Senior Backend Engineer

Vay Technology GmbH; Las Vegas, Northern (NV, KY); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ESOP stock options

Flexible vacation

Ride discount

External discounts

Home office budget

Relocation support

Job summary

Vay Technology GmbH in Las Vegas is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to scale our remote driving platform. You will own backend services, APIs, and cloud infra, collaborating across product, frontend, mobile, and embedded teams.

You will design Golang backends, work with Kafka, CI/CD, AWS, and databases, and help ensure reliability at scale. The role offers relocation assistance, ESOP, and a fast-paced, impact-driven environment.

Qualifications

• Backend experience building scalable services and APIs, preferably Golang.
• Cloud-native architectures and distributed systems for reliability.
• Experience with event-driven messaging (Kafka, RabbitMQ or similar).
• CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and monitoring for deployments.
• Relational DBs (PostgreSQL); data modeling and optimization.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in CS, Engineering, or STEM fields.

Responsibilities

• Design & develop scalable Golang backends, APIs, and cloud infra with CI/CD.
• Contribute to platform engineering, shaping shared tools and best practices.
• Collaborate with frontend/mobile/embedded teams to deliver end-to-end features.
• Help define goals and requirements with product and engineering leadership.
• Champion clean code, automation, and monitoring for reliability.

Skills

Golang

Java

Python

Cloud

Kafka

RabbitMQ

CI/CD

Terraform

PostgreSQL

Algorithms

Data structures

Node.js

gRPC

AWS

NoSQL

C/C++

Distributed systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related STEM field

Tools

CI/CD

Cloud platforms

Job description

Ever imagined saying, \"I helped launch the future of transportation\"? We're rewriting the rules of urban mobility. At Vay, customers tap a button and a car arrives - with no one inside - powered by our world-first Remote Driving technology on real public streets. We're live in Las Vegas and scaling fast, powered by a strategic investment of up to $410 million from Grab. Our mission is simple: replace private car ownership with a faster, cleaner, door-to-door mobility model. If you want to build something real, visible, and genuinely transformative, you'll feel right at home here.

What's happening at Vay is first to roll out vehicles in both Europe and the USA on public roads without a human being inside and currently the 2nd largest commercial, driverless car fleet in the Western World. We've partnered with Kodiak to bring remote-driving technology to autonomous trucks in the US, showcasing our ability to integrate our system into heavy-duty commercial vehicles and expand the applications of our tech across the US. We've completed 10's of thousands of trips so far and are busy multiplying our Las Vegas fleet just to meet demand! And soon we'll be expanding across the US & Europe.

Why this role is exciting

At Vay, we're revolutionizing mobility with cutting-edge remote driving technology, and we need exceptional engineers to bring this vision to life. As a Senior Backend Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in scaling our business and shaping the future of transportation. This is not your typical role - your work will sit at the intersection of deep tech and mobility, tackling challenges that have never been solved before. You'll collaborate closely with a dynamic, cross-functional team spanning product, frontend, mobile, electrical engineering, embedded software, and more. From defining technical requirements to designing, implementing, and deploying solutions, you'll have full ownership over the technology you build - making a real, tangible impact on the company and our customers. Your contributions will power fleet management, dispatch, payments, and real-time APIs that connect drivers and customers seamlessly. Every line of code you write will help craft a magical user experience, ensuring that remote driving feels effortless, safe, and efficient. If you thrive on solving complex problems and want to push the boundaries of what's possible in mobility, we'd love to have you on board.

What you'll be driving

• Design & development: Build and maintain scalable Golang-based backend services, APIs, and cloud infrastructure as code - leveraging CI/CD to ensure seamless deployments.
• Elevate engineering excellence: Contribute to cross-team platform engineering initiatives, shaping shared best practices, tools, and libraries to drive efficiency and innovation.
• Build end-to-end solutions: Work closely with frontend, mobile, and embedded teams to craft seamless, high-impact solutions that directly enhance the customer experience and business operations.
• Drive product & technical vision: Collaborate with product and engineering leadership to refine goals, define requirements, and actively contribute to sprint and quarterly planning.
• Own quality & reliability: Champion clean code, automation, and continuous monitoring, ensuring robustness, scalability, and a world-class developer experience.

What are we looking for

• Backend expertise: Hands-on experience developing scalable backend services and APIs, preferably in Golang (experience in Java or Python is also highly relevant).
• Cloud & distributed systems: Solid understanding of cloud-native architectures, distributed systems, scalability, and reliability best practices.
• Event-driven architectures: Familiarity with technologies like Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar event-driven messaging systems.
• DevOps & infrastructure: Experience with CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and monitoring to ensure robust and maintainable deployments.
• Database proficiency: Strong knowledge of relational databases (e.g. PostgreSQL), with an understanding of data modeling and optimization.
• Education & fundamentals: Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related STEM field, with a strong grasp of algorithms and data structures.
• Nice to have – industry experience: Background in Mobility, Logistics, or similar domains.
• Mobile-first products: Experience working on products with a strong mobile integration.
• Additional tech stack: Familiarity with Node.js, gRPC, AWS, Terraform, or NoSQL databases.
• Low-level programming: Proficiency with C/C++ for performance-critical components.

Why choose Vay

• A global team of smart, motivated people from 30+ countries who love tackling hard problems and turning bold ideas into reality.
• Huge scope for impact in a fast paced environment.
• ESOP stock options: A stake in Vay's future - not just a salary.
• Flexible Paid Vacation Days.
• All Vay team members receive 30% off their Vay rides.
• Exclusive external discounts.
• $350 Home office budget.
• Relocation financial assistance when relocating to Las Vegas.

For more information on Vay's physical demands, working environments and safety requirements, you can review this link.

We'll also cover anything specific to this role during the first interview.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds and experiences.

If you're excited about shaping something truly groundbreaking, we'd be happy to hear from you.