Principal Systems Architect (Hands-on) – Distributed Web Platforms

Ruby Seven Studios; Ernakulam; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 3,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Ruby Seven Studios in Ernakulam, Kerala is seeking a Principal Systems Architect with over 10 years of experience to lead the design and development of secure, scalable, and multi-tenant web platforms. This hands-on leadership role involves defining system architecture, backend development using Node.js/TypeScript, and ensuring high-quality delivery across the infrastructure. Ideal candidates should possess strong technical leadership skills and experience with API design, relational databases, and cloud ecosystems such as AWS.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience in software engineering.
• Proven experience as a technical leader or architect, while remaining hands-on.
• Extensive experience designing and building distributed, scalable systems.
• Deep experience with API design and development (REST/GraphQL).
• Strong expertise in relational databases (PostgreSQL/MySQL), including performance tuning.
• Hands-on experience with NoSQL systems (DynamoDB, MongoDB, Redis, etc.).
• Proven experience designing and implementing multi-tenant architectures.
• Strong understanding of system design principles: scalability, consistency, partitioning, caching, concurrency.
• Hands-on experience with AWS cloud ecosystem.
• Experience building secure systems with modern authentication and authorization models.
• Solid understanding of frontend technologies (React or similar).
• Strong experience with Git and collaborative development workflows.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the architecture of scalable, secure, and high-availability systems.
• Design and implement multi-tenant platforms with strong data isolation and performance guarantees.
• Architect robust API ecosystems (REST/GraphQL), including versioning, contracts, and governance.
• Lead backend development using Node.js/TypeScript, ensuring clean, maintainable, and high-performance code.
• Design and optimize data models across RDBMS and NoSQL systems.
• Make key decisions around system design, trade-offs, and technology choices.
• Ensure systems are built for scalability, fault tolerance, and distributed operation.
• Establish patterns for caching, concurrency control, and performance optimization.
• Own system reliability: monitoring, observability, incident handling, and recovery strategies.
• Define and enforce best practices for security, authentication, and data protection.

Job description

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Systems Architect (10+years) to lead the design and development of secure, scalable, and multi-tenant web platforms. This is a hands-on leadership role combining deep architectural ownership with the ability to guide and execute alongside a small team of engineers.

You will be responsible for defining system architecture, making critical technical decisions, and ensuring high-quality delivery across backend, APIs, data systems, and cloud infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

System Architecture G Engineering

• Define and lead the architecture of scalable, secure, and high-availability systems
• Design and implement multi-tenant platforms with strong data isolation and performance guarantees
• Architect robust API ecosystems (REST/GraphǪL), including versioning, contracts, and governance
• Lead backend development using Node.js/TypeScript, ensuring clean, maintainable, and high-performance code
• Design and optimize data models across RDBMS and NoSǪL systems
• Make key decisions around system design, trade-offs, and technology choices
• Ensure systems are built for scalability, fault tolerance, and distributed operation
• Establish patterns for caching, concurrency control, and performance optimization
• Own system reliability: monitoring, observability, incident handling, and recovery strategies
• Define and enforce best practices for security, authentication, and data protection
• Contribute to frontend architecture where necessary for end-to-end system coherence
• Lead and mentor a small, high-impact engineering team (2–6 engineers)
• Drive execution by breaking down complex initiatives into clear deliverables
• Conduct code reviews, design reviews, and enforce engineering standards
• Set architectural guidelines, coding practices, and development workflows
• Actively unblock team members and provide technical direction
• Own delivery timelines, quality, and outcomes of the team
• Collaborate with product, design, and stakeholders to align technical execution with business goals
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, and mentoring engineers
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Architect and operate systems on AWS (Lambda, API Gateway, RDS, DynamoDB, S3, IAM, etc.)
• Define scalable deployment strategies and CI/CD practices
• Optimize infrastructure for cost, performance, and reliability

Required Ǫualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience in software engineering
• Proven experience as a technical leader or architect, while remaining hands-on
• Extensive experience designing and building distributed, scalable systems
• Deep experience with API design and development (REST/GraphǪL)
• Strong expertise in relational databases (PostgreSǪL/MySǪL), including performance tuning
• Hands-on experience with NoSǪL systems (DynamoDB, MongoDB, Redis, etc.)
• Proven experience designing and implementing multi-tenant architectures
• Strong understanding of system design principles: scalability, consistency, partitioning, caching, concurrency
• Hands-on experience with AWS cloud ecosystem
• Experience building secure systems with modern authentication and authorization models
• Solid understanding of frontend technologies (React or similar)
• Strong experience with Git and collaborative development workflows

Preferred Ǫualifications

• Experience with Python scripting for automation, tooling, or data workflows
• Familiarity with microservices and event-driven architectures
• Experience with Docker/Kubernetes
• Experience building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines
• Knowledge of observability tools (logging, tracing, metrics)
• Experience working on high-scale or low-latency systems

What Sets You Apart

• Ability to think in terms of systems, not just components
• Strong architectural judgment with pragmatic decision-making
• Proven ability to lead small teams and deliver complex systems
• Deep ownership mindset—responsible for both technical and team outcomes
• Strong communication skills across technical and business stakeholders
• Balance between hands-on execution and strategic thinking

Impact G Ownership

• Define the technical foundation of critical platforms
• Lead and grow a high-performing engineering team
• Establish engineering standards, architecture patterns, and best practices
• Deliver systems that are secure, scalable, and built for long-term evolution