Tech Lead Backend Engineer

Ready to accelerate your career?

Clara is the fastest-growing company in Latin America. We've built the leading solution for companies to make and manage all their payments. We already help over 20,000 large and growing businesses operate with agility and financial clarity through locally issued corporate cards, bill pay, financing, and a powerful B2B platform built for scale.

Clara is backed by some of the most successful investors in the world, including top regional VCs like monashees, Kaszek, and Canary, and leading global funds like Notable Capital, Coatue, DST Global Partners, ICONIQ Growth, General Catalyst, Citi Ventures, SV Angel, Citius, Endeavor Catalyst, and Goldman Sachs - in addition to dozens of angel investors and local family offices.

We're building the financial infrastructure that powers high-performing organizations across the region. We invite you to join us if you want to be part of a fast-paced environment that will accelerate your career and support you to do some of the best work of your life alongside a passionate and committed team distributed across the Americas.

What you'll do

We're looking for a Tech Lead Backend Developer to lead the evolution of Clara's backend systems and help scale our platform across Latin America. You will combine hands-on development with technical leadership to shape the engineering culture and systems behind Clara's financial products.

In this role, you will:

• Guide architecture and design decisions for scalable, secure, and reliable backend services
• Write high-quality, maintainable code and set best practices for the engineering team
• Mentor and support the professional growth of mid- and senior-level engineers
• Collaborate closely with Product, Design, and Data to define and deliver end-to-end solutions
• Lead technical planning, code reviews, and project prioritization with a focus on long-term impact
• Champion engineering excellence and foster a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, and knowledge sharing
• Identify and reduce tech debt to improve system performance and team productivity
• Drive adoption of tools and practices that support speed and quality (e.g., CI/CD, Github, observability)
• Stay close to the product to deeply understand customer needs and ensure backend systems meet business goals

Who you are

We're looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements to be considered for the role. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.

Must haves

• 7+ years of backend software development experience, including 1–2 years in a tech lead or staff-level role
• Strong software architecture and system design expertise
• Proven ability to lead through influence, not hierarchy
• Strong proficiency in one or more backend languages (preferably Java) with deep understanding of modern frameworks and development patterns.
• Experience mentoring engineers and elevating team performance
• Solid understanding of distributed systems and data modeling
• Working proficiency in English and Portuguese
• Experience or interest in AI tools to automate workflows
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate cross-functionally

Nice to haves

• Experience with AWS, Metabase, or Databricks
• Exposure to SQL or Python for backend or data use cases
• Experience in fintech, payments, or credit infrastructure
• Basic proficiency in Spanish or a desire to learn it
• A good sense of humor

Why join Clara

At Clara, you'll have the autonomy, speed, and support to make meaningful impact — not just on your team, but on how organizations are run across Latin America.

Who we are

• We're the leading B2B fintech for spend management in Latin America.
• Certified as one of the world's fastest-growing companies, a Great Place to Work, and a LinkedIn Top Startup.
• Passionate about making Latin America more prosperous and competitive.
• Constantly innovating to build financial infrastructure that enables each of our customers to thrive.
• Product-led, high-talent-density culture — designed for builders who raise the bar.
• Proud of our open, inclusive, and values-driven environment.

What we believe in

• #Clarity. We say things clearly, directly, and proactively.
• #Simplicity. We reduce noise to focus on what really matters.
• #Ownership. We take responsibility and never wait to be told.
• #Pride. We build products and experiences we're proud of.
• #Always Be Changing (ABC). We grow through feedback, risk-taking, and action.
• #Inclusivity. Every voice counts. Everyone contributes to our mission.

What we offer

• Competitive salary and stock options (ESOP) from day one
• Multicultural team with daily exposure to Portuguese, Spanish, and English (our corporate language)
• Annual learning budget and internal accelerated development paths
• High-ownership environment: we move fast, learn fast, and raise the bar — together
• Smart, ambitious teammates — low ego, high impact
• Flexible vacation and hybrid work model focused on results

If you're ready for growth, ownership, and impact — apply now and help us redefine B2B finance in Latin America.

Clara's Hybrid Policy

Claridians in a hybrid mode split their time between working from the office, talking to or visiting customers, or working from home. This hits a balance between bringing people together for in-person collaboration and learning from each other, while supporting flexibility about how to do this in a way that makes sense for each individual and team.

We don't enforce a minimum number of days for most roles, but you're expected to spend time at the office organically, and be at the office most days during your ramp-up or when required by your leader.

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