Lead Back End Architect/Engineer

Openkrill; United States; Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great Place to Work certification

Comprehensive benefits program

LinkedIn Learning access

Job summary

Real Chemistry is hiring a Lead Engineer, Back End to shape the platform's data model and APIs. You will own backend architecture, guide reliable, scalable services, and build a team of back-end and data engineers while partnering with DevOps and data science to bring models to production.

The role emphasizes ownership, high code quality, and collaboration across product and design to define scope and sequencing from the start of each effort.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in back-end or full-stack engineering.
• 2+ years leading a team.
• Experience leading data models and access patterns for B2B/enterprise scale.
• Experience hiring engineers and running technical interviews.
• Experience directing AI-assisted coding with human review.
• Experience partnering with data science/ML to productionize models.
• Fluency in defining API contracts across teams.
• Comfort with ambiguity in a fast-moving org.

Responsibilities

• Lead platform data model decisions in Aurora and DynamoDB.
• Define and manage API contracts with frontend.
• Drive reliability, performance, and cost for back-end services with DevOps.
• Partner with data science to productionize models and recommendations.
• Hire and mentor back-end and data engineers; ensure CI-enforced testing.

Skills

Back-end engineering

Team leadership

Data modeling

API contracts

Cloud architecture

Aurora

DynamoDB

CI/CD & testing

Collaboration with DevOps

Tools

Aurora

DynamoDB

Job description

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

Real Chemistry Media is transforming how medical and healthcare marketers engage healthcare professionals (HCPs) and consumers through data, technology, and omnichannel innovation. Real Chemistry Media's product and technology teams sit at the heart of this meaningful work by building tools that increase impact. In support of our mission to help life-changing medicines and therapies reach their full market potential, we are building an enterprise platform for omnichannel orchestration in healthcare marketing.

Our technology enables healthcare organizations to design, deploy, and optimize HCP journeys through a scalable, self-service product that connects to their existing marketing and data systems. The platform is live with early users and on track with rapid growth milestones, so the decisions made over the next year will be influential in shaping the product's future.

We are hiring a Lead Engineer, Back End to drive the services and data model that power the platform. You will lead back-end architecture and hands-on delivery, hire and grow a team of back-end and data engineers, and direct how the platform's data scales, stays reliable, and connects to the systems around it. The team is small and we're building a lot, so there are a lot of opportunities for ownership and influence.

What You'll Do:

- Lead the platform's application data model in Aurora and DynamoDB, and the access-pattern decisions behind it, as the product scales.

- Drive the integration contract with our data warehouse — what flows each way, on what cadence — and keep the warehouse out of the platform's request path.

- Define API contracts together with the front end lead, so the interface and the data model evolve as one system.

- Direct the reliability, performance, and cost of back-end services, partnering with DevOps on the platform-level non-functional requirements that take both teams' input.

- Partner with data science to productionize the models and recommendation features built on top of the platform's data.

- Hire and lead a team of back-end and data engineers, setting a high bar for code quality and CI-enforced testing.

- Support and set standards for agentic coding on your team, backed by real company investment in the tools, not just tolerance for their use.

- Partner with product and design on problem definition, scope, and sequencing from the start of each effort.

This position is a perfect fit for you if:

- You are adaptable, resilient, and OK with adjusting your scope, responsibilities, and focus as we grow. When things change, so do we. We’re always evolving.

- You are proactive, driven, and resourceful with strong prioritization skills and a desire to dive into the data.

- You are highly organized self-starter, able to work independently and under tight deadlines.

What You Should Have:

- 8+ years in back-end or full-stack engineering, including 2+ years leading a team.

- Experience leading a data model and access patterns for a B2B or enterprise product at meaningful scale, ideally across both a relational and a NoSQL store.

- Track record hiring and growing engineers, and running a technical interview loop from scratch.

- Comfortable directing and reviewing agentic or AI-assisted coding, with the judgment to know what to hold to human review regardless of how the code was produced.

- Experience partnering with data science or ML teams to get models into production.

- Fluency defining and maintaining API contracts across a team boundary.

- Comfort with ambiguity and a fast-moving, still-small engineering org.

- Bonus points for pharma or HCP marketing experience — or any complex, regulated marketing data environment (ad tech, financial services marketing, health systems).

Pay Range: $175,000-$200,000

This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors including but not limited to work experience, skills, certifications, and geographical location. The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.

Real Chemistry is proud to be Great Place to Work® certified; check out what our people shared about our culture and workplace on our Great Places to Work Profile here.

We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks, tailored to your region. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks to keep you running all day long, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vison plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and support and access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning. Learn more about our great benefits and perks and search specific offerings in your region at: www.realchemistrybenefits.com.

At Real Chemistry, we believe we’re at our best when we’re connected. Our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach is designed to foster collaboration, learning, innovation, and meaningful relationships while providing flexibility where appropriate. Because our workforce spans multiple countries, regions, and client needs, work arrangements may vary by role and location. Some positions offer hybrid or remote flexibility, while others require regular in-office presence. For example, certain teams and regions, including some of our UK operations, have office-based requirements. Your recruiter will discuss the specific expectations for the role you’re pursuing during the interview process and keep you informed throughout the hiring journey. For employees located within a one-hour commute of a Real Chemistry office, we require in-person attendance two days per week, either from a Real Chemistry office or when working onsite with clients. Employees in regions without a nearby office may work remotely and come together throughout the year for collaboration, culture-building, learning, and team connection opportunities. While these guidelines reflect our current workplace model, we understand that everyone’s circumstances are unique. If you require additional flexibility, we welcome an open conversation with your recruiter and our HR team to discuss your needs and determine what may be possible.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry. We encourage motivated and qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic informatio