Staff Software Engineer (backend) Columbus HQ / Remote

Motion LLC; Columbus (OH); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Motion LLC seeks a Staff Software Engineer (backend) in Columbus HQ with hybrid remote options. The role focuses on architectural integrity of a distributed backend, balancing cloud-native microservices with field-deployed hardware in a high-autonomy, systems-thinking environment.

As CTO's right-hand, you will own data flow, performance of PostgreSQL and Redis layers, and drive a robust, scalable backend architecture across cloud and edge deployments.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience building and scaling production systems.
• Go (Golang) and other backend languages experience.
• Deep expertise in microservices and distributed systems.
• Experience designing and versioning robust public APIs.
• Practical experience with relationship-based access control (ReBAC).familiarity with OpenFGA or Zanzibar-style models.

Responsibilities

• Advise CTO and translate product vision into a technical roadmap.
• Own data flow from field sensors to the cloud; ensure PostgreSQL and Redis performance.
• Set code quality, testing, and documentation standards across backend teams.
• Bridge cloud CI/CD with edge update mechanisms for fleet synchronization.

Skills

Go (Golang)

Backend engineering

Microservices

Distributed systems

Public APIs

Access control (ReBAC)

OpenFGA / Zanzibar models

High concurrency

System thinking

Tools

Terraform

GitHub Actions

Kubernetes

AWS ECS

Docker

Ubuntu

Bash scripting

PostgreSQL

Redis

Job description

Staff Software Engineer (backend)

Full Time

Columbus HQ / Remote

As the Staff Software Engineer and right-hand to the CTO, you will own the architectural integrity of our distributed backend.

Role description

As the Staff Software Engineer and right-hand to the CTO, you will own the architectural integrity of our distributed backend. You will balance the "clean" world of cloud-native microservices with the "gritty" world of field-deployed hardware. This is a high-autonomy role designed for a systems-thinker who wants to influence every layer of a complex, hybrid environment.

Technical Requirements

1. Expert Backend Engineering

• 10+ Years of Experience: A proven track record of building and scaling production systems using Go (Golang) and other backend-focused languages.
• Microservices & Distributed Systems: Deep expertise in designing decoupled architectures that handle high concurrency, partial failures, and eventual consistency.
• Public API Design: Experience building and versioning robust Public APIs that are consumed by both internal systems and external third-party partners.
• Advanced Authorization: Practical experience with relationship-based access control (ReBAC). Familiarity with OpenFGA or Google Zanzibar-style models is highly preferred.

2. Resilient Cloud & Infrastructure

• High Availability & Multi-AZ: Experience architecting multi-AZ deployments on AWS to ensure that cloud-level outages do not disrupt service.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Mastery of Terraform for managing scalable, repeatable AWS environments.
• Portable CI/CD: A platform-agnostic approach to automation. You understand how to build pipelines (currently GitHub Actions) that are robust and migratable.
• Orchestration: Familiarity with Kubernetes, AWS ECS, or other cluster management tools.

3. Edge & Systems Mastery

• Linux Systems & Shell Scripting: Expert-level comfort with Ubuntu. You can write production-grade Bash scripts that manage system-level tasks within containerized environments.
• Docker at the Edge: Expertise in bundling multiple Go binaries and scripts into optimized Docker images for remote execution.
• Custom Orchestration: Experience (or a high degree of comfort) managing pipelines to push updates to field hardware in low-bandwidth or intermittent-connectivity environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Partnership: Act as the CTO’s primary technical advisor, vetting new technologies and turning the product vision into a technical roadmap.
• System Ownership: Take full ownership of the data flow from field-deployed sensors to the cloud, ensuring high performance in our PostgreSQL and Redis layers.
• Architectural Mentorship: Set the "gold standard" for code quality, testing strategies, and documentation across the backend team.
• Cross-Environment Reliability: Bridge the gap between standard cloud CI/CD and custom edge update mechanisms to ensure the entire fleet stays synchronized.

Nice-to-Haves (Training Provided)

We prioritize core systems engineering and Go mastery. We are happy to provide training on the domain-specific protocols and emerging tech below:

• Industrial Protocols: BACnet and Modbus for hardware communication.
• Wireless Systems: LoRaWAN or similar low-power wide-area networks.
• AI & Future Tech: Integrating LLMs and building RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) agents using vector-based search.
• Secondary Languages: Familiarity with Python for data-heavy or AI-adjacent logic.