Backend Developer (Ruby on Rails)

BirdChime; India; Hybrid; INR 1,500,000 - 2,300,000; Full time

Job summary

BirdChime is looking for a Ruby on Rails Engineer who owns outcomes, not tasks. You will work on Shopify-focused products, build and maintain features, and ship results with autonomy in a flat, fast-moving startup environment.

You should be comfortable moving quickly, making decisions, mentoring teammates, and improving engineering processes. React and vanilla JS familiarity is a plus; SQL proficiency and REST APIs are essential.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional Ruby on Rails experience.
• Experience building and maintaining production applications.
• Strong understanding of software architecture and engineering fundamentals.
• Ability to debug complex problems independently.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Shopify experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain Shopify-focused products using Ruby on Rails, React, Vanilla JS.
• Design, implement, test, deploy, and monitor production features.
• Investigate and solve difficult technical and customer-facing problems.
• Make technical decisions independently and explain your reasoning.
• Work across backend, APIs, databases, integrations, and infrastructure when necessary.
• Identify problems before they become incidents.
• Improve our codebase, systems, and engineering processes continuously.
• Help other engineers become better through mentoring, code reviews, and technical guidance.

Skills

Ruby

Ruby on Rails

REST API development

PostgreSQL

Problem solving

Communication

Tools

Shopify

Job description

Ruby on Rails Engineer | High Ownership

4+ years of serious, hands-on Ruby on Rails experience | Remote / Hybrid

This is a role for engineers who own outcomes, not tasks. You will be expected to take problems from unclear → solved → shipped → owned without waiting for someone to define every step.

You are expected to think, decide, execute, and take responsibility for the result. We value judgement over instructions, initiative over supervision, and impact over activity.

We care less about how many years you have written Ruby and more about what you have been trusted to own. This role is for someone who takes ownership, moves quickly, solves problems independently, and makes the people around them better.

Note: We are a startup. The autonomy is real. So is the accountability.

This role is for you if you:

• Are self-driven and highly motivated. You don't need someone constantly telling you what to do next.
• Move fast. We prefer decisions and execution in hours or days, not weeks of meetings and approvals.
• Are comfortable in a flat, low-bureaucracy environment where engineers have significant autonomy.
• Think beyond your assigned task and understand the business and customer impact of what you're building.
• Are versatile and willing to work across different parts of the product when the problem requires it.
• Can operate without a rigid process or a long list of predefined instructions.
• Are responsive and dependable when the team needs you. We value people who find solutions rather than reasons why something cannot be done.
• Care about engineering quality but don't use "perfect" as an excuse to move slowly.
• Enjoy helping other engineers. You will be expected to coach teammates, review code, share knowledge, and unblock others.

What you will do

• Build and maintain our Shopify-focused products using Ruby on Rails, React, Vanilla JS.
• Design, implement, test, deploy, and monitor production features.
• Investigate and solve difficult technical and customer-facing problems.
• Make technical decisions independently and explain your reasoning.
• Work across backend, APIs, databases, integrations, and infrastructure when necessary.
• Identify problems before they become incidents.
• Improve our codebase, systems, and engineering processes continuously.
• Help other engineers become better through mentoring, code reviews, and technical guidance.

What we're looking for

• 4+ years of professional Ruby on Rails experience
• Strong understanding of Ruby, Rails, PostgreSQL and REST/API development.
• Experience building and maintaining production applications.
• Good understanding of software architecture and engineering fundamentals.
• Ability to debug complex problems independently.
• Strong communication and written communication.
• Experience working in a fast-moving product company is a strong plus.
• Shopify experience is a plus, but strong engineering ability matters more than Shopify experience.
• We deliberately keep the company flat and low-bureaucracy.
• There aren't layers of management between you and the problem. If something needs fixing, you can investigate it, propose a solution, make the decision, and get it done.
• We don't run a ticket factory where your job is to mechanically complete assigned tasks.
• You will have autonomy, but autonomy comes with accountability.
• We care much more about outcomes, ownership and impact than activity.

You probably won't enjoy this role if...

• You need someone to tell you what to work on every morning.
• You prefer a predictable queue of clearly defined tickets.
• You frequently wait for someone else to solve blockers for you.
• You dislike taking responsibility when something goes wrong.
• You need lots of meetings, approvals and processes before making decisions.
• You are primarily looking for a 9-to-5 role where responsibilities end when your assigned ticket is complete.
• You are uncomfortable being challenged or giving and receiving direct feedback.
• You prefer to stay strictly within one narrow technical area.