Backend Developer

Futureheads; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

Futureheads is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to design, build and scale backend services for its art marketplace. You will lead backend architecture and APIs, working mainly in Go, and collaborate with frontend engineers and stakeholders to deliver robust product experiences.

You will lead technical delivery on complex projects, work with Google Cloud Platform, and ensure secure, scalable systems with maintainable code. Equity is included, and UK remote applications are considered.

Qualifications

• Extensive production Go backend experience.
• Strong understanding of backend architecture and distributed systems.
• Experience designing secure, scalable APIs and clear contracts.
• Experience with gRPC or similar RPC frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain scalable, high-performance backend services in Go.
• Own backend architecture across our stack, including APIs, service communication, schemas and data flows.
• Design secure, reliable APIs — GraphQL preferred, REST or others acceptable.
• Build and evolve gRPC-based services and integrations.
• Lead scoping, technical design and implementation of complex projects.
• Translate business requirements into technical requirements and delivery plans.
• Collaborate with frontend engineers for robust product experiences.
• Identify and resolve technical roadblocks with stakeholders.

Skills

Go backend development

Distributed systems

API design

gRPC

Cloud platforms

Databases (SQL/NoSQL)

Leadership in projects

Stakeholder communication

Tools

GraphQL

REST APIs

gRPC

Google Cloud Platform

Job description

Senior Backend Engineer (Go)

London 1-2x p/w (remote UK applications considered) £85-100k plus equity

Futureheads are working with a fast-growing global art marketplace making contemporary art more accessible through exclusive limited-edition works from leading artists, with a community of 3.3m+ collectors and fans across 100+ countries.

They're looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to take a leading role in designing, building and scaling the services behind various digital products they have and are due to release.

You'll work primarily in Go, owning complex backend architecture, APIs and service-to-service communication. You'll lead technical delivery across challenging projects, partner closely with frontend engineers and non-technical stakeholders, and help ensure our systems are secure, scalable and straightforward to maintain.

What you'll be doing

• Design, build and maintain scalable, high-performance backend services in Go.
• Own backend architecture across our stack, including APIs, service communication, schemas and data flows.
• Design secure, reliable APIs — ideally GraphQL, though REST or other API experience is equally valuable.
• Build and evolve gRPC-based services and integrations.
• Lead the scoping, technical design and implementation of complex projects.
• Translate business requirements into clear technical requirements, architecture and delivery plans.
• Work with frontend engineers to support robust, performant product experiences.
• Identify and resolve technical roadblocks, coordinating with the appropriate stakeholders where needed.
• Design and deploy systems on cloud infrastructure, primarily Google Cloud Platform.
• Review and improve engineering processes, code quality and delivery practices across the team.

What they're looking for

• Extensive commercial experience designing and building production backend applications in Go.
• Strong understanding of backend architecture, distributed systems and service-to-service communication.
• Experience designing secure, scalable APIs and defining clear contracts, protocols and schemas.
• Experience working with gRPC or similar RPC frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of relational and/or NoSQL databases, including data modelling and performance considerations.
• Experience deploying and operating applications on a major cloud platform GCP experience is especially valuable.
• A track record of leading complex technical projects from early discovery and scoping through delivery.
• The ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Desirable experience

• Experience with GraphQL.
• Experience designing and building AI/ML applications used by real customers.
• Experience with Shopify, Liquid, and e-commerce integrations.
• Familiarity with Next.js and modern frontend development, enabling effective collaboration across the full stack.

No sponsorship is available for this role

We encourage applicants from all backgrounds, so if there is anything we can do to make our recruitment processes better for you and to allow you to show your best self, let us know. We also understand that some people require extra time to complete assessments, require alternative application methods and can also benefit from having interview questions or a guide to the type of questions pre-interview. We are open to any suggestions or requests that you may have and are always looking for creative ways to assess talent. Our commitment to you is that you should always feel safe and secure when you're working with us. Futureheads is a B Corp accredited digital recruitment agency based in London. We specialise in recruiting permanent, contract and freelance digital and tech professionals in creative, data, design, digital marketing, engineering, product, project and programme management, UX and service design jobs.