Principal Backend Engineer – Music Discovery Platform - Roon

Harman International; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 184,000; Full time

Job summary

Harman International is seeking a Principal Backend Engineer to architect scalable APIs and backend systems powering our music discovery platform. You will lead backend efforts, design data models, and collaborate across data, product, and software teams to deliver high-quality services.

Ideal candidates have 10+ years of backend experience, strong API and microservices skills, and hands-on cloud-native expertise with Docker, Kubernetes, and serverless architectures in AWS/GCP/Azure environments.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of backend services development.
• Strong understanding of modern backend development tools.
• Proficient in Node.js, Python, or Go and API design.
• Experience with microservices and cloud-native development.
• Hands-on with GCP, AWS, and Azure.
• Familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes, and Serverless.
• CI/CD pipelines and automated builds.
• Experience with PostgreSQL and BigQuery; caching & queues.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop robust, scalable APIs for music catalog, search, and recommendations.
• Design data models and integrations with metadata providers and analytics platforms.
• Lead backend engineering efforts, set coding standards, mentor engineers.
• Collaborate with product, frontend, and data teams on API contracts.
• Optimize backend performance for low latency and high availability.
• Implement observability tools for monitoring, logging, and alerting.
• Evaluate new technologies to improve velocity and capabilities.

Skills

Node.js

Python

Go

API design

Microservices

Cloud-native development

AWS

GCP

Azure

Docker

Kubernetes

Serverless

PostgreSQL

BigQuery

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Serverless

PostgreSQL

BigQuery

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Job description

**About the Role**At Harman International, we are revolutionizing music metadata management and discovery. We’re seeking a **Principal Backend Engineer** to lead the development of scalable, high-performance backend systems powering our music discovery platform. As a Backend Engineer on our Data Team, you will be at the forefront of building scalable, cutting-edge solutions that power our world-class music metadata services. We are seeking experienced developers passionate about working with data and backend technologies to drive our continued growth and solidify our position as a global leader in music data.In this role, you’ll architect and build APIs that enable seamless music search, recommendation, personalization, and user interaction. Your work will ensure users can seamlessly discover the music they love by driving backend services that deliver high-quality, accurate data to our product teams reliably. You will collaborate closely with your colleagues in the Data Team and the broader Harman Software Experiences organization, contributing to developing and deploying data-driven features that enhance the user experience.**What you will Do:*** **Architect and develop** robust, scalable, and secure APIs for music catalog, recommendation, and search.* **Design data models** and manage integrations with third-party music metadata providers, streaming services, and analytics platforms.* **Lead backend engineering efforts**, setting coding standards, reviewing code, and mentoring junior engineers.* **Collaborate with product, frontend, and data teams** to define API contracts and deliver seamless user experiences.* **Optimize performance** of backend services, ensuring low latency and high availability.* **Implement observability tools** for monitoring, logging, and alerting to ensure system reliability.* **Drive technical innovation**, evaluating new technologies and frameworks to improve development velocity and system capabilities.**What you need to Be Successful:*** 10+ years of backend services development* **Technical Skills:** Strong understanding of modern backend development tools.* Strong proficiency in **Node.js, Python, or Go** or similar backend languages.* Deep understanding of **API design**, **microservices architecture**, and **cloud-native development*** **Cloud Platforms:** Hands-on experience with GCP, AWS, and Azure* **Deployment Technologies:** Expertise with Docker, Kubernetes, and Serverless architectures.* **CI/CD:** Proficient with automated pipelines for continuous build and integration systems.* Experience with **databases** (e.g., PostgreSQL, BigQuery), **caching strategies**, and **message queues** (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ).* Familiarity with **music metadata standards**, recommendation systems, or audio streaming APIs is a plus.**Bonus Points if You Have:*** Experience with **machine learning pipelines** or **recommendation engines (strongly desired)*** **Experience working with machine learning workloads in production*** **Experience working with audio music streaming services*** Knowledge of **music theory**, **audio fingerprinting**, or **digital signal processing**.* Familiarity with **C#** and .**NET** based technologies.* Contributions to open-source projects or technical blogs.* A passion for delivering top-notch audio experiences to users and an interest in the audio technology domain**What Makes You Eligible:*** Position is 100% Remote* You must be available for meetings and team interaction during typical continental US business hours.* Be willing to travel up to 5%, domestically and internationally.* Successfully complete a background investigation and drug screen as a condition of employment**What We Offer*** Competitive wellness benefits and 401K Retirement Savings plan.* An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages career development opportunities.* Flexible work schedule with a culture encouraging work-life integration and collaboration in a global environment.* Professional development opportunities through HARMAN University’s business and leadership academies and extensive course catalog.* Tuition Reimbursement.* Access to employee discounts on world-class HARMAN products (JBL, Harman/Kardon, etc.).* “Be Brilliant” employee recognition and rewards program.#LI - Remote#LI-NW1***Salary Ranges:***$ 125,250 - $ 183,700