Senior Software Engineer - Backend

Jobtailor; San Ramon (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in California seeks an experienced backend engineer to design, build, and scale RESTful APIs and backend services using Node.js and TypeScript. You will optimize PostgreSQL and MongoDB data models, work with Redis caching, and deploy on AWS with Docker containers.

You will collaborate with DevOps on CI/CD, IaC, and observability, and contribute to secure development practices in a SOC 2 Type II environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on backend engineering experience with Node.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, AWS, and Docker.
• Strong command of RESTful API design, microservices and event-driven architectures, and message queues (e.g., SQS, Kafka, RabbitMQ).
• Deep experience with relational and NoSQL data modeling, query optimization, indexing strategies, and zero-downtime migrations.
• Solid habits around automated testing (unit, integration, E2E), code review, and CI/CD; ship fast without breaking things.
• Working knowledge of secure SDLC practices – authN/authZ patterns (OAuth 2.0, JWT), OWASP Top 10, and handling sensitive data in a regulated environment.
• Experience with monitoring and APM tooling (e.g., Datadog, CloudWatch, New Relic) and a bias toward measuring before optimizing.
• You’ve served as an engineering point of contact for support escalations and stay calm and methodical when debugging live production systems under pressure.
• You leverage AI coding tools to maximize your speed and output – and are excited to help build AI-powered capabilities into the platform.
• Proactive, self-directed, and comfortable with ambiguity; you thrive in a fast-paced, high-ownership environment and communicate clearly across teams.
• FinTech, mortgage, or other regulated-industry experience; familiarity with LOS/POS platforms or the loan origination lifecycle is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Architect, develop, and maintain scalable RESTful APIs and backend services using Node.js and TypeScript, powering mission-critical loan origination workflows.
• Design efficient database schemas and optimize queries and migrations across PostgreSQL and MongoDB; implement caching strategies (e.g., Redis) for high-throughput workloads.
• Build, test, and deploy containerized applications with Docker; deploy and operate services on AWS (EC2, Lambda, RDS, S3, SQS).
• Partner with DevOps to strengthen CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and observability (logging, metrics, tracing, alerting).
• Champion system reliability, performance, and secure coding best practices – SOC 2 Type II environment where security is a first-class engineering concern.
• Partner with our Support team as an engineering point of contact for escalated production issues at scale – triage, root‑cause, and resolve, then land the permanent fix, alerting, and runbooks.
• Coordinate daily with our India-based engineering team – handoffs, code reviews, and design alignment – core hours 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM PT.
• Lead technical design sessions and code reviews, mentor engineers, and contribute to product planning and architectural roadmaps.

Skills

Node.js

TypeScript

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

AWS

Docker

RESTful API design

Microservices

Event-driven architectures

SQS/Kafka/RabbitMQ

CI/CD

Secure SDLC

Observability

AI coding tools

Tools

Docker

Redis

Datadog

CloudWatch

New Relic

Job description

Responsibilities

• Architect, develop, and maintain scalable RESTful APIs and backend services using Node.js and TypeScript, powering mission-critical loan origination workflows.
• Design efficient database schemas and optimize queries and migrations across PostgreSQL and MongoDB; implement caching strategies (e.g., Redis) for high-throughput workloads.
• Build, test, and deploy containerized applications with Docker; deploy and operate services on AWS (EC2, Lambda, RDS, S3, SQS).
• Partner with DevOps to strengthen CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and observability (logging, metrics, tracing, alerting).
• Champion system reliability, performance, and secure coding best practices – our platform handles sensitive borrower data, and we operate in a SOC 2 Type II environment where security is a first-class engineering concern.
• Partner with our Support team as an engineering point of contact for escalated production issues at scale – triage, root‑cause, and resolve end‑to‑end, then land the permanent fix, alerting, and runbooks so issues don’t recur. Drive performance optimization across the backend and data layers.
• Coordinate daily with our India‑based engineering team – handoffs, code reviews, and design alignment – keeping core hours of 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM PT to maximize morning overlap.
• Lead technical design sessions and code reviews, mentor mid‑level engineers, and contribute to product planning and architectural roadmaps.

Requirements

• 5+ years of hands‑on backend engineering experience with most, if not all, of the following: Node.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, AWS, and Docker.
• Strong command of RESTful API design, microservices and event‑driven architectures, and message queues (e.g., SQS, Kafka, RabbitMQ).
• Deep experience with both relational and NoSQL data modeling, query optimization, indexing strategies, and zero‑downtime migrations.
• Solid habits around automated testing (unit, integration, E2E), code review, and CI/CD; you ship fast without breaking things.
• Working knowledge of secure SDLC practices – authN/authZ patterns (OAuth 2.0, JWT), OWASP Top 10, and handling sensitive data in a regulated environment.
• Experience with monitoring and APM tooling (e.g., Datadog, CloudWatch, New Relic) and a bias toward measuring before optimizing.
• You’ve served as an engineering point of contact for support escalations and stay calm and methodical when debugging live production systems under pressure.
• You leverage AI coding tools to maximize your speed and output – and are excited to help build AI‑powered capabilities into the platform.
• Proactive, self‑directed, and comfortable with ambiguity; you thrive in a fast‑paced, high‑ownership environment and communicate clearly across teams.
• FinTech, mortgage, or other regulated‑industry experience; familiarity with LOS/POS platforms or the loan origination lifecycle is a strong plus.

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in backend engineering with a focus on Node.js, TypeScript, and database optimization across PostgreSQL and MongoDB. Proficient in designing scalable RESTful APIs, implementing secure coding practices, and enhancing CI/CD processes in a fast‑paced, regulated environment.

Tools & Technologies

• Docker
• Redis
• Datadog
• CloudWatch
• New Relic