Staff Backend Engineer

Oviva; Germany (OH); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Training & development

Flexible hybrid working

Home workspace allowance

Job summary

Oviva is seeking a Staff Backend Engineer to guide the long-term health of our backend services and set architectural direction across multiple domains. You will be a go-to expert, mentoring engineers, delivering scalable systems, and driving cross-team initiatives with an eye toward ROI and robust design.

This role offers autonomy, cross-domain impact, and opportunities to prototype AI-powered development practices while collaborating with product and security teams in a hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• Expert-level proficiency in Java and related frameworks and libraries.
• Critical and data driven mindset in problem-solving and solution design.
• Demonstrated experience designing, building, and operating complex, distributed systems at scale.
• Deep knowledge on middleware services & frameworks and understanding of their internals.
• Active participation in technical guilds or communities of practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and evolution of large-scale systems across multiple teams.
• Define the long-term technical roadmap and architectural vision for key platform areas.
• Decompose complex problems into scalable, elegant designs and set architectural guardrails.
• Mentor senior engineers and conduct technical interviews during recruitment.
• Represent engineering in cross-functional discussions and drive innovation with AI/LLM-powered tooling.

Skills

Java

Distributed systems

Architectural patterns

Cloud-native architectures

Docker/Kubernetes

GitOps

AI-powered development

Mentorship & leadership

Open-source contributions

Data modeling

Problem solving

Education

Master's in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

GitOps

Relational/NoSQL databases

Messaging systems

Job description

• The Staff Backend Engineer is a senior technical leader responsible for the long-term health and direction of our backend services
• You will operate with a high degree of autonomy to identify and solve our most critical technical challenges, often in areas that are loosely defined or cross multiple domains
• Unlike a Senior Engineer who masters a specific domain, you will provide the technical vision and architectural guardrails for several domains
• You will be a go-to expert for other engineers, leading by example with exceptional code, robust system design, and strategic thinking that anticipates future business needs
• Lead the design, development, and evolution of large-scale systems or company initiatives, often across multiple teams
• Define the long-term technical roadmap and architectural vision for key areas of our platform, and articulate the return on investment (ROI) to engineering leaders and other departments
• Decompose complex business and system problems into clear, scalable, and elegant technical designs
• Act as a technical lead on cross-team projects, ensuring that architectural principles and quality standards are met
• Drive engineering excellence by identifying and resolving root problems while promoting best practices across the organization
• Mentor senior engineers, providing deep technical guidance and fostering their growth into future technical leaders
• Conduct technical interviews and assess the technical expertise of candidates during the recruitment process
• Represent engineering in cross-functional discussions
• Drive innovation by prototyping and championing the adoption of new technologies and methodologies, including the strategic use of LLMs and AI-driven development practices

Benefits

• Training and development opportunities, with a personal learning allowance
• Flexible & hybrid working - work in a way that suits you
• Home working allowance to set up your workspace

Qualifications

Expert-level proficiency in Java and related frameworks and librariesCritical and data driven mindset in problem-solving and solution designDemonstrated experience designing, building, and operating complex, distributed systems at scaleDeep knowledge on middleware services & frameworks (such as relational databases, NoSQL databases, messaging systems, etc.) and nuanced understanding of their internalsActive participation in technical guilds or communities of practicesProven ability to influence and lead large, complex technical projects without formal authorityProficiency with cloud-native architectures, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), GitOps, and infrastructure-as-code principlesMastery of architectural patterns, domain-driven design, and data modeling for complex systemsExceptional ability to navigate and resolve technical ambiguity in a fast-paced environmentDriven by a strong curiosity in AI and cutting-edge tech, you’re hands‑on, experimenting with AI-powered tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude, GitHub Copilot)) to enhance productivity and code qualityExperience in presenting at internal tech talks, external meetups, or conferencesRecognized as a go-to technical expert and thought leader by peers and leadershipExtensive, proven track record of technical leadership and impact in a senior or staff-level engineering roleContributions to open-source projectsExperience in a regulated industry, such as healthcareMaster in computer science or equivalent field