Senior Backend Engineer

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and lead implementation of scalable, fault-tolerant backend systems and services
• Drive technical decisions on API design, data modeling, and service decomposition for the engineering organization
• Mentor backend engineers through hands-on guidance, code reviews, and design reviews
• Own the reliability and performance of critical production systems including SLOs, monitoring, and incident response
• Collaborate with product, data, and infrastructure teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Lead efforts to reduce technical debt, improve system observability, and enhance developer productivity
• Write RFCs and technical design documents for complex system changes

Required Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of backend development experience with at least 2 years in a senior or staff-level role
• Expert-level proficiency in one or more backend languages (Java, Python, Go, Node.js, or Rust)
• Deep experience designing distributed systems including service communication, consistency models, and failure handling
• Advanced database skills including schema design for high-scale systems, partitioning strategies, and performance tuning
• Strong understanding of cloud architecture patterns (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and infrastructure-as-code
• Experience with event-driven architectures and asynchronous processing (Kafka, SQS, RabbitMQ)
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and drive technical standards across a team or organization
• Excellent communication skills for writing design docs and presenting technical proposals

Nice-to-Have

• Experience operating systems at significant scale (millions of requests per day or more)
• Background in domain-driven design or CQRS/event-sourcing patterns
• Knowledge of container orchestration (Kubernetes) and service mesh technologies
• Experience with database migration strategies for zero-downtime deployments
• Track record of improving engineering culture through guilds, tech talks, or open-source contributions

Tech Stack

What We Offer

• Top-of-market compensation including base salary, equity, and annual bonus
• Remote-first culture with flexible working hours and optional office access
• Premium health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family
• Generous learning budget and 2 dedicated learning days per quarter
• 401(k) with company match and financial planning resources
• The opportunity to shape [Company Name]'s technical foundation and engineering culture

Interview Process

1. 1Recruiter screen (30 min) — background, compensation expectations, and role alignment
2. 2Hiring manager deep dive (60 min) — technical leadership experience, system design philosophy, and team fit
3. 3System design round (75 min) — design a backend system architecture for a real-world business scenario
4. 4Coding round (60 min) — implement a service component or debug and optimize existing code
5. 5Cross-functional round (45 min) — collaboration approach with product, frontend, and infrastructure teams
6. 6Final conversation with VP of Engineering and offer