Backend Engineer: Scalable APIs & Microservices (NYC)

Portra; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Portra, a New York-basedInsurTech startup, is seeking a Backend Engineer for their on-site team at the corporate headquarters in NYC. You will design and build scalable backend services and REST APIs, owning incidents end-to-end and driving deployment automation.

The role requires 2+ years of production backend experience, a Master’s degree, and strong Python, Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud skills. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver robust, high-performance systems that

Qualifications

• 2+ years building production backend systems.
• Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• Experience building microservices with Python.
• Experience with both SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Demonstrated expertise deploying and scaling applications on AWS or GCP.
• Hands-on experience containerizing applications with Docker and orchestrating with Kubernetes.
• Track record of designing, shipping, and supporting API-driven architectures.
• Proficiency building automated deployment pipelines and continuous integration workflows.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop scalable backend services and service-oriented architectures.
• Own the full lifecycle of REST APIs serving both internal teams and external partners.
• Own production incidents end-to-end — from detection through root cause analysis, remediation, and prevention.
• Build and evolve deployment automation, including pipeline design and release strategies.
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks in application code and data layer.
• Author clear technical specifications and maintain up-to-date system documentation.

Skills

Backend development

API design

Distributed systems

CI/CD

Troubleshooting

Education

Master's degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent

Tools

Python

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

SQL

NoSQL

Job description

Portra, a New York-basedInsurTech startup, is seeking a Backend Engineer for their on-site team at the corporate headquarters in NYC. You will design and build scalable backend services and REST APIs, owning incidents end-to-end and driving deployment automation.

The role requires 2+ years of production backend experience, a Master’s degree, and strong Python, Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud skills. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver robust, high-performance systems that