Staff Engineer

Who you are

• Backend and distributed systems expertise: A strong track record architecting and delivering complex backend systems in production, ideally at large scale
• Correctness-critical experience: Demonstrated experience designing reliable services with high correctness requirements, where accuracy is non-negotiable
• Strong programming foundations: Deep experience in languages such as Kotlin, Java, or similar
• Architectural judgement with a bias for simplicity: Strong instincts for choosing the most reliable and efficient solution rather than the most elaborate one
• Hands-on delivery: Comfort staying close to the code and contributing significant production work while also setting direction for others
• Cross-team technical leadership: Demonstrated ability to anchor long-running initiatives spanning multiple teams, from direction-setting through to a shipped, dependable result
• Coaching and influence: A history of raising standards and supporting the growth of the engineers around you
• Regulated-domain experience: Background in fintech, payroll, or other regulated, financially sensitive domains
• Compliance-critical systems: Familiarity with systems where accuracy and compliance are critical

What the job involves

• This role requires 2 days per week in the office and is based in Munich or London
• At Personio, we're on a mission to help millions of people have a better work life
• Our People Operating System empowers organisations across Europe to manage HR, payroll, and employee experience in one place
• As a Staff Engineer, you will set the technical direction for the Payroll Foundations team, the group responsible for the core systems that power Personio Payroll
• These systems ensure employees are paid accurately, payroll processes run reliably, and critical outputs such as payslips and reporting documents are generated at the right time
• This is a hands-on technical leadership role for an engineer who can anchor complex, long-running initiatives across the payroll backend, solve the hardest problems around correctness, reliability, and performance at scale, and raise the bar for everyone around them
• Your decisions will directly affect thousands of employees being paid correctly every month
• Set technical direction: Define the architecture and patterns for the backend systems that power payroll processing pipelines, calculations, and workflows, setting standards that other teams adopt
• Solve the hardest problems simply: Find the simplest robust solution to complex challenges around correctness, reliability, and performance, writing meaningful amounts of production code yourself where it matters most
• Drive complex initiatives end to end: Lead long-running technical efforts that span team boundaries within the payroll domain, taking accountability for delivery and quality the whole way through
• Keep money-critical systems trustworthy: Ensure payroll data is processed accurately and reliably across the platform, and that payslips and reporting outputs are generated dependably, treating correctness as the bar rather than a feature
• Raise operational excellence: Set the standard for the reliability, performance, and maintainability of payroll backend services, keeping critical workloads dependable at scale
• Collaborate across boundaries: Partner with product managers and engineers across payroll teams to deliver coherent, well-integrated systems rather than disconnected parts
• Coach and elevate engineers: Mentor senior engineers through design feedback, pairing on hard problems, and the example you set, raising the technical bar across the domain

Benefits

• Receive a competitive reward package – reevaluated each year – that includes salary, benefits, and pre-IPO equity
• Enjoy 28 days of paid vacation, plus an additional day after 2 and 4 years (because we love what we do, but we also love vacation!)
• Make an impact on the environment and society with Impact Days
• Receive generous family leave, child support, mental health support, and sabbatical opportunities with PersonioCares
• Connect with your fellow Personios at regular company and team events like All Company Culture Week and local year-end celebrations
• Engage in a high-impact working environment with flat hierarchies and short decision-making processes
• Find your best way to work with our office-led, and remote-friendly PersonioFlex!