Lead Backend Engineer

Lead Backend EngineerAt ITRADE Innovations, we help create jobs and support the future of industries in space, technology, energy, and manufacturing. We do this by creating programs that help develop skills and support sustainable growth. Join us on our mission to Redefine STEM!Our client is a well-funded Web3 fintech startup redefining the future of real-time financial infrastructure. Our platform bridges traditional finance and decentralized systems, enabling seamless, secure, and transparent access to blockchain-powered financial services. They're not just building APIs - they're creating the data rails for the decentralized economy, supporting everything from real-time transaction monitoring to decentralized asset management. With deep backing from top VCs and a founding team of fintech and blockchain veterans, we're scaling fast - and we're looking for core engineers to shape what comes next.What You'll DoArchitect, develop, and maintain real-time APIs and backend systems powering crypto trading, DeFi analytics, and digital asset tracking.Build scalable microservices with NestJS and gRPC, and design APIs used by developers, trading platforms, and financial institutions.Manage streaming pipelines with Kafka to process high-throughput event data from blockchains and financial markets.Implement WebSocket-based services using Bun to push live updates (price feeds, wallet events, smart contract logs).Store and optimize time-series data using QuestDB for hot access and ClickHouse for long-term analytics and compliance reporting.Secure and orchestrate APIs through APISIX, with features like rate limiting, authentication, and request transformation.Contribute to infrastructure scalability, observability, and resilience in a mission-critical, high-uptime environment.Collaborate with smart contract developers, frontend engineers, and data scientists to ship features end-to-end.The Tech StackNestJS - Modular TypeScript backend frameworkgRPC + Protobuf - Blazing fast internal service communicationKafka - Event streaming for blockchain and financial data ingestionBun - Ultra-fast runtime for high-frequency WebSocket communicationQuestDB - Low-latency time-series database for recent dataClickHouse - Scalable analytics database for long-term storageAPISIX - Cloud-native API GatewayWhat We're Looking For5+ years in backend engineering, ideally with a focus on financial systems or high-throughput platformsStrong proficiency in TypeScript, Node.js, and frameworks like NestJSExperience with event-driven architecture and tools like KafkaComfort working with gRPC, Protocol Buffers, and microservicesKnowledge of blockchain fundamentals, smart contracts, or Web3 APIs (e.g., Ethers.js, Web3.js) is a big plusSolid experience with WebSockets and real-time messaging systemsProven ability to design and optimize time-series data solutionsFamiliarity with cloud-native infrastructure (Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines)Security-first mindset - especially around financial and cryptographic systemsSelf-starter attitude, with the ability to thrive in a fast-moving startup environmentWhat They OfferTop-of-market salary + possible equity + crypto bonusesRemote-first, async-friendly culture with flexible hoursThe chance to work on the cutting edge of finance and Web3A technical leadership role with influence over architecture and roadmapCollaborative, transparent team culture with real ownershipJoin the Future of FinanceIf you're passionate about building real-time, decentralized financial infrastructure with an elite engineering team, we'd love to meet you.