Senior Software Engineer

Halo Recruiting; Lisboa; On-site; EUR 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Halo Recruiting in Lisbon, Portugal is seeking a senior software engineer to own end-to-end backend development and contribute to frontend work when needed. This hands-on role requires designing robust systems, writing reliable code, and taking ownership without step-by-step guidance.

You will collaborate with product managers and engineers to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions, review code, and raise engineering standards in a small, autonomous team.

Qualifications

• Proven senior-level software engineering experience with backend focus.
• Strong system-design skills and ability to explain tradeoffs clearly.
• Experience building production software used by real customers.
• Comfort contributing to frontend code when required.
• Excellent spoken and written English with clear communication.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, test, and maintain backend features across services.
• Own technical work from problem definition to release.
• Make architectural decisions for scalability, reliability, and security.
• Modernize existing apps and improve code quality without disrupting workflows.
• Collaborate with product managers to translate business needs into technical solutions.
• Review code and share knowledge to raise engineering standards.

Skills

Backend development

System design

Communication in English

Job description

Join a growing technology company building software that helps financial institutions and global businesses detect financial crime, manage risk, and make faster, better-informed decisions. This is a hands‑on product engineering role for someone who can design strong systems, build reliable software, and take ownership without waiting for step‑by‑step direction.

You will work primarily on backend systems while contributing to frontend development when needed. The team operates with the pace and accountability of a smaller company, so success requires sound judgment, curiosity, and a willingness to identify where you can help most.

What You Will Do

• Design, build, test, and maintain product features across backend services and selected frontend components.
• Own technical work from problem definition and system design through implementation, release, and ongoing improvement.
• Make strong architectural and system-design decisions involving scalability, reliability, maintainability, security, and performance.
• Modernize existing applications and improve code quality without disrupting critical business workflows.
• Partner closely with product managers and other engineers to turn business needs into practical technical solutions.
• Investigate problems independently, propose solutions, and move work forward with limited oversight.
• Review code, share technical knowledge, and help raise engineering standards across a small, collaborative team.
• Identify useful work, risks, and improvement opportunities instead of waiting to be assigned every next step.

What We Are Looking For

• Proven senior‑level software engineering experience with deep strength in backend product development.
• Very strong system‑design skills and the ability to explain technical decisions, tradeoffs, and long‑term consequences clearly.
• Experience building and maintaining production software used by real customers.
• Experience contributing to frontend applications, with comfort working across the stack when the product requires it.
• Excellent spoken and written English, including the ability to communicate complex technical ideas clearly.
• A personable, collaborative working style and the confidence to engage directly with technical and non‑technical teammates.
• High ownership and initiative: you find the best way to help, solve ambiguous problems, and follow through without constant direction.

Strongly Preferred

• Experience working in a startup, scale‑up, or other small‑company environment where engineers take broad ownership.
• Experience in fintech, financial services, risk, compliance, payments, or another regulated financial domain.
• A record of improving existing systems while continuing to deliver new customer‑facing functionality.

Role Scope

This is a product software engineering position. It is not a data engineering, data science, DevOps, site reliability, or infrastructure role. Candidates should be strongest in application development, backend systems, and system design.

What Success Looks Like

• You quickly understand the product, users, and technical landscape.
• You make sound system‑design decisions and deliver reliable, maintainable software.
• You communicate early when priorities, risks, or tradeoffs are unclear.
• You consistently look for the highest‑value way to contribute and help the team move forward.