Senior Backend Engineer

Level; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Level is seeking a Backend Engineer (senior or above) to design and build robust backend systems powering our learning platform in Austin, TX. You will work on APIs, microservices, and scalable infrastructure.

You’ll own performance, reliability, and security, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality features using Kotlin and cloud-based deployments. This role offers the chance to shape growth in education technology for millions of students.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience building scalable online services.
• Experience deploying services to cloud environments with IaC.
• Strong Kotlin expertise.
• Experience with GitOps for deployments and live operations.
• Familiarity with Redis or DynamoDB.
• Ability to design distributed systems with performance in mind.
• Knowledge of security best practices for backend systems.
• Collaborates effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Experience in growth software/saas, edtech, or high-scale applications.

Responsibilities

• Design and build robust backend systems, APIs, and microservices.
• Build highly available, robust, secure, scalable backend components.
• Drive testing, CI/CD, monitoring, and alerting practices.
• Own features and system development with usability, scalability, security, and performance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver new features and improve existing ones.

Skills

Kotlin

Backend experience

Cloud & IaC

GitOps

Redis/DynamoDB

Distributed systems

Performance focus

Cross-functional

Security best practices

System design

Job description

About

Level is a learning technology company dedicated to helping students build real academic and life skills with confidence and joy. We combine proven curriculum principles with world class interactive design to make meaningful practice something students want to come back to, not something they struggle through.

We support what teachers, schools, and parents are already doing by increasing student engagement with high quality, standards aligned practice that reinforces classroom learning. That’s why we’re building:

For students: Rewarding and motivating learning experiences that meet students where they are to build real academic proficiency.

For educators: Tools that fit naturally into instruction and help students stay engaged while reducing teacher workload.

For parents: Activities that help your kid catch up or get ahead, build confidence, and minimize homework battles, whether learning at school or at home.

We are committed to helping every person maximize their potential and live a life of meaning. It’s a difficult problem that requires brilliant people and tremendous effort over time.

If you want to use your skills to make a difference for the world, we're seeking a Backend Engineer (senior or above) to develop functionality and help scale our platform. You’ll be at the core of the team building and operating our online platform powering all of Level’s products.

What You Will Do

• Design and build robust, scalable backend systems, APIs, and microservices for our platform.

• Build highly available, robust, secure, sustainable, and maintainable tech

• Drive analysis and improvement of services' quality and performance

• Implement and advocate for best practices in testing, CI/CD, monitoring, and alerting.

• Own aspects of innovative feature and/or system development, considering usability, scalability, security, and performance

Need to Have

• 5+ years of experience developing developing successful, highly-available online services.

• Experience building and deploying services into cloud environments and infrastructure as code.

• Strong experience with backend languages, primarily Kotlin.

• Experience implementing GitOps approach - managing infrastructure, deployments, CI/CD, live operations and documentation as a code.

• Solid understanding of relational and NoSQL databases (e.g., Redis, DynamoDB).

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver new features and improve existing ones with a strong focus on performance, reliability, and security.

• Knowledge of system design, distributed systems, caching strategies, and asynchronous processing.

• Experience in growth software/saas, edtech, or high-scale B2C applications such as streaming or e-commerce

Nice to Have

• Experience in industries with compliance requirements (e.g., finance, healthcare, education).

• Familiarity with player data models, real-time services, and telemetry/event tracking.

• Interest in tech, education, and child-safe technology development.