Senior Backend Engineer - Commodities

Kpler; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Kpler is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our founding Connected Supply Chain team in the United States. You will own core platform components, unifying real-time telemetry and inland data with our maritime tracking to deliver a production intelligence platform for customers.

In this high-autonomy role, you will design, implement, and operate subsystems, mentor engineers, and collaborate with traders, analysts, and product leaders to shape the roadmap.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering in distributed production systems.
• Experience architecting event-driven/data-intensive systems with Kafka or similar queues.
• Strong backend in Python and REST APIs (FastAPI); frontend in TypeScript/Vue.
• Experience managing production AWS infrastructure, SLOs, and observability.
• Ability to mentor engineers and engage with end-users or stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate major platform components end-to-end.
• Lead subsystem architecture with design specs and peer reviews.
• Guarantee production reliability via SLO management, observability, on‑call rotation, and incident response.
• Architect data quality frameworks including telemetry validation and time-series monitoring.
• Collaborate with marine tracking and data teams to integrate inland feeds into the platform.
• Mentor engineers through design guidance, code reviews, and pair programming.
• Partner with customers and product leaders to demo features and shape roadmaps.

Skills

Distributed systems

Kafka

Python

REST APIs

FastAPI

TypeScript/Vue

AWS & DevOps

Mentoring

Tools

Kafka

Airflow

ElasticSearch

Job description

At Kpler, we are dedicated to helping our clients navigate complex markets with ease. By simplifying global trade information and providing valuable insights, we empower organisations to make informed decisions in commodities, energy, and maritime sectors.

Since our founding in 2014, we have focused on delivering top-tier intelligence through user-friendly platforms. Our team of over 850 experts from 69 countries works tirelessly to transform intricate data into actionable strategies, ensuring our clients stay ahead in a dynamic market landscape. Join us to leverage cutting-edge innovation for impactful results and experience unparalleled support on your journey to success.

About the Role

As a Senior Software Engineer on our founding Connected Supply Chain team, you will serve as a core technical owner extending Kpler’s real-time trade intelligence platform into North American inland supply chains. You will lead the design, implementation, and operation of major platform subsystems—fusing real-time pipeline sensor telemetry, rail, and waterway data with existing maritime tracking. Operating on a high-autonomy "you build it, you run it" model, your work will directly deliver a unified, production basin-to-export terminal intelligence platform to paying customers.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate major platform components end-to-end, spanning high-throughput streaming ingestion (Kafka, Airflow, Python/FastAPI) to web applications (TypeScript/Vue).
• Lead subsystem architecture by writing design specifications, conducting peer reviews, and making pragmatic build-versus-adapt decisions.
• Guarantee production operational excellence through rigorous SLO management, comprehensive system observability, on‑call rotation, and incident response.
• Architect data quality frameworks—including telemetry validation, reconciliation, and time-series monitoring—to ensure field sensor data is accurate and reliable.
• Collaborate with core marine tracking and data platform teams to seamlessly integrate inland data feeds into Kpler's broader platform architecture.
• Mentor mid-level engineers through technical design guidance, code reviews, and pair programming while setting team‑wide engineering conventions.
• Partner directly with early customers (traders, analysts, operations teams) and product leaders to demo features, gather feedback, and shape product roadmaps.

Experience & Background

What you'll need (Must-haves)

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience building and operating distributed production systems.
• Proven experience architecting event-driven or data-intensive systems using streaming technologies like Kafka or similar message queues.
• Strong backend engineering mastery in Python and REST API design (e.g., FastAPI), alongside comfort contributing to frontend surfaces (TypeScript/Vue).
• Direct experience managing production cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred), including SLO establishment, incident management, and deep observability.
• Demonstrated capability to mentor engineers, guide technical discussions, and engage directly with end‑users or stakeholders.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with Scala or running Elasticsearch clusters at scale.
• Hands-on background handling IoT telemetry, remote sensor feeds, time-series data, or geospatial datasets.
• Domain knowledge in energy, oil & gas, or global commodities markets.
• Prior experience as an early or founding engineer in a new product initiative.

We are a dynamic company dedicated to nurturing connections and innovating solutions to tackle market challenges head‑on. If you thrive on customer satisfaction and turning ideas into reality, then you’ve found your ideal destination. Are you ready to embark on this exciting journey with us?

We make things happen

We act decisively and with purpose, going the extra mile.

We buildtogether

We foster relationships and develop creative solutions to address market challenges.

We are here to help

We are accessible and supportive to colleagues and clients with a friendly approach.

Our People Pledge

Don’t meet every single requirement? Research shows that women and people of color are less likely than others to apply if they feel like they don’t match 100% of the job requirements. Don’t let the confidence gap stand in your way, we’d love to hear from you! We understand that experience comes in many different forms and are dedicated to adding new perspectives to the team.

Kpler is committed to providing a fair, inclusive and diverse work-environment. We believe that different perspectives lead to better ideas, and better ideas allow us to better understand the needs and interests of our diverse, global community. We welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives and are an equal opportunity employer.

By applying, I confirm that I have read and accept the Staff Privacy Notice