Principal Backend Engineer

Main Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Excellence:
• Set and uphold standards of technical excellence across the backend team, fostering a culture of quality, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Lead technical reviews and architecture deep-dives, guiding the team towards robust, scalable solutions.
• Mentor and coach backend engineers in advanced technical matters, enabling professional growth and deepening team expertise.
• Architecture & System Design:
• Own the architecture and high-level design of mission-critical backend systems, focusing on scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
• Guide the evolution of system design and technical stack to accommodate high traffic volumes and growing business needs.
• Lead and participate in code reviews, ensuring adherence to best practices in code quality and system security.
• Development:
• Build and refine performant backend services/APIs primarily using mainly Node.js along with other technologies, with optimal utilization of NoSQL/SQL databases and search engines.
• Drive continuous improvement and automation in development processes for enhanced productivity and quality.
• Collaboration:
• Partner with product, front-end, and operations teams to deliver seamless user experiences and solve complex business challenges.
• Provide technical expertise in project planning and help shape the technical roadmap.
• System Reliability & Security:
• Ensure robust monitoring, alerting, and incident response systems are in place for backend services.
• Champion security best practices; lead security audits and promote compliance with industry standards.

Key Skills Required:

• 5+ years of experience as a Backend Software Engineer, with deep expertise in Node.js.
• Demonstrated experience in designing and architecting large-scale distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience in high-traffic, high-availability system environments.
• Strong understanding of microservices and event-driven architectures
• Proven ability to lead code reviews, mentor engineers, and uphold code quality standards.
• Expertise with NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, Elasticsearch) and relational databases.
• Mastery in system design, architecture patterns, and scaling strategies.
• Proficiency in troubleshooting, optimizing, and refactoring legacy codebases.
• Customer-centric mindset and ability to work cross-functionally in a dynamic startup environment.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.