Senior Node.js Backend Engineer

Vista; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Vista is leading the way in global business aviation technology, seeking an experienced backend engineer to drive features end‑to‑end. You will shape architecture, build robust APIs, and design data models that scale with a global client base.

You will collaborate with product, UX, and data teams to translate user needs into technical solutions, mentor peers, and contribute to a culture of reliability and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional software development experience with a BS in Computer Science/Software Engineering.
• Ability to take ambiguous problems and independently decide what and how to build.
• Strong communicator who can articulate a technical position and lead a team through a decision.
• Strong backend experience with Node.js and API design.
• Experience with relational databases, design, and PostgreSQL.
• Familiarity with modern AI development tools is a plus.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and observable systems (Grafana, Kibana, ElastAlert).

Responsibilities

• Drive features from concept to shipped product, defining scope and priorities.
• Lead technical and architectural decisions and build team alignment.
• Build and maintain customer-facing APIs and data models end-to-end.
• Design and evolve database schemas to support client apps.
• Develop scalable, secure APIs powering product experiences.
• Collaborate with Product, UX and Data to translate user needs into solutions.
• Speak up in planning, design, and code reviews and raise concerns early.
• Identify and resolve production issues with debugging and root-cause analysis.
• Build monitoring and alerting for backend services and improve observability.
• Mentor teammates and raise engineering effectiveness.

Skills

Node.js

API design

PostgreSQL

CI/CD pipelines

Relational databases

AI development tools

Observability tooling

Education

BS in Computer Science/Software Engineering

Tools

Grafana

Kibana

ElastAlert

Copilot/CUDA/Cursor (AI tools)

Job description

Job Profile

Vista is the world’s leading global business aviation company, providing worldwide business flight services through its network of subsidiaries and a team of over 4,000 experts. A global group headquartered in Dubai, Vista integrates a unique portfolio of companies to offer asset‑free services that cover all key aspects of business aviation, including guaranteed and on‑demand global flight coverage, subscription and membership solutions, and trading and management services.

Job Profile

Vista is the world’s leading global business aviation company, providing worldwide business flight services through its network of subsidiaries and a team of over 4,000 experts. A global group headquartered in Dubai, Vista integrates a unique portfolio of companies to offer asset‑free services that cover all key aspects of business aviation, including guaranteed and on‑demand global flight coverage, subscription and membership solutions, and trading and management services.

A career at Vista means stepping into an environment where you’re trusted with real autonomy and responsibility from day one. Whether you're keeping our aircraft airworthy, flying our clients across the globe, or working in one of our corporate teams, you’ll move fast, deliver impact quickly, and grow through hands‑on learning and close collaboration within a supportive global community. You’ll play an active role in shaping a transforming organization by improving processes, challenging norms, and driving meaningful change. And throughout, you’ll take pride in making the impossible possible for a worldwide client base. Together you’ll build something extraordinary alongside colleagues who navigate challenges together, celebrate progress, and consistently raise the bar.

Your Responsibilities

• Take designs and loosely‑defined problems and drive them to shipped features — defining scope, surfacing the right questions, and deciding what to build when the answer isn't obvious
• Lead the team through key technical and architectural decisions, building alignment and making the call when one is needed
• Build and maintain customer‑facing features end-to-end across APIs, backend services, and data models
• Design and evolve database schemas and data models that support our client‑side app
• Develop scalable, secure APIs that power our product's application experiences
• Partner with Product, UX, and Data to translate user needs and designs into technical solutions — contributing your own point of view, not just executing
• Speak up in planning, design, and code reviews — raise concerns early and challenge assumptions
• Identify and resolve production issues through effective debugging and root‑cause analysis
• Build and maintain monitoring, alerting, and observability for backend services
• Mentor teammates and raise the overall effectiveness of the engineering organization
• Use AI‑assisted tools where appropriate to support development workflows

Required Skills, Qualifications, And Experience

• 7+ years of professional software development experience, with a BS in Computer Science/ Software Engineering
• Track record of taking ambiguous problems or designs and independently deciding what and how to build
• A clear, outspoken communicator who can articulate a technical position, build consensus, and lead a team through a decision
• Strong backend experience with Node.js
• Strong API design experience, including API security
• Solid experience with relational databases and schema design, ideally PostgreSQL (SQL)
• Comfortable moving fluidly across the API and data layers
• Additional backend experience in Python or Java is a strong plus
• Strong product mindset, balancing technical excellence, speed, and customer value
• Familiarity with modern AI development tools (GitHub, Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, or similar) is a plus
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines
• Experience with metrics, monitoring, and alerting tools such as Grafana, Kibana, and ElastAlert