Backend Engineer

Zingroll; California, Northern (MO, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Zingroll is seeking a Lead Backend Engineer to head the development of our core systems. You will shape the technology roadmap and partner with product and data teams to build scalable, secure services.

You will architect resilient APIs for frontend, ML pipelines, and external integrations, guide backend design for streaming and data processing, and ensure performance and reliability in production. You thrive in a startup-like, fast-paced environment where ownership is valued and your decisions

Qualifications

• Experience building backend systems at scale.
• Strong knowledge of distributed and cloud-native architectures.
• Proficient with relational and NoSQL databases and API design.

Responsibilities

• Lead backend design for scalable systems and APIs.
• Architect resilient, observable, and cost-effective backend services.
• Drive security, privacy, and performance practices.
• Collaborate with ML, streaming, and frontend teams.

Skills

Backend architecture

Distributed systems

Cloud-native

Postgres / NoSQL

Node.js

AWS

API design

Security practices

Performance tuning

Team leadership

Tools

Postgres

MySQL

MongoDB

Node.js

AWS (Lambda / S3 / DynamoDB)

Job description

We are looking for a Lead Backend Engineer to head the development of our core systems. You'll join a team that values clean architecture and smart scaling. In this role, you won't just be executing tasks—you'll be a key partner in deciding how our technology evolves. We need someone who enjoys the challenge of building systems from the ground up and wants to see their work have a direct impact on the product.

What You'll Do

• Architect resilient, observable, and cost-effective systems that scale smoothly.
• Develop and optimize robust APIs to support frontend experiences, ML systems, and external integrations.
• Lead backend design for video streaming, LLM pipelines, and large-scale data processing.
• Establish best practices around security, privacy, and performance.
• Take architectural decisions and help set long-term engineering direction.

What We're Looking For

• Years of experience building backend systems at scale, ideally in high-throughput or high-availability environments.
• Understanding of distributed systems, cloud-native architecture, and microservices.
• Comfortable with relational and/or NoSQL databases like Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.
• Skilled at profiling, debugging, and optimizing systems for scale and speed.
• High security standards, and ready to iterate and quickly get things to production.
• Experience working with Node.js, AWS (Lambda, S3, DynamoDB / SQL acceptable), AI API integration, GPU-hosted model experience, and low-latency video streaming systems.
• Ready to step in and put out fires whenever something breaks.

Bonus Points

• Been a start-up founder or worked in an early-stage environment before.
• You enjoy high-ownership, high-speed, no-hand-holding environments.
• Experience building and maintaining high-end streaming systems optimized for low latency and lag-free performance at scale.

General Notes

• Prior startup experience or a passion-led approach to work is highly valued.
• While the culture is highly intense and not aligned with strict 9–5 expectations, how many hours you put in is totally up to you.
• Compensation Range: Competitive and market-aligned. The final package depends on skills, experience, and abilities – not your degree.