Software Engineer, Game Backend & Live Services

First Fun; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

First Fun is seeking a skilled Backend Engineer to design and operate the live-service infrastructure for a mobile game. You will create scalable systems that support detailed player experiences, ensuring performance and reliability for thousands of concurrent users.

This role demands expertise in Java and a strong understanding of efficient system design, as well as experience with cloud services and modern backend architecture. The job offers a unique opportunity to be part of a passionate team reshaping mobile gaming experiences.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of experience building production-scale backend services in Java.
• Expert knowledge of API and distributed state management.
• Familiarity with player-facing systems such as progression or social features.
• Experience with performance optimization and scalability.

Responsibilities

• Design scalable backend services for concurrent players.
• Build production systems focusing on reliability and performance.
• Implement caching and distributed state management.
• Operate backend services for live gameplay events.

Skills

Backend services in Java

High-concurrency systems

Distributed architectures

Relational/NoSQL databases

API and network protocol design

Agile methodologies

Cross-team communication

Tools

AWS/GCP

Docker

Kubernetes

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Job description

We are seeking a Backend Engineer to architect and operate the live-service infrastructure for our next-generation mobile game. You will design scalable systems powering player accounts, progression, and social economies, while building the core platforms for live operations and telemetry.

In this role, you will own production-scale services supporting thousands of concurrent players and mission-critical gameplay systems. Your focus will be on high-performance architecture and operational tooling that enable the team to tune gameplay and run live events seamlessly, without requiring client-side updates.

Our environment leverages modern backend architecture and AI-assisted workflows to drive rapid, data-driven iteration while maintaining uncompromising service reliability.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable backend services supporting hundreds of thousands of concurrent players
• Build production backend systems in Java, focusing on reliability, performance, and maintainability
• Develop core player services including accounts, progression, inventories, leaderboards, and social systems
• Design APIs and network protocols optimized for low latency and mobile network conditions
• Implement caching, persistence, and distributed state management for high-throughput services

Live Operations Infrastructure

• Build backend systems that enable live operations, including events, feature flags, configuration updates, and seasonal content
• Operate backend services that power live-service gameplay, including feature rollouts, event management, and gameplay tuning
• Support experimentation frameworks such as A/B testing and controlled feature rollouts

Reliability & Production Operations

• Design backend systems for high availability, fault tolerance, and large-scale player concurrency
• Implement strong observability through monitoring, logging, and distributed tracing
• Optimize backend performance and support capacity planning for live game operations
• Support production deployments and participate in debugging and incident response when necessary

AI-Native Development Workflow

• Drive the continuous improvement of an AI-assisted development lifecycle—utilizing AI coding tools, automated testing, and rapid iteration to accelerate backend delivery.
• Partner with designers and client/tools engineers to build AI-powered internal systems that streamline content creation and establish engineering best practices.

Requirements

• Core Backend Engineering: 3–5+ years of experience building production-scale backend services in Java, with a focus on high-concurrency, low-latency, and distributed architectures.
• Systems Design: Proven ability to design scalable client-server systems, including expert knowledge of APIs, network protocols, and distributed state management.
• Data & Performance: Hands-on experience with relational/NoSQL databases (e.g., MySQL, Redis, Cassandra) and advanced performance optimization (caching, rate limiting, indexing).
• Game‑Specific Logic: Familiarity with player‑facing systems such as progression, inventories, social features, or online economies.
• Agile & Pragmatic: Comfortable in fast-moving environments, with the ability to balance robust engineering best practices with the pragmatic needs of rapid iteration.
• Cross‑Team Collaboration: Strong communication skills to effectively partner with engineering, design, and product teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Live‑Service & Scale: Experience with backend systems for large-scale consumer applications or live-service games.
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Hands‑on experience with Cloud Providers (AWS/GCP), Microservices, and containerization (Docker/K8s).
• Data & Messaging: Proficiency in distributed messaging (Kafka/RabbitMQ) or data pipelines for player behavior analytics.
• Reliability & Tooling: Familiarity with Observability (monitoring/tracing) and a strong interest in AI‑assisted engineering or automated development workflows.

Why Join Us

You’ll be part of a small, highly technical team building a modern mobile game platform where backend systems and live operations are core to the product. Your work will directly power systems used by thousands of players while enabling rapid experimentation and continuous improvement of the game.