Senior Backend Architect – Scalable Travel Platform

Navan; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Parental leave

Healthcare

Flexible Vacation

Health and Wellness

401k (retirement plan)

Connectivity Allowance

Learning & Development

Pet Friendly

IATAN (travel-related discounts)

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Navan is hiring a Senior Software Engineer (Backend) to drive technical vision and execution for the backend of Navan’s global travel and expense platform. You will architect core backend systems, scale high-performance microservices, and lead cross-functional engineering initiatives.

Ideal candidates will have 6+ years in software engineering, strong skills in Java, TypeScript/Node.js, Python or Go, and proven experience with Kafka, RabbitMQ, caching, and distributed databases.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of software engineering experience building scalable distributed production systems at an enterprise or global scale.
• Strong backend focus with deep knowledge of Java, TypeScript/Node.js, Python or Go.
• Experience designing microservices, event-driven workflows (Kafka, RabbitMQ), caching, and distributed databases.

Responsibilities

• Architect core backend systems, designing and scaling high-performance, fault-tolerant microservices.
• Lead technical initiatives, drive cross-functional projects, and set engineering standards.
• Improve performance, reliability, and observability of critical Tier 1 services.
• Collaborate with product, data, and platform teams to translate requirements into robust solutions.
• Mentor engineers, lead architecture reviews, and promote strong operational ownership.

Skills

Java

TypeScript/Node.js

Python

Go

Microservices architecture

Event-driven architecture

Distributed systems

Observability

Production debugging

Leadership

Tools

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Distributed databases

REST APIs

Job description

Navan is hiring a Senior Software Engineer (Backend) to drive technical vision and execution for the backend of Navan’s global travel and expense platform. You will architect core backend systems, scale high-performance microservices, and lead cross-functional engineering initiatives.

Ideal candidates will have 6+ years in software engineering, strong skills in Java, TypeScript/Node.js, Python or Go, and proven experience with Kafka, RabbitMQ, caching, and distributed databases.