Software Architect - Node.js/React

I'll just take a 15-25 year sr developer who is 10/10 on Node.js and React

Job Description

Role Overview

We are seeking a hands-on Tech Lead to act as the technical authority for one or more strategic initiatives. The Tech Lead will define architecture, service contracts, and technical roadmaps while providing strong engineering leadership.

This role is heavily backend-focused (~60 70%) primarily using Node.js and TypeScript, balanced with occasional frontend work (~30 40%) using modern web tools (React and Typescript). The short-term emphasis is technical discovery, solution design, and laying the foundation for downstream delivery and team scaling.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Serve as the lead developer and technical authority for the initiative(s).
• Design resilient, cloud-native system architectures and define technical roadmaps.
• Decompose ambiguous problem spaces into clear, actionable technical plans.
• Define, document, and negotiate service and API contracts with partner teams.
• Ensure solutions meet enterprise standards for security, resiliency, and maintainability.
• Identify technical dependencies, risks, sequencing, and trade-offs across backend and cloud systems.
• Promote a "Security First" mindset, emphasizing the constant need to consider security with every change.

Hands-On Engineering

• Remain heavily hands-on in backend development (~60-70% focus) while stepping in to support UI development when needed.
• Architect and build services using TypeScript and Node.js (with the potential to support apps written in Java ).
• Review code and enforce engineering best practices and quality standards across both frontend and backend repos.
• Support complex technical problem-solving across the stack.

Collaboration & Planning

• Work closely with product, partner teams, and stakeholders to shape scope and priorities.
• Help determine which initiative to start first based on technical readiness and risk.
• Inform decisions on future team composition and required skillsets.

Team & Delivery Model

• Work within a single cross-functional team supporting multiple initiatives (initially not in parallel).
• Support a flexible staffing model with engineers rotating in or out based on phase and needs.
• Contribute to APIs that are primarily internal-facing, with some UI components potentially external-facing.
• Influence when and how additional engineers are added as scope and priorities become clearer.

Core Technical Skills (Priority Order)

Required

• TypeScript: Strong, expert-level proficiency across the software stack.
• Backend Architecture: Deep experience building APIs and services using TypeScript and Node.js .
• Frontend Development: Working experience with React for occasional UI enhancements and integration.
• Cloud Infrastructure (AWS): Hands-on experience with services such as Lambda , ECS , and S3 .
• Databases: Practical experience with DynamoDB .
• Authentication & Authorization : Solid understanding of common auth patterns including JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) and OAuth .

Preferred / Nice-to-Have

• Support-level proficiency with Java and/or Angular.
• Experience with GraphQL (primarily as a consumer but potentially as a producer of a sub-graph).
• Experience with cross-language migrations (e.g., Java to TypeScript/Node.js or vice versa).
• Experience with additional NoSQL or SQL databases.
• Experience with Kong, Lambda Authorizers, and/or Glue.
• Experience with Security and Monitoring tools.
• Experience with GitHub Actions.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Strong technical depth with a solution-oriented, modern software architecture mindset.
• Proven experience providing technical leadership while remaining actively hands-on.
• Strong background in resilient system, cloud-native, and API-first design.
• Ability to work effectively across backend services (~60 70%), AWS infrastructure, and frontend/UI concerns (~30 40%).
• Comfortable operating in environments with high ambiguity and evolving requirements.
• Passion for writing and supporting secure, high quality applications while instilling that mindset in others.