Software Engineer, Backend Entwicklung, Software-Architekt

At Navan, our mission is to power the in-person connections that move people, ideas, and businesses forward. We help travelers focus on being there, not getting there. Our engineering organization plays a critical role in delivering seamless, reliable, and intelligent experiences across travel and expense management at global scale.

We are looking for a Staff Software Engineer to join our Expense Platform team in Berlin. In this role, you will lead the design and evolution of distributed systems that power the full expense lifecycle — from expense creation and approvals to reimbursements and financial reconciliation. You will partner closely with engineering leaders, product managers, designers, and cross‑functional stakeholders to drive technical strategy, platform scalability, and engineering excellence across the organization.

As a senior technical leader, you will influence architecture decisions, mentor engineers, improve developer productivity, and help shape the future of Navan’s expense platform as we continue to scale globally.

• Architect, build, and scale backend microservices using Java and Spring Boot
• Lead the design of event‑driven systems leveraging Kafka, AWS SQS, and distributed messaging patterns
• Drive technical strategy and long‑term platform architecture decisions
• Design and develop high‑performance REST APIs and integrations with external financial and payment systems
• Own critical expense workflows including reimbursements, cash advances, mileage, per diem, and approvals
• Improve receipt ingestion, OCR processing pipelines, and automation capabilities
• Ensure platform reliability, scalability, observability, and operational excellence
• Champion engineering best practices including testing, CI/CD, code quality, and incident management
• Mentor and guide engineers across teams through technical leadership and design reviews
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with product, operations, and finance teams to deliver impactful solutions
• Identify opportunities to improve engineering velocity, system resilience, and developer experience

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with significant backend and distributed systems expertise
• Strong experience building scalable systems using Java, Spring Boot, and microservices architecture
• Deep understanding of distributed systems, asynchronous processing, and event‑driven architectures
• Strong experience with Kafka, AWS SQS, or similar messaging technologies
• Expertise in relational databases and data modeling (MySQL or PostgreSQL)
• Experience designing and operating cloud‑native applications on AWS
• Proven track record leading large technical initiatives and influencing engineering direction
• Strong understanding of system reliability, observability, performance optimization, and scalability
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and modern software delivery practices
• Ability to mentor engineers and drive technical excellence across teams
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Passion for building platforms that enable speed, innovation, and exceptional customer experiences

Navan offers a comprehensive benefits program designed to support your well‑being, financial security, and life outside of work. Our benefits, thoughtfully tailored by country to meet local needs, include healthcare coverage, insurance offerings, and wellness resources for you and your family. We support long‑term financial growth through retirement savings programs and opportunities to participate in our equity plans, so you can share in Navan’s success.

To promote balance, we offer flexible time off, country‑specific holidays, and paid parental leave for all new parents. Additional benefits include connectivity and commuting support, mental health resources, and exclusive travel‑related perks. Wherever you’re based, our benefits evolve with you.

Navan is an equal opportunity employer. We make all employment decisions based solely on merit. We provide equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees without discrimination on the bases of race,…