Senior Backend Engineer, Markets

Polymarket

United States

On-site

USD 120,000 - 180,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary & equity

Unlimited PTO

Full Health, Vision, & Dental coverage

401k match

Hardware setup — MacBook Pro, big plan

Job summary

Polymarket is seeking a backend engineer to build the systems that power how markets are created, managed, and resolved at scale. You will focus on automation pipelines, data integrations, and market lifecycle infrastructure to keep thousands of markets accurate in real time.

You will work with senior engineers to design, implement, and operate the systems that define Polymarket’s markets layer, with a strong focus on reliability, scalability, and end-to-end ownership.

Qualifications

4–7+ years of backend development experience.
Strong proficiency in Python or Go (preferred).
Experience with distributed systems, data pipelines, and event-driven architecture.
Experience building automation systems and data integrations.
Comfortable debugging complex systems on Linux and taking ownership of reliability.

Responsibilities

Build markets automation systems to enable scalable market creation and lifecycle management.
Engineer resolution infrastructure with data-driven, real-time settlement using external data sources.
Design event-driven automation using messaging/streaming platforms (Kafka, Pulsar, RabbitMQ).
Own reliability and operations across markets systems; diagnose and resolve production issues.
Collaborate with product, infra, data, and markets teams for tight integration.
Contribute to code quality through reviews and architectural discussions.

Skills

Backend development

Distributed systems

Data pipelines

Linux

Code reviews

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related

Tools

Kafka

Pulsar

RabbitMQ

AWS

GCP

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

About Polymarket

Polymarket is the world’s largest prediction market platform. We enable individuals to express views on real-world events by trading on outcomes across politics, economics, sports, culture, and current affairs. Built as a peer-to-peer marketplace with no centralized “house,” Polymarket aggregates diverse opinions into transparent, market-based probabilities that reflect collective expectations about the future.

We’re growing fast: both in volume ($21B traded in 2025) and in adoption as an alternative news source. Our ambition is to become a ubiquitous beacon of truth in global media, powered by fast, reliable, and deeply technical market infrastructure.

About The Role

Polymarket is looking for a backend engineer to build the systems that power how markets are created, managed, and resolved at scale. This role is focused on automation pipelines, data integrations, and the market lifecycle infrastructure that keeps thousands of markets accurate and up-to-date in real time.

You’ll be a core individual contributor working with other senior engineers to design, implement, and operate the systems that define Polymarket’s markets layer. This is a high-ownership role with minimal bureaucracy and a strong bias toward execution.

What You’ll Do

We’re looking for an experienced backend engineer who enjoys building reliable automation systems and tackling complex data integration problems at scale.

Build markets automation systems: Design and implement pipelines that automate market creation, parameter configuration, and lifecycle management across thousands of concurrent markets.
Engineer resolution infrastructure: Build reliable, data-driven resolution systems that integrate with external oracles, news feeds, sports APIs, and real-world data sources to settle markets accurately and on time.
Design event-driven automation: Build robust event processing systems that detect and respond to real-world triggers across politics, sports, finance, and current events using messaging and streaming platforms (Kafka, Pulsar, RabbitMQ).
Own reliability & operations: Reinforce correctness, availability, and scalability across markets systems, and participate in diagnosing and resolving production issues.
Collaborate cross-functionally: Work closely with engineers across product, infra, data, and markets operations to ensure tight integration between the markets layer and the broader platform.
Contribute to code quality: Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and architectural decisions to maintain a high bar for engineering excellence.

What We’re Looking For

4-7+ years of professional backend development experience, with strong proficiency in Python or Go (preferred), or another language such as Rust or Java.
Solid understanding of distributed systems, data pipelines, and event-driven architecture; comfortable owning systems end-to-end in production.
Experience building automation systems, workflow orchestration, or integrations with third-party data sources and APIs.
Comfortable debugging complex systems on Linux and taking ownership of correctness and reliability.
(Plus) Experience with prediction markets, financial data, or real-world event detection systems.
(Plus) Familiarity with external data integrations — news feeds, sports APIs, oracles, or similar real-world data sources.
(Plus) Production experience with Kafka, Pulsar, or similar streaming platforms at scale.
(Plus) Experience deploying systems in cloud environments (AWS/GCP) and using containers.

Benefits