Senior Backend Architect – Cloud-Native Systems

Pearson; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Pearson is seeking a Senior Software Engineer in the United States to own end-to-end design, build, and operation of scalable backend systems in a cloud-native AWS environment. You will lead large-scale initiatives, modernize platforms, improve reliability and performance, and mentor teams across onshore and offshore locations while ensuring high-quality, maintainable solutions.

This hands-on role requires strong technical judgment, effective communication with product partners, and the ability

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS/SE/IT or related field; masters preferred.
• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Experience as a technical lead or senior engineer on complex initiatives.
• Strong backend engineering concepts: distributed systems, concurrency, scalability, resiliency.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and production support.
• Build scalable, reliable backend services and event-driven architectures.
• Own major initiatives from discovery through production rollout and support.
• Balance new features with modernization, debt reduction, and reliability improvements.
• Partner with product, architecture, security, operations, and other teams to translate requirements into technical approaches.
• Create clear technical proposals including outcomes, risks, and trade-offs.
• Lead architecture reviews and design discussions for complex initiatives.
• Document system designs, runbooks, and engineering standards.
• Drive continuous improvement in development, delivery, deployment, and support practices.

Skills

Java

Kotlin

Scala

C#

Go

Rust

TypeScript

Distributed systems

Backend engineering

Cloud architecture

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Software Engineering / IT

Master's degree (a plus)

Tools

AWS

API Gateway

SQS/SNS

ECS / EKS

DynamoDB

RDS / Aurora

CloudWatch

Job description

Pearson is seeking a Senior Software Engineer in the United States to own end-to-end design, build, and operation of scalable backend systems in a cloud-native AWS environment. You will lead large-scale initiatives, modernize platforms, improve reliability and performance, and mentor teams across onshore and offshore locations while ensuring high-quality, maintainable solutions.

This hands-on role requires strong technical judgment, effective communication with product partners, and the ability