Senior Backend Engineer

Guidebook•Raleigh, NC

13d•$120,000 - $160,000

About The Position

We are hiring a Senior Backend Engineer to help build and scale our customer-facing features and integration APIs. In this role, you will design and maintain backend systems using Python, Django, and PostgreSQL, with a focus on creating clean, scalable data models and well-structured APIs that support both internal functionality and third-party integrations. You will contribute to backend architecture decisions and help evolve existing systems by identifying areas for improvement that can be thoughtfully incorporated into longer-term technical roadmaps. You will partner closely with a predominantly front-end-focused team, collaborating with engineers, a product manager, and a designer to deliver high-quality features end to end. This role requires the ability to ramp up quickly, take ownership of backend systems, and operate with a high degree of independence. You’ll make pragmatic engineering tradeoffs that balance feature delivery with system quality and long-term maintainability. Preferred candidates have experience building and maintaining SaaS products, and are comfortable using AI tools to enhance developer productivity while retaining accountability for design, quality, and outcomes.

Requirements

5+ years of professional backend engineering experience.
Proficiency in Python for building production-grade backend services.
Strong experience with Django, including REST API development, middleware, and ORM usage.
Solid understanding of PostgreSQL, including schema design, migrations, indexing strategies, and query performance.
Robust experience designing and maintaining RESTful APIs.
Comfortable working within legacy codebases and making safe, incremental improvements.
Understanding of backend architecture fundamentals such as request lifecycles, concurrency, caching, and error handling.
Ability to debug and troubleshoot production systems using logs, metrics, and basic observability tools.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

A strong understanding of scalable backend architecture and distributed system design that support both web applications and native mobile applications (iOS and Android).
Experience building and maintaining SaaS products and/or third-party integrations.
Demonstrated ability to evaluate and communicate architectural tradeoffs and apply sound judgment when evolving or extending legacy systems.
Familiarity with API documentation standards (e.g., OpenAPI / Swagger).
Knowledgeable in authentication and authorization, including SAML SSO integrations.
Comfortable using AI tools to enhance developer productivity while retaining accountability for design, quality, and outcomes.
Familiarity with agile development workflows and tooling (e.g., Jira).

Responsibilities

Own backend execution for customer-facing features from technical design through production release.
Translate product requirements into backend solutions that are durable, secure, scalable, and easy for frontend teams to consume.
Act as a backend partner to a front-end-heavy team, proactively identifying gaps, risks, and backend considerations early in the development process.
Evaluate existing systems and recommend incremental improvements without disrupting delivery timelines.
Establish and uphold backend standards for code quality, API design, and data modeling.
Diagnose and resolve production issues using logs, metrics, and tracing.
Contribute backend perspectives to planning, estimation, and technical discussions.
Mentor other engineers through code reviews and knowledge sharing.