VP Principal Backend Engineer — Hybrid, Global Platform Leader

Citi; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 88,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Learning & development resources

Competitive compensation & benefits

Collaborative, performance-driven team

Wellbeing and work-life balance

Job summary

Citi is seeking a Principal Backend Engineer, Vice President, to own backend strategy and architecture for a global digital platform. You will lead high-performance Java services, implement IAM, and guide design patterns in a cloud-native, enterprise environment.

Responsibilities include scaling systems, mentoring engineers, and driving secure, resilient backend solutions that serve millions of users and integrate various content providers.

Qualifications

• 6 to 10 years of backend software development experience, with demonstrated expertise architecting and delivering large-scale enterprise platforms.
• Expert-level proficiency in Java and its associated frameworks, applied to building high-performance, fault-tolerant services in production environments.
• Deep working knowledge of distributed systems, microservices architectures, and RESTful API design at scale.
• Hands-on experience implementing identity and access management solutions, including OAuth2 and OpenID Connect protocols and fine-grained authorization models.
• Solid experience with cloud-native development using Docker and Kubernetes, and hands-on exposure to GCP and AWS environments.
• Working knowledge of both relational and NoSQL database technologies, with the ability to select and apply the right solution to complex data challenges.
• A bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience, with a master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the backend architecture for an enterprise-scale digital platform, ensuring systems are built for scalability, reliability, and long-term maintainability.
• Design and build high-performance backend services and APIs in Java, covering core capabilities including user authentication, authorization, content routing, and data integration.
• Implement security-first engineering practices across all backend components, including single sign-on, centralized access control, and alignment with cyber defense standards.
• Optimize platform performance through caching strategies, asynchronous processing, and efficient data access patterns to meet the demands of millions of daily transactions.
• Architect integration solutions that connect a broad range of content provider applications into the unified platform through secure https-based interfaces.
• Lead technical decision-making in collaboration with product management, front-end engineers, architects, and infrastructure teams to deliver features end-to-end.
• Mentor senior engineers through structured code reviews and hands-on guidance, raising engineering standards across design patterns, testing, and operational practices.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for complex production incidents, leading root cause analysis and driving resolution for critical backend services.

Skills

Java

Distributed systems

Microservices

RESTful APIs

OAuth2/OpenID Connect

Docker

Kubernetes

Cloud (GCP/AWS)

Relational databases

NoSQL databases

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Citi is seeking a Principal Backend Engineer, Vice President, to own backend strategy and architecture for a global digital platform. You will lead high-performance Java services, implement IAM, and guide design patterns in a cloud-native, enterprise environment.

Responsibilities include scaling systems, mentoring engineers, and driving secure, resilient backend solutions that serve millions of users and integrate various content providers.