Senior Backend Software Engineer

Seekers Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech company in Kuala Lumpur is seeking a Senior Backend Software Engineer to design and optimize high-performance backend systems using C. This role involves mentoring junior engineers, adhering to engineering best practices, and taking ownership of system reliability. Candidates should have at least 4 years of experience in backend development with strong knowledge in C programming and system-level programming. This position offers an opportunity to work in a dynamic startup environment.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional experience in software development with a focus on backend systems using C.
• Deep knowledge of memory management, pointers, and multithreading.
• Experience with RESTful API design and backend service interaction.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop high-performance backend systems using C.
• Optimize code and system architecture.
• Mentor junior engineers and review code.

Skills

C programming

OOP principles

DevOps practices

Problem-solving

Linux/Unix programming

Education

Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

PostgreSQL

MySQL

Job description

The Senior Backend Software Engineer (C) role involves designing, developing, and optimizing high-performance backend systems in C, ensuring scalability, reliability, and adherence to best engineering practices.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain robust and high-performance backend systems using the C programming language.
• Optimize existing code and system architecture to improve performance, reliability, and scalability.
• Ensure adherence to software engineering best practices, including code standards, architectural principles, and design patterns.
• Diagnose, debug, and resolve issues in production environments with a deep understanding of system internals.
• Take ownership of system reliability, including proactive monitoring and incident response.
• Mentor junior engineers, review code, and help establish strong engineering practices across the team.
• Develop unit and integration tests to ensure high-quality and resilient code.
• Continuously improve build, deployment, and testing automation pipelines to support rapid development and deployment cycles.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define technical solutions and ensure alignment with product and business goals.

Skills & Experiences

• Bachelors or Masters Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 4+ years of professional experience in software development, with a strong focus on backend systems using C
• Deep knowledge of C programming, including memory management, pointers, multithreading, and system-level programming
• Solid understanding of software engineering principles, including OOP (in C-compatible patterns), TDD, CI/CD, and Agile methodologies.
• Experience with Linux/Unix system programming, including sockets, IPC, and multithreaded applications.
• Familiarity with profiling, debugging, and performance tuning tools such as gdb, valgrind, strace, perf, etc.
• Understanding of low-level system internals including the kernel, memory layout, and CPU architecture.
• Experience with microservices or modular architectures is a plus.
• Exposure to RESTful API design and interaction with backend services via protocols like HTTP, gRPC, or custom RPC mechanisms.
• Experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and/or key-value stores like Redis.
• Familiarity with build systems and tools like Make, CMake, autotools, or similar.
• Experience in DevOps practices, automation scripts, and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) is a plus.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to handle low-level debugging in production systems.
• Proven ability to write clean, maintainable code with comprehensive documentation and test coverage.
• Self-motivated, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic and fast-paced startup environment.
• Start-up experience or entrepreneurial mindset is highly desirable.