Backend System Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

The Senior Backend System Engineer is a highly hands-on technical position responsible for personally designing, developing, coding, testing, troubleshooting, deploying, and maintaining the Company’s backend applications, databases, APIs, integrations, and internal technology solutions.

This is not primarily a management or oversight position. The successful candidate must be comfortable working directly in the codebase, writing and optimizing SQL queries, designing and implementing data solutions, building and troubleshooting APIs, diagnosing production issues, integrating systems, reviewing logs, debugging applications, and developing solutions from concept through implementation.

The Senior Backend Systems Engineer will take ownership of complex technical problems and is expected to independently investigate issues, identify root causes, develop solutions, test changes, and implement fixes. The position will work closely with IT leadership and business departments while remaining actively involved in day-to-day development and technical operations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Personally design, write, test, debug, deploy, and maintain backend application code.
• Spend significant time performing hands-on software development and technical problem-solving.
• Develop and maintain server-side application logic, services, and business processes.
• Build, maintain, test, and troubleshoot APIs and system integrations.
• Write, review, troubleshoot, and optimize SQL queries, stored procedures, database structures, and data-processing functions.
• Work directly with production applications and databases to diagnose and resolve technical issues.
• Review application logs, system errors, database activity, and other technical information to identify root causes.
• Take ownership of technical issues from initial identification through resolution.
• Troubleshoot complex application, database, integration, API, and performance problems.
• Develop practical solutions rather than relying solely on vendors or other team members to resolve technical problems.
• Build automated processes and tools to eliminate repetitive manual tasks and improve operational efficiency.
• Develop and support integrations between internal systems and third-party platforms.
• Perform data imports, exports, transformations, validations, and system-to-system data exchanges.
• Design and improve backend architecture for performance, scalability, security, and reliability.
• Maintain and improve existing applications, including legacy systems when necessary.
• Perform code reviews while continuing to contribute directly to development work.
• Use version-control systems and follow established development, testing, deployment, and change-management procedures.
• Participate directly in application deployments, upgrades, migrations, and system implementations.
• Respond to production issues and perform hands-on troubleshooting when critical systems experience problems.
• Work directly with users and departments to understand business problems and develop technical solutions.
• Support technology used across operations, warehouse, inventory, sales, accounting, administrative, and other business functions.
• Create technical documentation for applications, databases, integrations, APIs, configurations, and development processes.
• Evaluate existing code and systems and make improvements where necessary.
• Identify technical weaknesses and proactively recommend and implement improvements.
• Provide technical guidance and mentoring to other developers and IT team members while remaining an active individual contributor.
• Coordinate with outside technology vendors when necessary while maintaining internal ownership and understanding of Company systems.
• Protect confidential Company, employee, customer, vendor, financial, and proprietary information.
• Perform other software development and technology duties as assigned.

Hands-On Expectations

This position requires a senior engineer who is willing and able to personally perform the technical work.

The successful candidate must be comfortable:

• Writing production code on a regular basis.
• Working directly with databases and SQL.
• Building and testing APIs.
• Debugging code and investigating errors.
• Reviewing logs and tracing technical problems.
• Troubleshooting production systems.
• Working with existing and legacy code.
• Building integrations between different applications and platforms.
• Testing and deploying their own solutions.
• Handling urgent technical problems when necessary.
• Moving between development, troubleshooting, database work, integrations, and operational IT needs based on business priorities.

The Company is seeking a builder and problem-solver, not an individual whose experience is primarily limited to managing development teams, assigning work, or overseeing outside vendors.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced backend software-development skills.
• Strong proficiency in server-side programming.
• Advanced SQL and relational database experience.
• Strong API development and integration experience.
• Strong debugging and troubleshooting abilities.
• Ability to diagnose complex production issues independently.
• Experience developing and supporting business-critical applications.
• Strong understanding of application architecture and system design.
• Understanding of authentication, authorization, cybersecurity, and secure coding practices.
• Experience with Git or comparable version-control systems.
• Ability to work with both modern and existing/legacy applications.
• Strong analytical and root-cause-analysis skills.
• Ability to understand business operations and translate business needs into working technical solutions.
• Ability to work independently without requiring constant technical direction.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability for assigned systems and projects.
• Ability to balance long-term development projects with immediate operational needs.
• Ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical employees.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• Five (5) or more years of hands-on professional software-development or backend engineering experience preferred.
• Must have Kubernetes experience
• Demonstrated experience personally developing and supporting production applications.
• Strong hands-on experience with backend programming, databases, SQL, APIs, integrations, and debugging.
• Experience taking software projects from requirements through development, testing, deployment, and ongoing support.
• Experience troubleshooting live production environments and resolving complex technical problems.
• Experience working independently on complex technical projects.
• Technical leadership or mentoring experience is preferred; however, direct hands-on development experience is essential for this position.
• Equivalent combinations of education, technical training, and demonstrated professional experience may be considered.

Work Environment

This position primarily operates in a professional office and technology environment. The employee will spend significant time working directly with computers, applications, databases, development environments, and other technology systems.

The position may require occasional work outside normal business hours for deployments, upgrades, maintenance, production issues, or other critical technology needs.

Confidentiality and Information Security

The Senior Backend Software Engineer may have elevated access to Company applications, databases, source code, credentials, proprietary information, employee information, customer and vendor data, and other confidential information.

The employee must maintain strict confidentiality and comply with all Company cybersecurity, information-security, access-control, data-protection, and confidentiality requirements.