Senior Backend Engineer, Sage

• Strong proficiency in Java and backend service frameworks (Spring Boot, Dropwizard)
• Deep familiarity with ORMs (Hibernate, JPA) and data persistence patterns
• Solid understanding of service design principles and clean architecture patterns
• Hands-on experience with Postgres and SQL performance tuning
• Working knowledge of NoSQL databases (DynamoDB, MongoDB, or similar)
• Understanding of transactions, consistency, and data modeling in distributed systems
• Experience with SQS, Kafka, or equivalent queues/streaming systems
• Knowledge of event-driven architecture and at-least-once/exactly-once delivery guarantees
• Experience designing, documenting, and evolving APIs with OpenAPI
• Familiarity with best practices for RESTful API versioning, error handling, and security
• Strong collaboration skills for working with frontend engineers (consumer experience) and infrastructure engineers (reliability and deployment)
• Familiarity with Gradle build system and dependency management
• Strong experience with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab, or similar)
• Knowledge of containerization & orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Strong understanding of logging, monitoring, and tracing in distributed systems
• Experience troubleshooting production issues in complex, containerized environments
• Familiarity with software design patterns and ability to apply them thoughtfully
• Strong opinions about service design, API design, and data architecture
• Ability to mentor peers and set engineering standards

Desirable

• We’re looking for an experienced Backend Engineer to join our engineering team as a senior IC focused on backend service development for a product for a new market currently under development
• Our platform is mission-critical, with many moving parts: distributed services, relational and NoSQL data stores, message queues, real-time data pipelines, and a growing set of APIs that must perform reliably at scale
• In this role, you’ll take ownership of designing and building scalable backend services that sit at the core of the product
• You’ll work across Java-based microservices, databases, and messaging layers to ensure the stack is cleanly designed, performant, observable, and maintainable
• You’ll also be central to shaping how we design and manage APIs and how backend systems integrate with front-end applications and core infrastructure
• This is a highly impactful position where you’ll define patterns and practices for service design and data architecture while mentoring others and shaping the future of our backend engineering
• Architect & Build Services: Design, implement, and scale backend services in Java using frameworks like Spring Boot or Dropwizard
• Data & Persistence: Design data models and persistence strategies across Postgres and NoSQL stores (DynamoDB or similar)
• Messaging & Integration: Build and operate systems that leverage message queues (SQS, Kafka, etc.) for asynchronous communication and event-driven workflows
• API Design & Management: Define, document, and evolve REST APIs using OpenAPI, ensuring consistency, clarity, and strong collaboration with front-end teams
• Optimize for Scale & Reliability: Ensure services are performant, observable, fault-tolerant, and capable of handling 24/7 production workloads
• CI/CD & Tooling: Own build pipelines and service delivery using Gradle, automated testing, and CI/CD best practices
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Work closely with front-end engineers to design API contracts, and with infrastructure engineers to ensure backend services integrate seamlessly into our containerized, cloud-native platform
• Service & Data Design Leadership: Set patterns for clean, consistent API design, service boundaries, and data architecture across the engineering org
• Mentor & Guide: Provide technical leadership, perform design and code reviews, and coach teammates in backend engineering best practices