Principal / Senior Staff Backend Engineer

ProphetX; World Trade Center (NY); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

ProphetX is seeking a Principal / Senior Staff Backend Engineer to shape the technical strategy of our exchange platform. You will be a recognized authority, setting multi-year direction and multiplying the impact of the engineering organization.

You will lead high-impact technical initiatives in a CFTC-regulated, low-latency environment while mentoring staff and partnering with product to influence roadmaps. This fully remote US role offers equity opportunities and a strong ownership culture.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of backend and distributed systems experience.
• Expert-level command of Go, Java, C++, or Python and of large-scale system design.
• Proven experience architecting and evolving mission-critical, low-latency platforms.

Responsibilities

• Define the long-term technical strategy and architecture for the exchange platform, aligned to business and regulatory goals.
• Lead company-level technical initiatives with ambiguous scope and significant business risk or opportunity.
• Drive critical decisions on scalability, resilience, and security for systems in a CFTC-regulated environment.
• Evaluate and introduce new technologies, build-versus-buy choices, and engineering practices at an organizational level.
• Advise executive and product leadership on technical feasibility, risk, and investment.
• Mentor staff and senior engineers, and help shape hiring, leveling, and engineering culture.
• Represent ProphetX’s engineering depth with partners, regulators, and the broader technical community where appropriate.
• Partner with product and leadership to influence roadmap and prioritization with technical insight.
• Proactively seek development opportunities and share knowledge with peers and junior engineers.

Skills

Backend engineering

Distributed systems

Go

Java

C++

Python

System design

Low-latency

Security & compliance

Mentoring

Job description

Principal / Senior Staff Backend Engineer

Application Deadline: 20 November 2026

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Remote - USA

Compensation: $200,000 - $250,000 / year

Description

We’re looking for a Principal / Senior Staff Backend Engineer (IC5) to shape the technical strategy of ProphetX as a company. You’ll be a recognized technical authority who solves our hardest problems, sets multi-year architectural direction for our exchange platform, and multiplies the impact of the entire engineering organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the long-term technical strategy and architecture for the exchange platform, aligned to business and regulatory goals.
• Lead company-level technical initiatives with ambiguous scope and significant business risk or opportunity.
• Drive critical decisions on scalability, resilience, and security for systems operating in a CFTC-regulated environment.
• Evaluate and introduce new technologies, build-versus-buy choices, and engineering practices at an organizational level.
• Advise executive and product leadership on technical feasibility, risk, and investment.
• Mentor staff and senior engineers, and help shape hiring, leveling, and engineering culture.
• Represent ProphetX’s engineering depth with partners, regulators, and the broader technical community where appropriate.
• Partner with product and leadership to influence roadmap and prioritization with technical insight.
• Proactively seek development opportunities and share knowledge with peers and junior engineers.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• 10+ years of backend and distributed systems experience, including a track record of org- or company-wide technical impact
• Expert-level command of Go, Java, C++, or Python, and of large-scale system design
• Proven experience architecting and evolving mission-critical, low-latency, high-availability platforms (exchange, trading, payments, or comparable)
• Mastery of event-driven architecture, real-time APIs, data systems, and cloud-native infrastructure
• Deep experience with reliability, security, and compliance in regulated environments
• History of mentoring and growing senior and staff engineers
• Exceptional communication and influence skills, from engineers to executives
• Proactive, growth-focused, and highly adaptable with a strong sense of ownership
• Prediction markets, fintech, sports betting, or exchange experience is a plus

Why Join Us!

Compensation & Ownership

• Competitive compensation aligned to role and market
• Equity opportunities so you share in what we’re building
• A clear connection between impact and reward

Health & Wellbeing

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible time off built on trust and accountability
• A culture that respects your time and avoids unnecessary meetings

Remote & Flexible Work

• Fully remote within the U.S.
• Flexibility to work in the way that helps you do your best work

The Role

• Set the multi-year technical direction for a live, CFTC-regulated exchange platform, as a recognized technical authority across the company
• Take on a high-impact IC role with direct influence on executive and product decisions, build-versus-buy choices, and engineering culture
• Help define what resilient, secure, and compliant exchange architecture looks like as a brand-new asset class scales