Principal Backend Engineer

Parts Town; Addison (IL); On-site; USD 133,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with match

Paid time off

Parental leave

Professional development

Job summary

Parts Town, a fast-growing distributor of restaurant equipment, is seeking a Principal Backend Engineer in Addison, IL. You will design scalable microservices powering our eCommerce and enterprise platforms, champion API-first and event-driven architectures, and own backend policies, CI/CD, and testing automation.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with frontend, DevOps, and data teams, and ensure high availability with logging and observability.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in backend system design, eCommerce, and distributed applications.
• Strong written and verbal communication in English.
• Expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, and cloud-native platforms (Azure preferred).
• Knowledge of databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis), microservices, event-driven architectures (Kafka, NATS), and API standards (REST, GraphQL).
• Experience with unit, integration, and contract testing (Jest, Mocha, Pact) and CI/CD (Terraform, Pulumi).
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), serverless computing, Kubernetes, and containerization.
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and collaborate across teams.

Responsibilities

• Backend Architecture: Design scalable cloud-native microservices and ensure interoperability between platforms (eCommerce, CMS, ERP, PIM, marketing).
• Implementation & Best Practices: Use Node.js, TypeScript, Docker, Kubernetes, and serverless tech to build high-performance services; advocate modularization, API-first and event-driven architectures.
• Engineering Standards: Establish CI/CD practices, automated testing, and backend tooling standards; drive service-to-service communication (REST, GraphQL, gRPC).
• Operational Practices: Lead disaster recovery strategies, define observability and logging best practices, and drive automated testing strategies.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with frontend, DevOps, and data teams to optimize APIs, caching, and databases; mentor engineers.

Skills

Strong communication

10+ years backend design

Node.js

TypeScript

Cloud-native platforms (Azure)

Databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis)

Microservices & event-driven

API standards (REST, GraphQL)

Unit/integration/contract testing

CI/CD tooling (Terraform, Pulumi)

Mentoring engineers

Tools

Node.js

TypeScript

Docker

Kubernetes

Serverless

GraphQL

REST

Kafka

NATS

Terraform

Pulumi

AWS

Azure

Job description

As the fastest-growing distributor of restaurant equipment, HVAC and residential appliance parts, we like to do things a little differently. First, you need to understand and demonstrate our Core Values with safety being your first priority. That's key. But we're also looking for unique enthusiasm, high integrity, courage to embrace change…and if you know a few jokes, that puts you on the top of our list! Do you have a genius-level knowledge of original equipment manufacturer parts? If not, no problem! We're more interested in passionate people with fresh ideas from different backgrounds. That's what keeps us at the top of our game. We're proud that our workplace has been recognized for its growth and innovation on the Inc. 5000 list 15 years in a row and the Crain's Fast 50 list ten times. We are honored to be voted by our Chicagoland team as a Chicago Tribune Top Workplace for the last four years. If you're ready to roll up your sleeves, go above and beyond and put your ambition to work, all while having some fun,

About the Role

As a Principal Backend Engineer, you will design, architect, and optimize scalable microservices that power our eCommerce and enterprise platforms. You'll drive backend architecture and ensure seamless integration across systems like commerce, CMS, ERP, PIM, and marketing. Championing best practices in modularization, API design, and event-driven architectures, you'll leverage Node.js, TypeScript, Docker, Kubernetes, and serverless technologies to create secure, high-performance services. You'll own backend engineering policies, CI/CD pipelines, and testing automation to ensure reliable deployments. As a technical leader, you'll define logging, observability, and disaster recovery strategies, ensuring high availability. Collaboration with frontend, DevOps, and data teams will be key to optimizing system performance. Mentoring engineers and contributing to architectural decisions will be central to your role. This position is ideal for someone with extensive experience in backend design and distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Backend Architecture: Design scalable, cloud-native microservices and ensure seamless interoperability between platforms (eCommerce, CMS, ERP, PIM, marketing)
• Implementation & Best Practices: Leverage Node.js, TypeScript, Docker, Kubernetes, and serverless technologies to build high-performance services. Advocate for modularization, API-first, event-driven architectures, and domain-driven design
• Engineering Standards: Establish CI/CD practices, automated testing, and backend tooling standards. Drive adoption of best practices for service-to-service communication (REST, GraphQL, gRPC)
• Operational Practices: Lead disaster recovery strategies, define observability and logging best practices, and drive automated testing strategies
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with frontend, DevOps, and data teams to optimize APIs, caching, and databases. Mentor engineers and collaborate with other Principal Engineers to ensure engineering excellence

Qualifications

• You have strong written and verbal communication skills in English
• You have 10+ years of experience in backend system design, eCommerce, and distributed applications
• You're an expert in Node.js, TypeScript, and cloud-native platforms (Azure preferred)
• You're passionate and knowledgeable of databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis), microservices, event-driven architectures (Kafka, NATS), and API standards (REST, GraphQL)
• You possess experience with unit, integration, and contract testing (Jest, Mocha, Pact) and CI/CD (Terraform, Pulumi)
• You are familiar with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), serverless computing, Kubernetes, and containerization
• You have proven ability to mentor engineers and collaborate across teams.

Required Skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
• 10+ years of experience in backend system design, eCommerce, and distributed applications
• Expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, and cloud-native platforms (Azure preferred)
• Knowledge of databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis), microservices, event-driven architectures (Kafka, NATS), and API standards (REST, GraphQL)
• Experience with unit, integration, and contract testing (Jest, Mocha, Pact) and CI/CD (Terraform, Pulumi)
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), serverless computing, Kubernetes, and containerization
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and collaborate across teams.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in mentoring engineers and collaborating across teams.

Pay range and compensation package

The salary range for this role is $133,164.93 - $179,711.01 annually which is based on including but not limited to qualifications, experience, and geographical location. Parts Town is a pay for performance-company. In addition to base pay, some roles offer a profit-sharing program, and an annual bonus depending on the role. Our comprehensive benefits package includes health, dental and vision insurance, 401(k) with match, employee assistance programs, paid time off, paid sick time off, paid holidays, paid parental leave, and professional development opportunities.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Parts Town welcomes diversity and as an equal opportunity employer all qualified applicants will be considered regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.