Head of Backend, Payments & Infrastructure

Salary: $68,000 - 108,000 per year Requirements:

• We look for strong production experience with TypeScript, Node.js, Java, Go, Python, or another suitable backend language, along with modern API practices.
• We need deep knowledge of PostgreSQL or similar relational databases, including transactions, concurrency, consistency, indexing, migrations, and query optimization.
• We value experience with authentication, authorization, secure APIs, queues, caching, background jobs, webhooks, and event-driven integrations.
• We require hands-on exposure to marketplace payments, payouts, refunds, disputes, chargebacks, reconciliation, or regulated financial operations.
• We expect strong security and operational judgment across secrets, encryption, least-privilege access, logging, monitoring, incident response, backups, recovery, and disaster planning.
• We need the ability to make practical architecture choices for a small team while keeping a realistic path to scale.
• We prefer experience with Stripe Connect or similar marketplace payment solutions.
• We prefer C2C marketplace, e-commerce, fintech, trust-and-safety, fraud, identity verification, moderation, or platform integrity experience.
• We prefer experience with Google Cloud or AWS, containers, infrastructure as code, managed PostgreSQL, queues, object storage, and search tooling.
• We prefer experience with threat modeling, security reviews, penetration-test remediation, privacy by design, and audit-log design.
• We prefer experience launching and operating a transaction platform through beta and production.
• We ask candidates to describe a backend system they designed or improved for security, reliability, performance, or scalability.
• We ask candidates to share a GitHub profile, architecture sample, technical portfolio, or other relevant work when available.
• We ask whether candidates have built or led development of a production backend system for a consumer-facing application.
• We ask whether candidates have integrated payment processing, payouts, refunds, chargebacks, or marketplace transactions in a production setting.
• We ask whether candidates are willing and able to complete an in-person technical evaluation at our Brooklyn Center office, either during the recruiting event or at a separately scheduled time.

• We want someone to define a practical backend architecture, domain boundaries, data model, API standards, security model, deployment approach, and production operating practices.
• We need the backend to support services for users, devices, profiles, authentication, authorization, verification, listings, media, search, saved items, messaging, offers, transactions, payments, refunds, disputes, payouts, reviews, reports, notifications, moderation, and administration.
• We expect ownership of the marketplace transaction state machine, including valid transitions, concurrency control, idempotency, immutable audit history, recovery behavior, and financial accuracy.
• We need integration with an approved marketplace payments provider for seller onboarding, payment intents, platform fees, refunds, disputes, chargebacks, payouts, webhook validation, and reconciliation.
• We expect ownership of PostgreSQL schemas, migrations, indexes, query performance, retention, backups, restoration, and data integrity controls.
• We need implementation of queues, scheduled jobs, notification delivery, email/SMS integration, object storage, image processing, search integration, and recovery from vendor failures.
• We need fraud, abuse, and trust foundations, including rate limits, account and device events, risk signals, reporting queues, restrictions, case history, and admin review tools.
• We expect the establishment of cloud infrastructure, environments, infrastructure as code, CI/CD, secrets management, observability, alerting, incident response, rollback, disaster recovery, and cost controls.
• We need documentation for architecture, APIs, data flows, vendor dependencies, runbooks, reconciliation procedures, and production operations in company-owned systems.
• We expect close collaboration with our founders and other functional leads as a hands-on founding team contributor.
• We want high ownership, written documentation, candid communication, disciplined prioritization, and early escalation of risks.
• We expect launch-quality execution where security, accessibility, reliability, observability, maintainability, trust, and customer experience are treated as part of the product.
• We want decisions based on evidence, customer feedback, analytics, acceptance criteria, and explicit tradeoffs rather than assumptions.
• We require protection of confidential information, avoidance of third-party IP misuse, and assignment of role-related work product to us under the final written agreements.

• API
• AWS
• Backend
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• GitHub
• Support
• Java
• PostgreSQL
• Python
• Security
• TypeScript
• NodeJS
• Backbone
• Mobile

More:

SALERRU is a bootstrapped consumer-to-consumer marketplace startup building technology to make buying and selling safer, simpler, faster, and more accountable online and in the real world. Our 12-month goal is to launch a focused marketplace with the workflow completeness, reliability, trust, accessibility, and usability expected of modern platforms while creating a distinct SALERRU product. This is a hands-on founding-team role with leadership responsibility, stock-option participation subject to board approval and final equity documents, and an in-person work location. We offer a respectful and inclusive recruiting process and provide reasonable accommodation support during the application, interview, or onboarding process. Our hiring process includes direct applications through authorized job boards, with additional details available through our careers page.

last updated 36 week of 2026