a real fintech infrastructure – this is it. This is a true 0→1 opportunity: no endless meetings — just a clear mission, a strong founding team, and full ownership.
The Founders: Built by proven entrepreneurs: Experienced team in fintech & banking (PWC, Solaris, SumUp, Visa, Sap) with successful exits. Together, we bring deep expertise in building and scaling billion-dollar fintech & banking companies.
The Role: We need a brilliant backend engineer to scale & build our core banking engine and payment infrastructure.
You’ll Own:
- Creating payment integrations with UK & EU leading payment providers & Visa/Mastercard.
- Designing and developing high-performance APIs for efficient request and data handling.
- Building the data pipeline that turns financial data into instant compliance checks.
- Maintain and scale Card issuing and loyalty platform.
- Develop Payments functionality including routing, payment initiation and account management on Card issuing and loyalty platform.
- Strong technical ownership for your tasks across all stages: understanding subject domain and requirements, solution design and architecture, integrations with internal and external services, software reliability and performance, testing, rollout and maintenance.
- End-to-end software life cycle contribution including CI/CD, monitoring and alerts, production support of the solution.
- Maintain strong collaboration with front-end development teams, Product and UX teams, and neighboring backends peers.
Technical Challenges:
- Build for 100,000+ monthly transactions from day one.
- Create a system that scales across multiple countries and currencies.
- Design infrastructure that handles sensitive financial data securely.
What We’re Looking For:
Must-Haves:
- Minimum 5–6 years building fintech/lending/banking backends (more experience is awesome!).
- Strong Elixir experience with production systems at scale.
- Experience with UK/European open banking platforms / APIs (Salt Edge, Nordigen/GoCardless, Tink).
- Built high-throughput transaction processing systems.
- Experience with PostgreSQL and data pipeline architecture.
- Understanding of financial systems and risk decisioning.
Huge Plus:
- Worked at companies like Revolut, Wise, Monzo, Curve, or any BNPL/lending fintech.
- Built consumer products that scaled to 100k+ users.
- Experience with UK & EU payment systems.
- Former founding engineer who’s seen 0→1 journey.
What You Get:
- Own the core product – your code will process millions in payments monthly.
- Founding engineer equity – real ownership in a rocket ship, not 0.01% options.
- Direct line to founders – your ideas ship to production in days, not months.
- Build your own empire – hire and lead the entire backend team as we scale.
- Work with the best team of fintech & big marketing experts.
- Massive social impact & new fintech category.
- Shape the technical culture – define how we build, not follow someone else’s playbook.
Tech Stack:
- Backend: Elixir (modular monolith), PostgreSQL, Docker, Kubernetes.
- Infra & Monitoring: Grafana, Loki, Tempo, Prometheus.
- Cloud: DigitalOcean (potential transitioning to AWS).
- Frontend: React / TypeScript / Next.js.
- Mobile: Flutter.
Now backend is built on Elixir, but as a Founding Engineer you’ll have the autonomy to evolve the stack – if a certain microservice calls for Go or Python, that’s on the table. Additional tech stack: React/TS/Next (Frontend); Flutter (Mobile).
Interview Process: Fast and transparent (total time: 1 week max): 30-min chat with founders (background + values & culture fit), Technical interview + short live coding, Paid technical task (real problem we’re solving), Final decision within 48 hours.
Founding Elixir Engineer – Building Innovative Fintech employer: Empay
Join a pioneering fintech startup as a Founding Elixir Engineer, where you'll have the unique opportunity to shape the future of embedded finance across the UK and EU. With a competitive salary, meaningful equity, and a culture that prioritises innovation and collaboration, you will work alongside seasoned entrepreneurs in a fast-paced environment that values your ideas and contributions. This remote role offers the flexibility to work from anywhere within Europe, while also providing the chance to build a team and lead the backend development as we scale our impactful solutions.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Founding Elixir Engineer – Building Innovative Fintech
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Empay or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Empay.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Empay.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Empay that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Founding Elixir Engineer – Building Innovative Fintech
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Empay.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Empay and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Empay
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Empay uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
