Wise
Fintech
BackendEngineer
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for mid candidates.
“Backend Engineer at Wise. Skills: Java, Kotlin, Spring framework, Kafka, Real-Time Decision Making, Distributed Systems. Run risk assessments instantly. Own the risk infrastructure for Instant ACH”
What You'll Achieve.
Impact on Financial Crime; Scaling for the Future; Operational Excellence
Industry & Context.
Fix pain points (like false positives)
Occasional travel to the US
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
4+ years of experience with Java, Kotlin, or other JVM-based languages, deep knowledge of the Spring framework, Obsession with Latency: You can design technical solutions that optimize for both throughput and speed, understand what it takes to keep p99 end-to-end latency under 1 second for real-time risk & fraud checks, even when handling billions of transaction volumes, Deep understanding of JDBC, database internals, and query optimization, hands-on experience with Kafka, Kafka Streams, or Apache Flink to handle real-time event processing, Experience with CI/CD pipelines, designing scalable, resilient distributed systems, Product & User Focus: You prioritize work with the customer in mind, using data to fix pain points (like false positives), understand that risk checks happen every time a user touches the calculator, and you care about that UX, Ownership: You take end-to-end ownership of your projects, from the initial idea to monitoring it in production, Communication: You can articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences, Cross-Functional collaboration experience: You are comfortable working daily with Data Scientists to put models into production and with Data Analysts to refine rule sets
Nice to Have
familiarity with machine learning basics: data pipelines, feature engineering, precision/recall, Experience with OLAP databases or data lakes (like Apache Iceberg) with Kafka ingestion is an advantage
What You'll Do.
Run risk assessments instantly
Own the risk infrastructure for Instant ACH
Provide critical support to chargeback and fraud investigation teams
Expand scope to handle comprehensive risk types in the US and Canada
Optimize for throughput and speed
Keep p99 end-to-end latency under 1 second
Handle real-time event processing
resilient distributed systems
Prioritize work with the customer in mind
Fix pain points (like false positives)
Take end-to-end ownership of projects
Monitor systems in production
Articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences
Work daily with Data Scientists to put models into production
Work daily with Data Analysts to refine rule sets
Raise the automation level of our platform
Prepare systems to handle new risk types
Ensure real-time monitoring systems are robust and reliable
Build relationships with the wider engineering tribe and US stakeholders
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Cross-Functional Collaboration; Collaborate with Data Analysts and Data Scientists; Work closely with US-based colleagues; Foster in-person collaboration; Build relationships with the wider engineering tribe and US stakeholders
Communication Scope
Articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences
Process & Methodology
End-to-end ownership of projects
Full Job Description
Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money. Min fees. Max ease. Full speed. Whether people and businesses are sending money to another country, spending abroad, or making and receiving international payments, Wise is on a mission to make their lives easier and save them money. As part of our team, you will be helping us create an entirely new network for the world's money. For everyone, everywhere. More about [our mission](https://wise.jobs/our-mission) and [what we offer](https://wise.jobs/what-we-offer). The team you will be working with: North America Risk The North America Risk team is a critical engine within Wise, focusing on our largest and most dynamic market: North America. About the Team Our mission is to protect our customers and the business by staying ahead of financial crime. We handle billions of volume through robust risk and fraud prevention systems that operate at the speed of our customers. What we do * Real-Time Decision Making: We leverage cutting-edge machine learning to run risk assessments instantly, every time a customer uses the calculator (create a quote for a transaction), ensuring a seamless yet secure experience * Enabling Unique Features: We own the risk infrastructure for Instant ACH, one of our most unique and high-value features in the US market. Instant ACH provides instant transfers despite the payment network not supporting that * Cross-Functional Collaboration: Software Engineers, Data Analysts, and Data Scientists collaborate on a daily basis to design new rules, refine ML models, and provide critical support to our chargeback and fraud investigation teams * Future-Proofing: While focused on fraud today, we are expanding our scope to handle comprehensive risk types in the US and Canada, including Sanctions and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) How we work The team is distributed across Budapest and Austin. We work closely with our US-based colleagues to understand the North America
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