VR - Backend Node Engineer
About The Position
VacationRenter is actively seeking a talented Backend Engineer to join our engineering organization. Our backend systems are the backbone of the traveler experience, and this role plays a critical part in scaling our platform to support millions of users and high-volume transactions. As a Backend Engineer, you’ll work closely with product, engineering, and leadership to build the services and APIs that power our platform. You’ll help ensure high performance, reliability, and scalability, and contribute to the architecture and direction of our systems. This is a high-impact role where you'll have real ownership and the ability to shape engineering culture.
Requirements
- 3+ years of backend software engineering experience
- Strong experience with Node.js and PostgreSQL (or equivalent relational databases)
- Strong SQL skills — able to write, debug, and optimize complex queries on large datasets
- Experience working on high-volume, consumer-facing platforms
- Solid understanding of backend architecture, distributed systems, and scalability principles
- Experience with DevOps practices and cloud infrastructure (preferably Google Cloud or AWS), including CI/CD, monitoring, and infrastructure as code
- Entrepreneurial mindset with a self-driven, ownership mentality
- Excellent collaboration and communication skills
Nice To Haves
- Experience in the travel, marketplace, or e-commerce space
- Experience scaling systems to millions of daily users
- Experience building and deploying machine learning models using Vertex AI or similar platforms (e.g., SageMaker, Azure ML)
- Contributions to open-source projects or tech communities
Responsibilities
- Design, architect, and implement robust APIs and services using Node.js, PostgreSQL, and Redis
- Optimize complex SQL queries and schemas to ensure lightning-fast performance across large datasets
- Tackle high-scale engineering challenges to ensure reliability and efficiency under heavy traffic
- Collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, and leadership teams on backend features
- Proactively identify and resolve technical debt; lead refactoring projects to future-proof our stack
- Participate in team standups, code reviews, and deployment processes
- Mentor and support other engineers, helping to elevate team-wide technical excellence
- Take ownership of projects and drive initiatives from concept to production
Benefits
- Competitive salary + equity
- Top-tier laptop provided
- 100% company-paid health benefits for base plan coverage, with the option to upgrade to higher-tier plans
- 401(k) with company match
- Unlimited, guilt-free vacation days
- Annual wellness stipend (gym + other wellness activities)
- Monthly house cleaning stipend
- Annual travel allowance
- Monthly cell phone & internet usage stipend
- Charity donation company match
- Employee referral bonus
- Team offsites/activities
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
