Principal Backend Architect: Lead Scalable Systems & AI

Hard Rock Digital; United States; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay & benefits

Flexible vacation

Hybrid/flexible work options

Job summary

Hard Rock Digital is seeking a Principal Backend Engineer to lead hands-on technical work within the Core engineering group and to shape architecture for complex distributed systems. You will mentor senior engineers and partner with product leadership to maximize business impact.

You will own high-stakes technical decisions, drive scalability and reliability, and advocate AI-assisted development practices while balancing trade-offs.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience operating at staff or principal level.
• Deep backend engineering expertise with distributed systems at scale.
• Strong technical judgment that earns trust from peers.
• Experience with Java is a strong advantage; depth of backend systems thinking is important.
• Solid understanding of Core account infrastructure and geolocation flows.
• Strong written and verbal communication; ability to make complex technical decisions legible to non-technical stakeholders.
• Hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tools and championing AI practices.
• Degree in CS or related field or equivalent work experience (10+ years).

Responsibilities

• Act as technical point of contact for stakeholders while remaining hands-on in coding and architecture.
• Partner with Engineering and Product leadership to shape roadmaps and trade-offs for business impact.
• Lead and influence architectural direction for complex systems, ensuring cohesive designs.
• Uphold a high bar for technical excellence and drive quality improvements.
• Mentor, sponsor, and develop senior engineers; lead through code reviews and mentorship.
• Spot and resolve cross-team dependencies and champion AI-assisted development adoption.

Skills

Principal level

Distributed systems

Backend architecture

Java experience

Systems thinking

Technical communication

AI-assisted tools

Geolocation flows

10+ years exp

Education

Degree in CS or related field

Tools

GitHub Copilot

Claude Code

Cursor AI

Job description

Hard Rock Digital is seeking a Principal Backend Engineer to lead hands-on technical work within the Core engineering group and to shape architecture for complex distributed systems. You will mentor senior engineers and partner with product leadership to maximize business impact.

You will own high-stakes technical decisions, drive scalability and reliability, and advocate AI-assisted development practices while balancing trade-offs.