Senior Backend Engineer (Kotlin) – AI & Cloud-Native

VILT; Brasil; On-site; BRL 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

VILT is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer (Kotlin) to design, build, and scale our AI-enabled, cloud-native backend platform. You will drive architecture, integrate AI-powered capabilities via LLM APIs, and ensure secure, scalable delivery across containerized environments.

You will collaborate with frontend, product, QA, and platform teams while mentoring peers and shaping technical initiatives. Strong Kotlin, Spring Boot, and PostgreSQL experience are essential, along with Kubernetes and

Qualifications

• Proven Kotlin backend development experience with Spring Boot and scalable architectures.
• Experience shipping AI-powered features, including function calling and structured outputs.
• Strong PostgreSQL database design and query optimization skills.
• Kubernetes deployment experience, Helm charts, health checks, and cluster troubleshooting.
• Background in monitoring/observability: metrics, logs, tracing.
• Fluent or advanced English communication for cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and scale backend services and REST APIs using Kotlin and Spring Boot.
• Integrate AI features with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic) including prompts and cost management.
• Manage data persistence and telemetry with PostgreSQL; drive schema design and migrations.
• Containerize services for Docker/Kubernetes deployment and contribute to Helm charts.
• Lead architecture discussions and mentor mid-level/junior engineers.
• Ensure code quality through reviews, testing, and robust development practices.

Skills

Kotlin

Spring Boot

API design

AI integrations

Kubernetes

PostgreSQL

Observability

English communication

Tools

OpenAI API

Anthropic API

Docker

Kubernetes

Helm

OpenTelemetry

Job description

Your next opportunity is on the way!

Your next opportunity is on the way!

VILT is an IT company where we value our people, promote teamwork, and of course, good humor.

We believe that diversity and inclusion make our team stronger. Everyone is welcome here, and professionals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Take a look at this job opportunity and see if you are the next VILTian! (and if you know someone, don't forget to recommend them)

We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer (Kotlin) - AI & Cloud-Native to join our team and build out an enterprise monitoring and observability platform that collects metrics, logs, and traces from complex, multi-system environments. This is a high-impact role for someone who loves writing solid Kotlin code and wants to work exactly where backend development meets AI and cloud-native deployment. You will drive the architecture of our core services, integrate LLM APIs to power features like telemetry summarization and root cause suggestion, and ensure our systems run flawlessly in containerized environments. You will collaborate closely with frontend, product, QA, and platform teams to deliver secure, scalable, and resilient features while mentoring peers and shaping technical initiatives.

What you will do

• Design, implement, and scale backend services and REST APIs using Kotlin and Spring Boot.
• Build and integrate AI-powered features connecting our backend to LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.), utilizing structured outputs, function calling, and prompt engineering to ensure reliable code consumption.
• Manage data persistence and high-volume telemetry handling using PostgreSQL, leading schema design, migrations, and query optimization.
• Containerize and configure services for reliable deployment across Docker and Kubernetes, actively contributing to Helm charts and platform configurations.
• Lead system design and architecture discussions, seamlessly fitting AI and cloud-native capabilities into the broader platform.
• Ensure code quality through clean, testable development and robust code reviews, while mentoring mid-level and junior engineers.

What we expect from you

• Deep expertise in Kotlin and Spring Boot, with a proven track record of designing scalable, secure, and reliable backend architectures.
• Hands-on experience shipping AI-powered features to production, specifically dealing with function calling, structured outputs, prompt design, and managing API costs and latency.
• Strong database skills with PostgreSQL, including advanced schema design and optimization.
• Practical experience deploying and running services on Kubernetes, managing Helm charts, resource configurations, health checks, and troubleshooting in-cluster issues.
• Solid background in monitoring and observability practices (metrics, logs, and tracing).
• Fluent or advanced English communication skills (written and spoken) to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience building Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) or embedding-based search systems.
• Familiarity with Red Hat OpenShift and its specific security constraints (e.g., running as non-root).
• Practical knowledge of monitoring tools and standards like Prometheus, Grafana, and OpenTelemetry.
• Experience with stream processing frameworks such as Apache Flink or Kafka.
• Deep understanding of system telemetry (e.g., you immediately recognize what a CPU spike, an HTTP 500 burst, or a connection-pool timeout looks like in the data).

If you're ready to take your engineering career to the next level, we'd love to hear from you!