A Team on a Mission: Inside the Engineering Culture of Affirm 

“Buy now, pay later.”

It’s a familiar phrase these days: Most have seen it when checking out at their favorite stores. But not all Buy Now, Pay Later players are created equal. 

Take Affirm. This remote-first company was built on a mission: to create honest financial products that improve lives. “We care deeply about the well-being of consumers,” notes Geddes Munson, SVP of Engineering at Affirm. “We only extend credit we believe can be responsibly repaid and don’t make money when consumers make mistakes.” 

This commitment to their mission underpins everything Affirm does: They don’t charge late or hidden fees, and they underwrite every transaction to evaluate whether a consumer can responsibly pay back the loan—without overextending themselves. 

“Too many people were treated poorly by existing financial products,” Munson continues. “That’s the whole reason why Affirm was founded.” 

Poor treatment by the financial system is far from uncommon—especially when you consider the huge amounts of compound interest Americans pay every month. According to a November 2024 report by Bankrate, nearly half of credit card holders carry credit card debt from month to month. And that can translate to an avalanche of snowballing interest that’s hard to get out from under. 

Fintech services like Affirm offer a welcome alternative for those consumers—and many others who, for a multitude of reasons, can’t or don’t want to limit their spending to cash or credit cards. And it differs from other forms of credit (and its Buy Now, Pay Later competitors) with its unmatched flexibility. Consumers can choose from customized payment plans—like paying in 30 days or up to 5 years—on cart sizes from $35 all the way up to $30,000. 

A Simple Mission with Complex Technical Implementation 

This consumer-centricity informs everything Affirm’s engineering team does. And while Munson describes Affirm’s commitment to putting consumers first as “simple,” what makes that mission come to life is a technical Gordian knot—one that requires an engineering team of passionate people who are empowered by the impact of their work. 

For Munson and his team, that means leaning in to their unique engineering culture—one that’s built on learning, iteration and constant improvement—to create the best user experience possible. And while this ultimately offers a better product for consumers, he notes that “because we don’t charge late fees, we have to work harder than our competitors.” 

Never charging late or hidden fees is a stance that is unique to Affirm, and comes down to their proprietary technology. Each and every consumer transaction is underwritten using tech and data they’ve honed over the past decade. (By contrast, some other players in the Buy Now, Pay Later space don’t underwrite their transactions at all—approving even if it’s unknown whether the consumer can responsibly repay them.) And Affirm’s technology means they can give consumers more than just a simple yes or no—offering options like shorter terms or a down payment requirement. 

This flexibility in service of consumers, paired with a unique engineering culture built on a foundation of action, collaboration and high-quality work, are what Munson believes makes the hard work worthwhile. 

“We understand that our actions have a direct impact on our business,” he notes, pointing to the $33.5 billion in gross merchandise volume processed by Affirm during the last twelve months, ending March 31. “And most importantly, we have a direct impact on our consumers and merchant partners.” 

What Makes a Successful Engineer at Affirm

Engineers who find success at Affirm have some key things in common. 

The first is a deep understanding of the mission—and how they each play a part. “You have to understand our business and the role our product plays in people’s lives,” notes Munson. “Affirm is growing every day, and over 20 million consumers rely on us.” Understanding this value proposition helps engineers understand what’s at stake for their work: any disruption—like confusion in the code or hiccups in service—can significantly impact consumers and Affirm’s merchant partners. 

Successful engineers at Affirm also share an ability to navigate complexity—and have the humility to know they can’t be an expert in everything. 

This is key given the varied and complex components of Affirm’s business. With a foothold in the US and Canada, plus a recent launch in the UK, the company partners with thousands of businesses and has served over 50 million consumers. Plus, they have multiple experiences serving as touchpoints for both of those audiences—including at merchant checkout, in the Affirm app or with the Affirm Card™. All this while remaining fully compliant with data privacy regulations and other laws and standards. 

This complexity is why Munson notes no one can be expected to be an expert in everything—teamwork is key. 

“We believe that the best results come from collaboration, and we make it a point to build strong relationships across the company,” he says. “We understand that every individual brings unique skills and perspectives to the table, and we value the diversity of ideas that comes from working together. People who succeed here know how to reach across the aisle and work together seamlessly.” 

“We understand that every individual brings unique skills and perspectives to
the table, and we value the diversity of ideas that comes from working
together.” 

Finally, successful engineers at Affirm are excited by a culture fueled by learning, reflection, innovation and constant improvement—without blame. 

“We take pride in the craft of writing, testing and deploying high-quality software,” says Munson. “We act as owners of Affirm, supporting each other in resolving issues and learning along the way. We’re very serious about our work and taking ownership of our decisions,” he continues. “When problems arise, we focus on finding solutions.” 

This culture of collaboration-based action, coupled with passion for the Affirm mission, is hugely motivating for the engineering team. For Munson, the high technical standards and urgency required to uphold the company’s principles is worth it when he sees the impact they have on people’s lives. 

“Affirm’s ubiquity means consumers expect us to be available when they need us,” he says. “This means an extremely high bar for the availability and uptime of our systems. We can only achieve this through deep collaboration and class-leading technical design.” 

The Affirm engineering team pushes one another to new technical levels that are career-trophy worthy, Munson also notes. “Many of our problems will be the most challenging of your career. This means there’s also a lot of reward in solving those problems.”