Staff Engineer at Solance in Portugal

Staff Engineer

Solance is redefining financial services for the B2B market, with a dedicated focus on complex corporates and high service-level banking sectors often underserved by traditional banks. We are currently in the process of obtaining an EMI (Electronic Money Institution) authorisation in Ireland, with a long-term vision to evolve into a fully licensed bank. Our mission is to combine the technological advantages of a neobank with the personalised, high-touch service of a private bank, delivering exceptional support tailored to the specific needs of our clients.

About this role
This is a career-defining opportunity to join Solance as a founding engineer in a brand-new Dublin-based tech team. You’ll report directly to the CTO and lead the design and development of a greenfield, full-suite Banking Service—built entirely in the cloud using a modern Java-based, automated tech stack.

Why this role matters
This is more than just building software – we're rethinking how banking is delivered. You’ll play a key role in shaping a resilient, scalable, and secure platform that raises the bar for customer experience in financial services. Your work will directly with the CTO & Principal Engineer to influence the architecture, engineering culture and long-term technology vision of the company.

What’s exciting about this role

• Greenfield + Cloud-native – zero legacy systems, full freedom to build the right architecture from early stages using AWS best practices.

• Java at the core – get deep into hands-on development with Java and modern frameworks. Build a robust SRE and automation environment to support this.

• Real ownership – influence high-impact decisions and own the results. from system design to automated infrastructure to UX to security, compliance and beyond.

• Part of the initial Engineering team – help create a modern engineering culture grounded in business curiosity, technical excellence, mentorship and automate-first thinking.

• End-to-end scope – work across API development, zero-downtime deployments, SRE & test automation and whatever else comes your way. You will have direct access to a growing team of technical and business leaders up to and including the CEO who is our founder and product evangelist.

We are business-curious people who love what we work at. We are committed to scalable solutions and solving tough problems. We value action over analysis and respect for people is key to our success. We are working together to build something meaningful for banking customers, from the ground up.

Your Responsibilities

As the Staff Engineer, your role will encompass the following:

• Architecture design: contribute to the creation and evolution of the architecture of our tech solutions, ensuring scalability, resilience, security, and performance.

• Team mentorship: Coach engineering teams, providing guidance on best practices in software development and engineering processes.

• Code Development: Engage in hands-on coding and actively contribute to the development of core features and functionality.

• Collaboration across the business: Work closely with business SMEs, a Product Designers and other business stakeholders to ensure alignment of technology with the business objectives.

• Quality Assurance: Support and contribute to a robust testing practice and ensure adherence to coding standards throughout the development lifecycle.

• Technology Research: Stay ahead of the curve by researching new technologies and recommending solutions that can enhance our offerings.

• Compliance and Security: Work with compliance and risk team members to implement security measures that safeguard sensitive financial data.

Requirements

Requirements:

• 10+ years deep experience in agile software design, development for AWS Cloud

• Ideally 5+ years’ experience in some or all of: Banking, payments processing, KYC, AML, Customer onboarding, UX, Data analytics
• Expertise in multiple programming languages and frameworks; proficiency in Python, Java and React / Native is a significant plus.

• Extensive experience in deployment, release, testing, observability and alerting principles and standards.

• A proven track record in prioritising automation for velocity and quality as an investment in the business.

• Extensive experience in creating and improving standards and mentoring of Software engineers in design, implementation, testing, automation, code quality and cyber security.

• Extensive experience in leading engineering initiatives working closely with the Business team members.

• Significant experience in converting business requirements into tech requirements with close business collaboration.

• Extensive experience in developing API frameworks, zero downtime release, seamless rollback, versioning & backwards compatibility.

• Strong experience in assessing and implementing improved development tooling and practices.

Why Join Us?

• To become part of a startup with a bold vision to redefine the financial services landscape in Europe.

• A rare opportunity to make a significant impact from day one in a greenfield EMI.

• To collaborate with a passionate, driven team that values innovation and customer-centricity.

• To help build a culture and workplace you’re proud to call your own.

Let’s build the future of banking together!