Staff Engineer

About GotPhoto/fotograf.de Our mission is to digitalize the people photography industry. GotPhoto.com | fotograf.de is dedicated to making photographers’ lives easier and more efficient. We provide an end-to-end workflow and e-commerce solution enabling photographers to digitalize key parts of their workflow - from photo management to payment, combined with a user-friendly platform. Making them more successful and spending more time behind the lens! Since 2012, our journey has been filled with an entrepreneurial spirit, witnessing countless success stories that prove our sustainable business model works and is profitable. We’re building a tight-knit ecosystem where everyone can thrive – including you! Join our team of 170+ talented individuals and be part of our journey to empower photographers like never before! The Role Your mission We’re seeking a Staff Engineer to lead the architecture, scalability, and reliability of our Payments infrastructure. Reporting directly to the CTO, you will guide our transition from custom in-house accounting systems to scalable, enterprise-grade managed services (e.g., NetSuite, Workday, Sage Intacct). You’ll drive high-impact initiatives across engineering, finance, and operations—combining technical leadership with hands-on execution. This role requires a deep understanding of payment (or accounting) systems, modern engineering practices, and strong strategic thinking. You’ll reduce system complexity, mentor engineers, and influence critical platform decisions, all while championing performance, compliance, and innovation—particularly through AI tools and automation. Key Responsibilities System Migration & Architecture Lead the migration from custom accounting systems to enterprise-grade managed services. Design and implement integrations between payment processors and accounting platforms to overcome current limitations (e.g., sub-$1 transaction issues). Help drive vendor selection and long-term platform strategy across cross-functional teams. Leverage AI tools for migration planning, problem-solving, and optimization. Engineering Leadership Act as a hands-on technical contributor on high-impact projects. Maintain and enhance the performance, scalability, and security of financial systems. Reduce technical complexity and improve development workflows. Proactively identify and resolve engineering bottlenecks. DevOps & Operational Excellence Champion a DevOps culture of end-to-end ownership. Ensure high availability and reliability through observability and monitoring best practices. Lead incident response (24/7 SEV1 rotation), postmortems, and system resilience initiatives. Automate operations and deployment processes to reduce manual effort. Mentorship & Collaboration Mentor and coach engineers across teams. Facilitate technical discussions to build alignment and support sound decision-making. Influence product and platform roadmaps in partnership with leadership. Lead cross-functional initiatives to ensure system consistency and compliance. Required Qualifications 8+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years in financial systems architecture. Led at least 2 major system migrations, ideally involving ERP or accounting platforms. Proven experience with managed service platforms and SaaS integrations. Skilled in API design, data migration, and high-availability systems. Demonstrated use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot) for engineering productivity. Experience influencing technical strategy across functions at the staff level. Preferred Qualifications Experience with payment gateways and PCI compliance. Familiarity with vendor evaluation, SLA negotiation, and mission-critical financial systems. Exposure to AI/ML for automated testing, data validation, and system monitoring. Knowledge of financial reporting automation and audit readiness during system transitions. What You’ll Achieve Remove limitations in payment processing through strategic migration. Build a robust, scalable financial infrastructure to support business growth. Establish sustainable, documented systems with a long-term technical roadmap. Enable operational excellence across engineering and finance functions. The Perks We work in a flexible hybrid model at GotPhoto, leveraging the best of both worlds, with our office at Hausvogteiplatz serving as our central hub for collaboration in Berlin Education budget , that allows you to grow professionally and explore new ideas Unlimited holidays (26 days is the minimum) Workation in a different country for up to 2 months per year Want to learn another language ? You get access to Lingoda. Flexible Employee Benefits through Probonio: Your monthly budget allows you to choose the benefit that best suits your needs, including popular options like the Urban Sports Club Membership. #LI-Hybrid A Final Word: Research shows that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds may refrain from applying for positions if they feel they don't meet all qualifications. We strongly encourage you to apply if you’re interested: we're excited to discover how your distinctive experience can enhance our team! We work as one team. Wherever you come from. However, you identify. We believe in equal opportunities. We welcome applications from all members of society irrespective of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion, or belief. We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills, and personality. We believe that employing a diverse workforce is the right thing to do and is central to our success.