Senior Backend Engineer

Zuno; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave + bank holidays

Private medical cover

4x salary Death in Service

Maternity/Paternity pay after a year

£1000 annual training budget

Pension matched up to 6%

Flexible working times and location

Company MacBook Pro

Team lunches & events

Job summary

Zuno is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to define the architectural direction of server-side logic and ensure scalable data models. You will design and optimise high-performance APIs using Ruby on Rails, collaborating with Product Managers to shape roadmaps and ensure feasibility from the outset.

You will mentor junior engineers, review code, and contribute to maintaining high-quality engineering practices.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in backend development.
• Strong expertise in Ruby and Ruby on Rails, including metaprogramming and Rails internals.
• Proven ability to design complex, normalised database schemas and write performant SQL (PostgreSQL).
• Experience designing and maintaining versioned, documented RESTful APIs.
• Experience writing automated tests with RSpec (integration & request specs).
• Experience working in Agile development environments.
• Proficiency with Git and modern PR/code-review workflows.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain robust, scalable backend features in Ruby on Rails.
• Architect and document performant RESTful APIs for React/Next.js frontend.
• Lead technical discussions on system design and database schema planning.
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, optimise SQL and caching (Redis).
• Mentor junior engineers and review teammates' code to ensure quality.
• Own complex backend features from concept to deployment, manage technical debt.

Skills

Backend development

Ruby & Rails

SQL & PostgreSQL

OOAD & design patterns

RESTful APIs

Testing with RSpec

Agile

Git & PR/workflows

Problem solving

Communication

Job description

Senior Backend Engineer (Ruby)

Role type - Permanent

Location - Holborn, London (Hybrid)

About Zuno

Zuno is the cutting-edge technology platform powering the success of home heating and cooling experts, BOXT. Zuno is scaling for significant growth by continually developing its proprietary tech stack to empower both our installers and the homeowners of brands such as E.ON Next and BOXT.

Our platform manages the end-to-end installation process for a complete range of modern home energy solutions - from high-efficiency boilers and air conditioning to heat pumps, solar panels, battery storage, and EV chargers. No matter what we are installing, our ethos remains the same: we use technology to make buying, installing and maintaining products an efficient, stress-free, seamless experience for our users.

Every year millions of people come to our site to get a fixed-price quote. We’ve installed over 200,000 products so far, while establishing a network of more than 15,000 professionally accredited installers.

Our revolutionary platform is market-leading. And we’ve got the supporters to shout about it. We’re backed by Brookfield and work in partnership with some of the world’s most famous household names including Tesla and Eon.

The role

As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will be acting as a technical anchor within the team, defining the architectural direction of our server-side logic and ensuring the scalability of our data models. You will partner with Product Managers to shape the roadmap and ensure technical feasibility from the outset. In this role, you will be responsible for designing and optimising high-performance APIs and complex business logic using Ruby on Rails. While your focus is backend, you will work closely with frontend engineers to define API contracts and ensure seamless integration with our Next.js frontend.

You’ll also contribute to keeping the code quality top-notch by reviewing your teammates' code and mentoring junior engineers.

Key responsibilities

• Core Backend Architecture: Design, build, and maintain robust, scalable, and secure backend features using Ruby on Rails, ensuring business logic is encapsulated and efficient
• API Strategy: Architect and document performant RESTful APIs, acting as the bridge between server-side logic and the React/Next.js frontend teams
• Technical Leadership: Lead technical discussions on system design, database schema planning, and the decoupling of monolithic services where necessary
• Performance & Scalability: Proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, focusing on SQL query optimisation, caching strategies (Redis), and background job management (Sidekiq/Solid Queue)
• High-Quality Engineering: Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code that adheres to best practices (including Test-Driven Development and Continuous Delivery)
• Feature Ownership: Take ownership of complex backend features from concept to deployment; assisting the Product Team in scoping requirements and managing technical debt
• Driving Engineering Culture: Act as a catalyst for technical excellence by evolving our backend engineering standards (OOAD, SOLID principles) and internal processes. You will proactively identify and resolve bottlenecks, whether in code, deployment, or communication, advocating for the changes needed to make the backend team faster, safer, and more efficient.
• Mentorship: Actively mentor junior and mid-level engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence
• System Reliability: Debug and resolve complex issues in production, ensuring high availability and data integrity for our installer and customer platforms
• Continuous Improvement: Stay up-to-date with the Ruby on Rails ecosystem and emerging backend technologies, bringing fresh ideas to the team to improve our infrastructure

Skills

• 5+ years of professional experience in backend development
• Deep expertise in Ruby and the Ruby on Rails framework, including a strong understanding of metaprogramming and the Rails internal architecture
• Proven ability to design complex, normalised database schemas and write performant SQL (PostgreSQL focus), with a keen eye for avoiding and resolving N+1 queries and lock contention
• A firm grasp of Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD), design patterns, and software engineering best practices
• Experience designing and maintaining versioned, documented RESTful APIs
• Experience writing comprehensive automated tests using RSpec, including integration and request specs
• Experience working within Agile development methodologies
• Proficiency with version control systems, particularly Git, and modern workflows (Pull Requests, Code Reviews)
• Strong problem-solving skills, with a focus on writing simple, clean, and efficient code
• Natural tendency to identify internal pain points and the initiative to propose and implement technical or procedural improvements
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex backend concepts to frontend developers and non-technical stakeholders

Beneficial Skills

• Advanced DevOps experience (Infrastructure as Code, AWS, Kubernetes, Docker)
• Experience with React and Next.js (ability to read frontend code to understand how it consumes your APIs)
• Experience with TypeScript
• Knowledge of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices and monitoring tools (New Relic)
• Experience scaling applications using background processing tools (Sidekiq)

Benefits

• 30 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Private medical cover with Aviva*
• 4 x salary Death in Service cover with Zurich*
• Paid 6 months maternity pay after a year of service
• Paid paternity pay after a year of service
• £1000 annual training budget*
• Salary sacrifice pension matched up to 6%
• Flexible working times and location
• Company MacBook Pro & accessories
• Team lunches, team events
• After probationary period

At Zuno Tech, we believe diverse perspectives make us better at what we do. We’re committed to fostering an inclusive, welcoming environment where everyone, regardless of background, identity, or experience, feels valued and supported.