Senior Backend Engineer - Real-Time Distributed Systems

Wonder; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 176,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

401(k)

Medical plan

Dental plan

Vision plan

Paid time off

Vacation days

Sick leave

Discounted meals

Job summary

Wonder is seeking a product-minded Senior Software Engineer to join our backend team in Boston. You will build the brains of our automated restaurants using Elixir and Phoenix, connecting cloud infrastructure with on-site robotics and frontend applications.

You’ll design scalable, real-time systems and mentor peers, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-impact features. You will work closely with Elixir, Postgres, WebSocket, and containerized services, shaping infrastructure

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience building highly concurrent, distributed systems and shipping them to production.
• Proficiency in Elixir and the Phoenix framework (or significant experience in other functional languages with a desire to master Elixir).
• Proficiency with PostgreSQL and relational database design.
• Experience designing, building, and consuming WebSocket events, REST APIs, webhooks, and other message-based systems.
• Experience designing and deploying infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code. We use Terraform.

Responsibilities

• Orchestrate the Kitchen: Design and implement stateful solutions across distributed systems, ensuring zero data loss in mission-critical workflows.
• Bridge Cloud and Hardware: Design infrastructure spanning cloud and on-prem resources, including event-driven architectures, Postgres, WebSocket, and containerized apps.
• Produce High Quality Software: Uphold reliability, implement review/testing procedures, manage releases, and monitor performance.
• Guide Technical Outcomes: Plan feature development with product requirements, assess tradeoffs, and specify tasks needed to complete a project.
• Improve Processes: Automate repetitive tasks and adopt learn-forward practices.
• Communicate Effectively: Write specs, document gaps, and incorporate feedback.

Skills

Distributed systems

Elixir

Architecture design

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science

Tools

PostgreSQL

WebSocket

REST APIs

Terraform

Job description

Wonder is seeking a product-minded Senior Software Engineer to join our backend team in Boston. You will build the brains of our automated restaurants using Elixir and Phoenix, connecting cloud infrastructure with on-site robotics and frontend applications.

You’ll design scalable, real-time systems and mentor peers, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver high-impact features. You will work closely with Elixir, Postgres, WebSocket, and containerized services, shaping infrastructure