Lead Software Engineer, Backend

Job Description

Job Description

MOTER Technologies, Inc. (“MOTER”) is unlocking the world of connected vehicle data to power innovative products and services for the automotive, mobility, and insurance industries. Our edge-computing-based advanced data analytics and software platform transforms vehicle data into actionable insights that drive the next generation of driver scoring, risk analytics, and insurance solutions.

MOTER is modernizing the insurance industry by equipping insurers with real-time vehicle insights to enhance underwriting, streamline claims, and improve risk assessment. To drive this transformation, MOTER is building white-labeled insurance products for some of the most recognized brands in the automotive industry. These offerings leverage the full suite of MOTER’s connected vehicle data solutions—including next-generation telematics and claims visualization tools—bridging the gap between automakers and insurers, accelerating innovation, and delivering measurable value across the mobility ecosystem.

Job Overview

The Lead Software Engineer, Backend owns and drives the design, development, and delivery of MOTER’s API platform and cloud infrastructure. This is a senior, hands-on technical leadership role for a serverless-first, cloud-native Java engineer with deep AWS expertise who thrives on end-to-end ownership — from architecture and API design through production operations.

This role is AI-native: we expect code generation, refactoring, test scaffolding, and a meaningful share of implementation work to be performed through AI coding agents. The engineer in this role is responsible for decomposing work for agents, reviewing and hardening outputs, validating correctness, and owning the reliability, security, and maintainability of what ships. The ideal candidate is fluent in AI-native engineering — comfortable directing coding agents, owning what they produce, and raising the bar on what the team ships.

This role will lead a team of engineers, set technical direction, collaborate cross-functionally with product and data science teams, and be accountable for the reliability, scalability, and performance of MOTER’s core API services. The Lead Software Engineer reports to the Director of Engineering.

Essential Functions

Architecture & Development

• Architect and lead development of scalable RESTful and event-driven APIs in Java on a serverless-first, cloud-native AWS foundation, ensuring high availability and performance across MOTER’s platform.
• Drive end-to-end ownership of the software development lifecycle — from requirements and design through coding, testing, deployment, and post-production support.
• Design and implement serverless-first, cloud-native solutions on AWS — including Lambda, Step Functions, DynamoDB, AppSync, API Gateway, S3, SQS/SNS, and EventBridge — using Terraform for infrastructure as code and following best practices in security, cost optimization, and resilience.
• Apply serverless architecture patterns — including event-driven design, async messaging, idempotency, fan-out/fan-in, and saga orchestration with Step Functions — to build resilient, loosely coupled, and maintainable cloud-native services.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and Terraform-managed infrastructure as code; own observability across services using tools such as Datadog, New Relic, or AWS CloudWatch — including distributed tracing, structured logging, custom metrics, dashboards, and alerting.

AI-Native Engineering

• Lead MOTER’s AI-native engineering culture: leverage AI coding agents for code generation, refactoring, test scaffolding, and implementation acceleration. Own the decomposed work for agents, critically reviewing and hardening outputs, validating correctness, and ensuring that everything shipped meets MOTER’s standards for reliability, security, and maintainability.
• Evaluate and adopt emerging AI coding tooling and developer productivity platforms; stay at the forefront of AI-assisted engineering practices and help the team use them effectively.

Technical Leadership & Mentoring

• Operate as a player/coach: remain a prolific, hands-on contributor while guiding and elevating mid-level and senior engineers through code reviews, pair programming, and direct technical collaboration — leading by example rather than by title.
• Set a high bar on engineering quality across the team — establish and model best practices in code structure, testing, documentation, and system design that mid-level and senior engineers can learn from and build upon.
• Define and enforce API design standards, versioning practices, and OpenAPI/Swagger documentation.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Product Owners, Data Science, and DevOps teams within agile pods and feature teams — participating actively in sprint planning, backlog refinement, stand-ups, and retrospectives to define technical roadmaps and deliver features iteratively and on schedule.
• Model agile values and practices, help the team continuously improve its ways of working, and foster a culture of transparency, collaboration, and iterative delivery.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a record in senior or lead roles where hands-on coding remained a primary responsibility (player/coach model).
• Expert-level proficiency in modern Java, with strong experience building production-grade serverless APIs, Lambda functions, and event-driven microservices on AWS.
• Deep understanding of serverless architecture patterns: event-driven design, stateless compute, cold-start mitigation, async workflows, and distributed data consistency.
• Extensive experience building and operating RESTful APIs and event-driven microservices at scale.
• Deep, hands-on proficiency with AWS serverless services: Lambda, Step Functions, DynamoDB, AppSync, API Gateway, S3, SQS/SNS, EventBridge, CloudWatch, and IAM; experience designing event-driven, serverless architectures at production scale.
• Hands-on experience with AI coding agents and developer productivity tooling; record of integrating AI/ML services and LLM APIs into production backend systems.
• Proficiency with Terraform for infrastructure as code; experience with CI/CD tooling (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or equivalent) and container platforms (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Hands-on experience with observability and metrics tooling (e.g., Datadog, New Relic, AWS CloudWatch); ability to instrument services with distributed tracing, structured logging, custom metrics, and actionable alerting.
• Solid grounding in software engineering fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, distributed systems, and system design.
• Proficiency with software development tools including IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA), version control (Git), and project management platforms (Jira, Confluence).
• Proven agile practitioner with experience working in agile pods and cross-functional feature teams; comfortable collaborating directly with Product Owners to refine requirements, manage scope, and drive sprint commitments to completion.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to effectively handle multiple assignments, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines in a dynamic, results-oriented environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to present technical decisions clearly to both engineering peers and non-technical stakeholders.
• High work ethic, self-motivation, and initiative.
• Good judgment, high integrity, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a larger team.
• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

Office Location

• Torrance, CA (Tuesdays and Thursdays in office)

Compensation:

• The annual salary range for this position is $160,000 – $180,000. Actual compensation will be determined based on the candidate's experience, skills, and qualifications.
• This is an exempt position.

Degree of Travel

• 10%

Benefits of Working with Us

• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage; basic life and long-term disability insurance; Health Savings Account (HSA); Flexible Spending Account (FSA); generous paid time off and holiday pay; and a 401(k) with company match.
• Complimentary catered office lunches.
• Flexible office hours to support work-life balance.
• A collaborative culture where your input directly impacts the product and company trajectory.
• A health and wellness-focused work environment with team social events.
• Business casual dress code.

EEO Statement

MOTER Technologies Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin,

protected veteran status, or disability status.

If you require accommodation or assistance with your application, please contact our Human Resources department at View phone number on ziprecruiter.com.