Senior Backend Engineer - Identity Lifecycle
Estimated salary
β¬5,342 β β¬7,845per month
Auto-estimated from similar roles, location, experience & market data. Actual pay may vary.
Description
SumUp is hiring a Senior Backend Engineer for one of the teams in its Identity Lifecycle Mission, which owns the building blocks behind the merchant journey: onboarding, identity verification, KYC/KYB, regulatory data collection and customer identity management. These capabilities currently sit across legacy services and tightly coupled integrations, and the team is consolidating them into a coherent, scalable platform with shared data models and clear ownership boundaries. You will design, build and operate backend services, APIs and event-driven workflows, working primarily in Go while modernising existing Java services. The role includes driving reliability and observability of business-critical systems and owning work end-to-end from design to production follow-up. You will collaborate closely with Product, Design, Compliance, Risk and Operations from SumUp's Berlin office.
Requirements
- Strong professional experience building and operating production backend systems with high business impact.
- Experience working with Go and Java, and confidence in maintaining and evolving existing Java services.
- Strong knowledge of API design, distributed systems, asynchronous processing, data modelling, testing and system design.
- Experience with event streaming platforms such as Kafka and modern observability tools such as Grafana or Honeycomb.
- Experience deploying and operating services in cloud environments such as AWS, ideally with Docker and Kubernetes.
- A strong ownership mindset with the ability to take complex problems from definition through to production.
- Experience improving the reliability of business-critical systems and turning recurring incidents into lasting engineering improvements.
- Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to working across Engineering, Product, Compliance, Risk and Operations.
Experience Level
InternEntry LevelMid-levelSeniorLeadExecutive
Benefits
Work on large-scale fintech products used by millions of businesses worldwide from the Berlin office.
Hack Days every second Friday and global Hack Weeks.
Dedicated annual learning and development budget of EUR 2,000 for conferences or further education.
Enrolment in the VSOP programme, giving you a stake in SumUp's future success.
Corporate pension scheme with the company matching up to 20% of your contributions.
30 days sabbatical after completing 3 years of employment.
Referral bonus for introducing new hires.
Urban Sports Club subsidy, Kita placement assistance, relocation assistance and subsidised office lunches.
π° Net Salary Calculator
Tax class 1, no church tax
Gross Salary
β¬79,116/year
β¬6,593/month
Total Deductions
β¬31,538
40% effective rate
Net Salary (Take Home)
β¬3,964/mo
β¬47,578/year
Deduction Breakdown
ποΈ Income Taxβ¬15,376
π¦ Pension Insuranceβ¬7,357
π₯ Health Insuranceβ¬6,103
π«Ά Care Insuranceβ¬1,674
π Unemployment Insuranceβ¬1,028
π Cost of Living in Berlin
Monthly Essentials
Rent (1BR)
β¬1231
Groceries
β¬280
Transport
β¬75
Utilities
β¬220
Internet
β¬40
Lifestyle & Entertainment
Eating Out
β¬13
Gym/Month
β¬45
Coffee
β¬4
Beer (0.5L)
β¬4
Cinema
β¬12
Monthly Net Salary:β¬3,964
Comfortable Living:β¬1,897
Monthly Savings:β¬2,067 (52%)
π°
Strong savings potential: You could save β¬2,067 monthly, which is β¬24,804 per year.
π‘ These estimates are based on average costs in Berlin. Actual expenses vary based on lifestyle, neighborhood, and personal choices. "Comfortable living" includes rent, utilities, groceries, transport, and reasonable dining/entertainment.
Eligible for the EU Blue Card
A salary of β¬79,122 meets the EU Blue Card minimum of β¬45,300 (2026).
The EU Blue Card is a residence permit for highly qualified non-EU workers. It offers a fast track to permanent residency and allows family reunification.
Processing
4-12 weeks
Visa fee
β¬100
Requirements
University degree + Job offer
Also eligible: EU Blue Card (Shortage Occupation) (β¬41,042+)
Documents needed
Valid passport
Recognised university degree
Employment contract or binding job offer
Proof of salary meeting threshold
Health insurance coverage
Biometric passport photo
π Life in Berlin
π₯
Population
3.6M
β
Quality of Life
8.0
π¬π§
English Friendly
9.0
π»
Tech Scene
9.0
π
International
10.0
π
Public Transport
9.0
π΄
Bikeability
9.0
π¬οΈ
Air Quality
6.0
π³
Green Spaces
7.0
π
Car Free
8.0
βΉοΈ
About Berlin
- β’Creative and tech hub
- β’Diverse neighborhoods
- β’Excellent public transport
π€οΈ
Climate
- β’Continental climate
- β’Cold winters
- β’Mild summers
- β’Four distinct seasons
βοΈJan: 0Β°CβοΈJul: 19Β°Cπ
Avg: 10Β°C
βοΈ1625 sunshine hours/year
π‘οΈ
Safety
- β’Generally safe
- β’Higher petty crime than Munich
- β’Some areas less safe at night
Overall:7.0
π₯
Healthcare
- β’Good hospital network
- β’CharitΓ© is world-renowned
- β’Wait times can vary
Quality: 9.0Access: 8.0
π
Culture
- β’World-class museums
- β’Vibrant art scene
- β’Rich history
π
Nightlife
- β’Famous club scene
- β’Diverse nightlife
- β’24/7 culture
ποΈ
Recreation
- β’Many parks
- β’Lakes
- β’Tiergarten
- β’Active outdoor scene
π°
Cost of Living
- β’More affordable than Munich
- β’Prices rising rapidly
- β’Still cheaper than many European capitals
π Rent (1BR center):β¬1231
β‘ Utilities:β¬220
π Groceries:β¬280
π½οΈ Dining out:β¬16
SumUp is a global fintech company providing mobile point-of-sale terminals, card readers, payment processing, and business tools for small merchants. Serves 4M+ merchants in 36+ markets.
Relocation support provided
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β¬2kthis job posts β¬5k β β¬8kβ¬20k
Your situation in Germany
The default for anyone single, divorced or widowed.
Only changes the church tax rate β 8% in Bavaria and Baden-WΓΌrttemberg, 9% everywhere else.
Childless employees over 23 pay a higher Pflegeversicherung (care insurance) rate.