Senior Software Engineer
Nelo
Software Engineering
New York, NY, USA
USD 165k-210k / year + Equity
Location
NYC
Employment Type
Full time
Location Type
On-site
Department
Engineering
Compensation
- $165K – $210K • Offers Equity • Offers Bonus
New York City, onsite
About Nelo
Nelo is building the credit layer that expands consumer buying power in Mexico.
Today, Nelo serves customers through credit cards, BNPL loans, bill payments, and its own marketplace. The business has grown to more than $80M USD in annual revenue, has raised more than $140M in equity and debt, and is operating with real scale and momentum.
Our team is lean, technical, and highly driven, with leaders and alumni from companies like Uber, Amazon, Rappi, and DiDi. We move fast, stay close to the numbers, and care a lot about quality. Nelo operates across Mexico City and New York City.
Why this role is different
A lot of senior engineering roles sound good on paper and end up being narrower than they look. This one is not.
You would be joining at a point where the systems are getting more important, the technical decisions matter more, and the business is already real. The work is not theoretical. The scale is not hypothetical. The problems are live.
This is a role for someone who wants to stay hands-on, work with strong people in the room, and help shape the technical foundation of a company that is growing quickly.
You will be close to the code, close to the architecture, and close to real product and business decisions.
What you’ll do
Build and improve backend systems that support core product experiences across credit, transactions, and marketplace infrastructure
Design for scale, reliability, performance, and data integrity as the business continues to grow
Help evolve a complex backend environment with sound judgment around architecture, service boundaries, and long-term maintainability
Raise the bar through strong implementation, thoughtful code review, and technical judgment that makes the team better
Partner closely with product, data, and engineering peers on high-impact technical and business problems
Use modern AI tools and workflows to move faster, think better, and increase engineering leverage
Who you are
You have strong backend fundamentals and real production experience. You’ve worked in systems where reliability and scale matter, and you know how to make good decisions in codebases with real constraints.
You probably have 5+ years of backend engineering experience, strong distributed systems instincts, and solid judgment around performance, maintainability, and long-term technical quality.
You are comfortable with Kotlin and Spring, or can ramp quickly from a similar backend stack. You likely also have experience with AWS and Terraform.
You think beyond the ticket. You care about how the whole system works, not just the piece directly in front of you.
You have high ownership. You can operate without a lot of hand-holding, and you’re comfortable speaking up when something feels off.
Strong pluses
Experience in fintech, payments, credit, marketplace, or other high-reliability environments
Experience at a fast-moving startup or growth-stage company
Experience with monolith-to-service evolution or other architecture transition work
Experience leading technically through design, implementation, and code review
Strong product instincts
Spanish fluency
Location
This role is based in our New York City office. The expectation is four days per week in the office and one flex remote day per week.
We are not considering fully remote candidates for this position.
Compensation and benefits
Base salary: $165,000–$210,000 USD
Equity
Annual performance-based bonus
Equity refresher opportunities
100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees
50% coverage for dependents
Unlimited PTO
401(k)
Extended parental leave
Compensation Range: $165K - $210K