Staff Backend Engineer

Recruiting From Scratch•San Francisco, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The company is building one of the world's leading digital marketplaces for high-end collectibles, enabling collectors to buy, sell, authenticate, and trade premium assets through a modern technology platform. Its platform combines marketplace infrastructure, authentication technology, payments, logistics, and large-scale backend systems to support millions of consumer transactions while expanding into entirely new collectible categories. Already backed by industry leaders and prominent investors, the company has achieved profitability while continuing to rapidly scale its consumer platform and engineering organization. Backed by world-class venture firms and industry leaders, the company is entering its next stage of growth by modernizing its backend architecture, launching new product categories, and evolving toward highly scalable microservices infrastructure. As a Staff Backend Engineer, you'll own large-scale backend architecture, greenfield product launches, and platform modernization while working closely with product, infrastructure, and DevOps teams to build one of the largest consumer marketplaces in the collectibles industry. This is a rare opportunity to join a profitable, pre-IPO technology company where you'll directly influence backend architecture, engineering standards, and the future of a rapidly growing consumer platform.

Requirements

8–15 years of backend software engineering experience
Strong experience building production backend systems using Node.js and TypeScript
Experience building and scaling high-volume consumer-facing marketplaces or eCommerce platforms
Experience owning large technical initiatives from design through production deployment
Experience working in startup or mid-sized technology companies with significant ownership
Experience designing distributed systems supporting large-scale production workloads
Experience leading architecture modernization or microservices migrations
Demonstrated ownership of high-impact backend engineering initiatives
Strong Node.js and TypeScript engineering skills
Strong PostgreSQL and relational database experience
Experience building scalable backend APIs and distributed systems
Experience with AWS infrastructure and Kubernetes (EKS)
Experience with Docker, Terraform, Redis, and modern cloud infrastructure
Experience migrating monoliths to microservices
Strong understanding of observability using tools such as Datadog and Sentry
Daily user of AI coding tools such as Cursor, Claude Code, or similar developer assistants
Strong debugging, performance optimization, and backend engineering fundamentals
Strong system design and backend architecture expertise
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field required

Nice To Haves

Strong academic background from a respected engineering program preferred
GOAT
StockX
Fanatics
DraftKings
Uber
Airbnb
DoorDash
Instacart
Stripe
Etsy
Whatnot
Discord
Early-stage consumer startups
Marketplace companies
High-growth B2C technology companies
Product engineering organizations

Responsibilities

Architect and build scalable backend systems supporting a rapidly growing consumer marketplace
Design and implement containerized backend infrastructure using Kubernetes and AWS
Lead migration initiatives from monolithic architecture to modern microservices
Build backend services powering new marketplace categories and product launches
Design scalable APIs supporting high-volume consumer transactions
Improve platform reliability through observability, monitoring, and production engineering
Build distributed backend systems handling billions of monthly transactions
Partner closely with DevOps teams to improve scalability, deployment, and operational excellence
Leverage AI-powered engineering workflows using internal development tools, Cursor, and Claude Code
Collaborate with Product, Engineering, and Business teams to define scalable technical solutions
Mentor engineers through technical leadership, architecture reviews, and engineering best practices
Own backend initiatives from architecture through production deployment