Senior Backend Engineer - New York, NY
About The Position
At Blackbird, we believe every guest should feel like a VIP the moment they walk into a restaurant. Whether it’s last-minute tables, welcome drinks, off-menu items, or exclusive perks, we’re building a platform that helps restaurants identify, connect with, and reward their guests in meaningful and personalized ways. Our vision? The more you check in at your favorite spots, the more you unlock—from unique rewards to seamless direct messaging for reservations. With each visit, you’ll earn $FLY, our universal rewards currency, which you can use across our network of outstanding restaurants. As a Senior Backend Engineer, you’ll be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining our core APIs. You’ll work closely with product managers, designers, and fellow engineers to define and execute the technical vision behind our payments and loyalty platforms. You’ll contribute to key architectural decisions, help establish engineering best practices, and play a critical role in scaling the platform. We’re looking for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, high-ownership environment and is excited to build products from the ground up.
Requirements
- 5+ years of experience building and deploying backend APIs
- Strong proficiency in Kotlin or another statically typed JVM language
- Deep experience designing and maintaining RESTful APIs using domain-driven design principles
- Solid understanding of SQL databases, including schema design and performance tuning
- Strong attention to detail and commitment to delivering high-quality user experiences
- Ability to work autonomously and make sound decisions in a fast-moving environment
- Experience mentoring engineers and contributing positively to team culture
- Comfortable working cross-functionally with product, design, and other stakeholders
Nice To Haves
- Experience with the Spring framework and database abstraction layers such as Hibernate
- Familiarity with the U.S. payments ecosystem, including debit, credit, and ACH processing
- Exposure to DevOps practices, including AWS infrastructure and Terraform
- Interest or experience in blockchain, especially with cryptography fundamentals
- Experience productionizing generative AI features (e.g. retrieval-augmented generation, prompt engineering, or model integration)
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and maintain core backend APIs
- Collaborate with product, design, and engineering peers to deliver features aligned with business goals
- Contribute to system architecture and implement scalable, robust solutions
- Uphold and promote backend best practices, with a focus on code quality, testing, and performance
- Mentor junior and mid-level engineers and foster a collaborative, growth-oriented team culture
- Participate in product and design discussions, offering backend perspectives on implementation and feasibility
Benefits
- stock options
- benefits (including medical, dental, vision, flexible time off, 401(k))
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
11-50 employees
