Senior Software Engineer, Backend

Perpay Inc.; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Premium medical benefits

Unlimited PTO policy

Gym subsidy

Paid cell phone + plan

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Perpay Inc. in Philadelphia is looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to contribute to the technical design and implementation of backend features. Candidates should have over 5 years of experience in web application development, a strong understanding of system reliability, relational databases, and proficiency with tools like Docker and AWS. The position offers substantial compensation, equity, and benefits, along with an onsite work environment. Perpay is committed to an inclusive and diverse workplace.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience building web applications at scale in at least one modern language/framework.
• 2+ years of experience leading technical teams and complex projects.
• Deep understanding of relational databases and query optimization.

Responsibilities

• Design and evolve RESTful APIs for frontend and internal systems.
• Improve reliability and operational excellence of backend systems.
• Contribute to infrastructure-as-code and CI/CD improvements.

Skills

Backend technology expertise

System reliability knowledge

Experience with Python/Django

Understanding of relational databases

Experience in AWS

Containerization knowledge

Monitoring tools experience

Solutions-oriented mindset

Tools

Postgres

Docker

Kubernetes

Redis

Datadog

Job description

About the Role

We are looking for senior backend engineers passionate about backend technology, excellent user experience and system reliability. The ideal candidate has helped lead the technical design and implementation of backend features on at least one sizable production application within the past year. A senior backend engineer at Perpay will spend their time writing code, reviewing PRs, mentoring engineers, and helping scope & design new features. We are looking for people who can bring backend technical expertise to push our technology forward — whether it’s hosting a lunch-and-learn on a new backend technology or directing a large refactor. We value engineers who demonstrate excitement around solving tough problems and delivering solutions in a fast-paced environment.

Much of our team is fullstack, so we look for team members excited to learn new technologies and work across all stacks, even if it’s not something you’ve done before! Our tech stack: Javascript, React, React Native, Redux, Python, Django, Flask, Kubernetes, AWS, Docker and more.

Responsibilities

• Design and evolve RESTful APIs used by our frontend and internal systems
• Own data modeling decisions across our relational databases with an eye toward performance and maintainability
• Improve reliability, observability, and operational excellence of our backend systems (metrics, logging, tracing, alerting)
• Participate in architectural decisions around service boundaries, asynchronous workflows, and distributed system tradeoffs
• Diagnose and resolve production issues across multiple services
• Contribute to infrastructure-as-code and CI/CD improvements to increase developer velocity and system stability
• Partner with product and stakeholders to translate complex business rules into maintainable backend systems

What You’ll Bring

• 5+ years of experience building web applications at scale in at least one modern language / framework (e.g. Python/Django, Rails, etc.)
• 2+ years of experience leading technical teams and large, complex projects
• Deep understanding of relational databases (e.g., Postgres), query optimization, indexing strategies, and schema evolution
• Experience operating production systems in a large cloud provider (e.g., AWS); familiarity with containerized environments (Docker) and orchestration systems (Kubernetes)
• Experience with background job systems and message queues (e.g. Celery)
• Working knowledge of caching strategies (e.g. Redis)
• Experience with monitoring and observability tooling (e.g., Datadog, CloudWatch)
• Strong understanding of system reliability, failure modes, and operational tradeoffs
• Ability to communicate complex system behavior clearly to non-technical stakeholders
• A solutions-oriented mindset, willing to step outside your primary domain to unblock teammates and ensure successful delivery

Compensation

NYC-level total cash-comp (base $160k into the $200’s, plus equity and a discretionary cash bonus)

Benefits

• Meaningful compensation and equity
• Premium medical benefits (fully paid base plan, and very reasonable premium for the buy-up option)
• 4% employer 401k match
• Unlimited PTO policy
• Remote weeks around major holidays + extra holiday on weekends like MDW and LDW
• High quality catered lunch by local chefs, 4 days / week
• Gym subsidy
• Paid cell phone + plan
• Student loan repayment program
• Relocation assistance
• Generous team member discounts

This role is 100% onsite in Philadelphia.

Perpay is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity in all its forms and are committed to creating an inclusive environment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, sex (including pregnancy), marital status, political affiliation, age, veteran status, disability status or other non‑merit factor. Please contact us at [e-mail] to request accommodation.