Expert Backend Engineer - Marketplace, Order Ops

Shopee; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Shopee is seeking an experienced Backend Leader to drive end-to-end software initiatives across the Buy/Sell platform. You will guide architecture and mentor engineers while delivering scalable, AI-informed features such as returns, refunds, settlements, and cross-stack optimizations.

The role emphasizes hands-on backend engineering, design review, and collaboration with product, QA, and ops teams to achieve high quality and reliability in a fast-growing global marketplace.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or higher in Computer Science or related field.
• 6+ years designing scalable distributed systems.
• 2+ years of hands-on technical leadership experience.
• Proficient in object-oriented languages such as Golang, Python, Java, or C++.
• Experience with backend middleware like MySQL bin logs, Kafka replication, and Redis high availability.
• Experience using AI to improve testing, debugging, incident response, code quality, or production operations is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead a project team to deliver end-to-end projects across the software development life cycle.
• Realizing business goals through implementing features to Shopee as a platform, including but not limited to return and refund, and clearing and settlement.
• Use AI coding tools throughout the development lifecycle, including design, coding, testing, debugging, refactoring, and code review.
• Build AI-native engineering practices, including Agent Harnesses, engineering Knowledge Bases, AI Loops, workflow automation, and knowledge reuse.
• Collaborate in a highly cross-functional environment with Software Engineers, Product Managers, Quality Assurance Engineers, and Operation Engineers to deliver impact.
• Guide and review technical designs and coding outputs of the team, taking responsibility for progress and quality of projects
• Optimize the process of developing, debugging, testing, releasing, documenting, monitoring and operating on the cross-stack systems in the team
• Design well layered engineering architectures to model product requirements, abstract reusable components, and decouple independent modules
• Set the technical direction of the backend architecture, plan deliverables and milestones to execute the team's engineering strategy
• Mentor and coach team members on backend software engineering principles and practices
• Cultivate technical culture and innovation, and enhance engineering quality on a cross-team level

Skills

Golang

Python

Java

C++

Education

Bachelor’s or higher in Computer Science

Tools

MySQL

Kafka

Redis

Job description

About The Team

The Marketplace Order Operations team powers the critical order related features of Shopee as a platform through innovation and technology. In our pursuit to shape the way buyers and sellers connect with each other, we engineer scalable, reliable and extensible systems that evolve with the dynamic e-commerce landscape. As we scale to the next engineering frontier for the global market, we continuously solve unique challenges such as multi-market architecture design, highly sustainable systems, and core functional capabilities for the department. Our tech leaders take responsibility for products, define engineering roadmaps, and work with cross-functional teams to achieve excellence in product performance and technical sustainability.

About The Team

The Marketplace Order Operations team powers the critical order related features of Shopee as a platform through innovation and technology. In our pursuit to shape the way buyers and sellers connect with each other, we engineer scalable, reliable and extensible systems that evolve with the dynamic e-commerce landscape. As we scale to the next engineering frontier for the global market, we continuously solve unique challenges such as multi-market architecture design, highly sustainable systems, and core functional capabilities for the department. Our tech leaders take responsibility for products, define engineering roadmaps, and work with cross-functional teams to achieve excellence in product performance and technical sustainability.

Job Description

• Lead a project team to deliver end-to-end projects across the software development life cycle


• Realizing business goals through implementing features to Shopee as a platform, including but not limited to return and refund, and clearing and settlement.


• Use AI coding tools throughout the development lifecycle, including design, coding, testing, debugging, refactoring, and code review.


• Build AI-native engineering practices, including Agent Harnesses, engineering Knowledge Bases, AI Loops, workflow automation, and knowledge reuse.


• Collaborate in a highly cross-functional environment with Software Engineers, Product Managers, Quality Assurance Engineers, and Operation Engineers to deliver impact.


• Guide and review technical designs and coding outputs of the team, taking responsibility for progress and quality of projects


• Optimize the process of developing, debugging, testing, releasing, documenting, monitoring and operating on the cross-stack systems in the team


• Design well layered engineering architectures to model product requirements, abstract reusable components, and decouple independent modules


• Set the technical direction of the backend architecture, plan deliverables and milestones to execute the team's engineering strategy


• Mentor and coach team members on backend software engineering principles and practices


• Cultivate technical culture and innovation, and enhance engineering quality on a cross-team level

Requirements

• Bachelor's or a higher degree in Computer Science or related qualifications


• At least 6 years of experience designing and troubleshooting highly scalable and maintainable distributed systems


• At least 2 years of hands-on technical leadership experience, defining technical direction and leading project teams


• Hands-on proficiency in an object-oriented programming language, such as Golang, Python, Java, or C++.


• Hands-on experience in backend engineering middleware internals, such as MySQL binary logs, Kafka replication details, and Redis high availability strategies.


• Experience in refactoring systems based on complex product requirements, to improve maintainability and development efficiency


• Prior experience using AI to improve testing, debugging, incident response, code quality, or production operations in an implementation setting will be a strong plus.