Backend Engineering Lead (Go; Compliance)

KAST; Dubai; On-site; AED 350,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

KAST in Dubai is seeking an hands-on Engineering Lead to build and scale our Compliance & Risk Platform. You will drive backend architecture and APIs, focusing on Go, reliability, security, and observability while scaling the engineering team.

You will collaborate with Compliance, Product, Operations, and Engineering to translate regulatory requirements into robust technical solutions, embedding ownership and fast execution in a startup environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong backend engineering expertise, particularly with Go.
• Experience building production-grade APIs and distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of system reliability, security, and auditability.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with compliance and operational stakeholders.
• Startup mindset with strong ownership and execution ability.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and modern engineering workflows.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of backend systems powering compliance and risk products.
• Build scalable services and APIs primarily using Go.
• Own technical architecture for compliance-related systems including onboarding, monitoring, restrictions, and internal tooling.
• Partner closely with Compliance, Risk, AML Ops, and Product teams to translate regulatory requirements into scalable technical solutions.
• Design reliable, auditable, and secure systems with strong observability and operational workflows.
• Improve automation and operational efficiency across compliance processes.
• Mentor engineers and help establish strong engineering standards and backend best practices.
• Participate in hiring and help scale the engineering team.

Skills

Go

Backend engineering

APIs

Distributed systems

System reliability

Security

Cross-functional collaboration

Cloud infrastructure

Tools

AWS/GCP

Kubernetes

Terraform

PostgreSQL

Redis

Job description

We're looking for a hands-on Engineering Lead to build and scale our Compliance & Risk Platform. This role is focused on backend engineering and technical leadership across compliance systems including KYC/KYB, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening, operational tooling, and internal risk infrastructure. You'll work closely with Compliance, Product, Operations, and Engineering teams to build scalable systems that support global regulatory requirements while maintaining strong product and operational efficiency.

Department: Engineering

Location: Dubai

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead the design and development of backend systems powering compliance and risk products
• Build scalable services and APIs primarily using Go
• Own technical architecture for compliance-related systems including onboarding, monitoring, restrictions, and internal tooling
• Partner closely with Compliance, Risk, AML Ops, and Product teams to translate regulatory requirements into scalable technical solutions
• Design reliable, auditable, and secure systems with strong observability and operational workflows
• Improve automation and operational efficiency across compliance processes
• Mentor engineers and help establish strong engineering standards and backend best practices
• Participate in hiring and help scale the engineering team

What You'll Bring

• 7+ years of software engineering experience
• Strong backend engineering expertise, particularly with Go
• Experience building production-grade APIs and distributed systems
• Strong understanding of system reliability, security, and auditability
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with compliance and operational stakeholders
• Startup mindset with strong ownership and execution ability
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and modern engineering workflows

Nice to Have

• Experience working on compliance, fintech, payments, fraud, identity, or risk-related products
• Familiarity with systems such as KYC/KYB, AML, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, or operational tooling
• Experience in crypto, stablecoins, or Web3 infrastructure
• Experience building internal tooling and workflow systems
• Exposure to multi-jurisdiction compliance environments
• Familiarity with event-driven architectures and high-scale backend systems
• Experience with AWS/GCP, Kubernetes, Terraform, PostgreSQL, or Redis