Senior Backend Engineer

Key Responsibilities

Collaborate with the development team, product managers, and designers to understand business requirements and contribute to technical specifications and software solutions.

Design, develop, test, and deploy back-end components across our Ruby on Rails and non-Rails (e.g. Node.js) services — this role is expected to work across the backend stack, not within a single framework.

Work with front-end engineers to develop APIs that facilitate smooth data flow and system interoperability.

Contribute to system design discussions, weighing in on architecture, scalability, and trade-offs for new and existing services.

Optimize code, conduct testing, and follow best practices to ensure the reliability, performance, and security of the application.

Learn and contribute to the development and maintenance of cloud-based infrastructure, preferably using AWS, ensuring scalability, high availability, and disaster recovery.

Use AI-assisted development tools (e.g. Cursor or similar) thoughtfully as part of the engineering workflow — going beyond surface-level usage to actually improve code quality, review rigor, and team productivity.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure successful product launches and provide support when needed.

Participate actively in Agile development practices, including sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives.

Contribute to the refinement of user stories, provide effort estimations, and prioritize tasks to ensure timely delivery.

Participate in code reviews to maintain code quality, receive constructive feedback, and adhere to best practices.

Stay updated with industry trends and emerging technologies, evaluating their potential benefits for the product and the development team.

Actively contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by suggesting process enhancements and implementing approved changes.

Requirements / Qualifications

3–7 years of backend development experience, with strong, hands-on Ruby on Rails expertise. Exceptionally strong candidates with ~2 years of experience will also be considered.

Demonstrated ability and willingness to work across multiple backend services/frameworks (e.g. Rails and Node.js) — candidates seeking a Rails-only scope are not a fit for this role.

Strong IC (individual contributor) who can join any existing project and start contributing within a week's time.

Can build and integrate REST APIs in Rails.

Experience working with async processors such as Sidekiq, Resque, ActiveJob, or Shoryuken.

Solid understanding of Rails object-oriented programming concepts.

Comfortable engaging in system design discussions — able to reason through architecture, scale, and trade-offs, not just implement to spec.

Genuine, hands-on experience using AI tools in development — able to speak concretely to workflow, prompting practices, code review process with AI-assisted code, and problems solved (not just familiarity with a tool name).

Ability to speak in depth about past project ownership — real depth of involvement matters more than breadth listed on a resume.

Familiarity with front-end technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is a plus.

Exposure to cloud-based infrastructure, preferably AWS services, and a strong desire to learn about scalable and secure system development.

Effective problem-solving in ambiguous and complex technical scenarios.

Strong computer science fundamentals and automation testing technologies.

Focus on customer satisfaction and holistic user experience.

Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentoring abilities.