Senior Software Engineer Backend (NestJS / Node.js)

Role overview

We are hiring a hands-on technical lead for backend systems. You will own the architecture, quality and delivery of backend services (NestJS/Node.js & TypeScript), cloud infrastructure (GCP), CI/CD, and operational excellence. This role blends deep technical delivery with team leadership: you'll mentor engineers, drive best practices, interact with product and stakeholders (including our Germany HQ), and ensure our platform scales, is secure, and is production-grade.

Key responsibilities

Technical leadership & ownership

• Own backend architecture, API design (REST & GraphQL), service boundaries, and release strategy.
• Set and enforce coding standards, patterns, and code review practices.
• Drive the technical roadmap, backlog prioritization, and deliverables with PMs and founders.

Hands-on development

• Design and develop scalable NestJS/Node.js microservices in TypeScript.
• Implement business logic, data models, and service orchestration for high-throughput systems.

Infrastructure & DevOps

• Design, deploy, and operate services on GCP (Compute, GKE, Cloud Storage, IAM, Cloud DNS).
• Build and maintain infrastructure as code using Terraform and Ansible.
• Own Kubernetes deployments, Helm charts, autoscaling, and zero-downtime release patterns.
• Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI / Jenkins) with image scanning, blue/green or canary rollouts, and automatic rollback.

Data & persistence

• Design and optimize schemas in PostgreSQL / MariaDB and MongoDB.
• Write performant SQL and handle migrations, replication, and backup strategies.

Reliability, security & observability

• Apply OWASP best practices, implement secure authentication/authorization (JWT, OAuth2).
• Design IAM roles and least-privilege models in the cloud.
• Implement monitoring, alerting and tracing (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK or similar) and SLA-driven incident response.

Team & process

• Mentor mid- and junior-level engineers; run architecture/design reviews and technical onboarding.
• Participate in hiring, sprint planning, and cross-team coordination with frontend, QA, hardware, and product teams.
• Drive improvements in testing (unit/integration/end-to-end) and test automation.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of backend development experience with Node.js and NestJS (TypeScript).
• Proven experience owning production systems end-to-end (design deploy operate).
• Strong experience with relational and NoSQL databases (Postgres / MariaDB / MongoDB).
• Hands-on with GCP (or another major cloud), Kubernetes, Terraform, and Ansible.
• Experience building CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI and/or Jenkins) and containerized deployments.
• Strong debugging, performance tuning, and system design skills.
• Excellent communication, mentoring, and stakeholder management skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with Redis, RabbitMQ, or Kafka and designing event-driven systems.
• Background in IoT, bare-metal provisioning, or embedded system integration.
• Familiarity with observability stack (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK) and SRE practices.

What success looks like (first 6-12 months)

• Clear, documented backend architecture and a roadmap aligned with product goals.
• CI/CD and infra-automation are in place for staging production with rollback and image scanning.
• Reduced lead time for changes, reliable zero-downtime deployments, and measurable uptime improvements.
• A small but growing backend team working with clear best practices, code reviews, and mentoring.

Benefits

• Responsible, high-impact role in a growing, innovative start-up.
• Agile, flat hierarchy, English-speaking environment, and close collaboration with Germany HQ.
• Creative freedom for new ideas and personal development.