Member of Technical Staff (Backend)

Footprint; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking a backend engineer to help design and operate high-scale systems in New York. You will own substantial backend features, shape architectural decisions, and collaborate with design and frontend teams to deliver end-to-end solutions.

You will contribute to product direction and write production-grade Rust for secure, fast services. The role emphasizes scalability, security, and thoughtful handling of edge cases in a high-trust environment.

Qualifications

• Backend systems designed, built, and operated under load.
• Security-focused architecture and operations.
• Scalability and security considered from day one.
• Attention to edge cases and failure modes.
• Bias to action and delivering results.

Responsibilities

• API and service design: Design and build high-performance, well-structured APIs and services that power the Footprint platform and the products our customers depend on.
• End-to-end delivery: Work closely with design and frontend engineers to take features from ideation through production, owning the backend from data model to deployment.
• Large product areas: Own significant features and entire product areas completely. You'll be trusted to make the architectural calls, not just implement them.
• Product direction: Be a strong contributor to overall product direction and team planning. Your judgment shapes what we build, not only how we build it.
• Rust at scale: Write production Rust for systems that handle sensitive data securely, reliably, and fast.

Job description

Overview

• API and service design: Design and build high-performance, well-structured APIs and services that power the Footprint platform and the products our customers depend on.
• End-to-end delivery: Work closely with design and frontend engineers to take features from ideation through production, owning the backend from data model to deployment.
• Large product areas: Own significant features and entire product areas completely. You'll be trusted to make the architectural calls, not just implement them.
• Product direction: Be a strong contributor to overall product direction and team planning. Your judgment shapes what we build, not only how we build it.
• Rust at scale: Write production Rust for systems that handle sensitive data securely, reliably, and fast.

Requirements

• Production backend experience at scale: You've designed, built, and operated real backend systems under load, and you've debugged them when things broke.
• Security-first mindset: You care about privacy, security, and trust, and it shows in how you architect and operate systems.
• Strong systems thinking: You design for scalability and security from day one, not as an afterthought, and you reason clearly about tradeoffs.
• Sweats the details: You think hard about edge cases, failure modes, and the not-happy path, because in our domain the details are the product.
• Bias to action: You move quickly yet diligently, aren't afraid to make and own mistakes, and get things shipped.
• Low ego, high ownership: You thrive in a high-trust environment where everyone pulls their weight and the best idea wins.