Principal Engineer - Application Engineering

Fairview International School; Malaysia; On-site; MYR 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Fairview International School in Malaysia is looking for a backend engineer to design and evolve scalable backend systems on AWS. This role requires strong engineering capabilities, leadership in developing internal teams, and driving engineering standards to ensure system performance and reliability.

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in backend languages such as Java, Go, or Python, strong architectural judgment, and experience in cloud platforms. The position emphasizes collaboration and problem-solving to enhance engineering practices.

Qualifications

• Deep backend engineering expertise across languages such as Java, Go, Python, Ruby, or Node.js.
• Strong architectural judgment in designing distributed, scalable, and secure systems.
• Proven ability to lead technical direction and influence engineering practices at scale.
• Experience building and operating systems on cloud platforms such as AWS.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and evolution of scalable, secure back-end systems built on AWS.
• Drive engineering standards across code quality, architecture, and system design decisions.
• Build, influence, and grow internal engineering capability while reducing reliance on vendors.
• Lead complex technical problem-solving across performance, scalability, and reliability challenges.
• Drive adoption of DevSecOps, CI/CD, and automated quality practices across engineering teams.

Skills

Backend engineering expertise

Architectural judgment

Leadership and influence skills

Experience with AWS

Job description

• Strengthen backend platforms critical to onboarding participants into Malaysia’s payment ecosystem
• Scale and stabilize systems as onboarding volumes, complexity, and integration demands increase
• Reduce long‑term operational and performance risk through better backend architecture and design
• Own backend decisions that directly affect platform reliability, security, and partner experience

TL;DR

• Own and shape the back-end architecture powering high-scale payment systems on AWS
• Lead the shift from outsourced development to strong internal engineering capability
• Drive engineering standards, system performance, and secure, scalable design
• Influence how PayNet builds, deploys, and evolves mission-critical services

Why This Role Matters

• PayNet’s ability to scale securely and reliably depends on strong architectural decisions made at this level
• Poor system design or weak engineering standards create long-term risk across performance, security, and cost
• This role defines how fast PayNet can modernise and how effectively it controls its own technology stack
• Requires judgment over process—balancing speed, quality, risk, and long-term maintainability

What You Will Actually Do

• Own the design and evolution of scalable, secure back-end systems built on AWS
• Drive engineering standards across code quality, architecture, and system design decisions
• Build, influence, and grow internal engineering capability while reducing reliance on vendors
• Lead complex technical problem-solving across performance, scalability, and reliability challenges
• Shape API design, data architecture, and integration strategies across platforms
• Drive adoption of DevSecOps, CI/CD, and automated quality practices across engineering teams

Examples of This Role in Practice

• Decide whether to refactor a core payment service or redesign it for cloud-native scalability—and lead the implementation path
• Identify performance bottlenecks in high-volume transaction systems and drive architectural fixes that reduce latency at scale
• Transition a vendor-owned system into an internally built and maintained platform without disrupting live operations
• Set organisation-wide standards for API design, testing, and deployment that multiple teams adopt
• Evaluate trade-offs between speed of delivery and system resilience when launching new payment capabilities

What Will Help You Succeed

Required strengths

• Deep backend engineering expertise across languages such as Java, Go, Python, Ruby, or Node.js
• Strong architectural judgment in designing distributed, scalable, and secure systems
• Proven ability to lead technical direction and influence engineering practices at scale
• Experience building and operating systems on cloud platforms such as AWS

Helpful advantages

• Exposure to high-availability or transaction-heavy systems (e.g., financial services, large-scale platforms)
• Familiarity with modern DevSecOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and observability tools
• Experience designing APIs and integrating complex distributed systems
• Strength in mentoring engineers and raising the overall engineering bar