Design, build, and evolve core backend services for Hauler Hero’s platform while leveraging AI tools to enhance development efficiency and system reliability.
Location: Remote (LATAM only)
Engagement: Contractor
Experience: Senior (5+ years)
Timezone: Must overlap with US working hours
We are hiring a Senior Backend Engineer (Contractor) to design, build, and evolve the core backend services that power Hauler Hero’s platform. This is a 100% hands-on senior IC role, focused on building scalable, reliable, and maintainable systems used daily by waste hauling companies across North America.
You will work closely with Product, Frontend, and Platform engineers to ship features, improve system robustness, and continuously refactor existing services as the platform scales. This role requires strong technical judgment, comfort with ambiguity, and clear communication in a remote environment.
We are intentionally building an AI-assisted engineering organization. AI tools are part of the daily workflow, not optional.
What this means in practice:
Daily use of tools such as Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot
AI-assisted implementation of Spring Boot services, APIs, database migrations, and business logic
AI-assisted test generation, refactoring suggestions, and code review support
AI-assisted log analysis, debugging, and issue investigation
You remain accountable for reviewing, validating, and owning everything AI produces. Speed matters, but correctness, performance, and maintainability matter more.
This role is not a fit for engineers who are resistant to AI-assisted development or who rely on AI output without understanding the underlying system.
Design, build, and maintain robust backend service layers
Write clean, testable, high-performance code in Java and/or Kotlin using Spring Boot
Design and implement APIs that scale with real production workloads
Refactor and extend existing services to improve reliability and maintainability
Create reusable components and patterns that improve team velocity
Design and optimize relational schemas in PostgreSQL
Write and tune performant SQL queries for large data volumes
Validate that database access patterns scale under load
Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks across services
Work as part of a cross-functional Agile/Scrum team
Participate in design reviews, code reviews, and architectural discussions
Collaborate with frontend and product teams on feature development
Debug and resolve production issues as they arise
Contribute to improving engineering processes and practices
Mentor engineers through code reviews and technical discussions
Contribute to a culture of learning, iteration, and constructive feedback
Share context proactively to avoid knowledge silos
5+ years building production backend systems
Experience designing and operating systems with distributed data and meaningful scale
Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments
Strong Git/GitHub workflow experience
Strong proficiency with Spring Boot (Java and/or Kotlin)
Deep experience with relational databases, especially PostgreSQL
Experience building and maintaining production APIs
Experience refactoring toward or within microservice architectures
Ability to translate product requirements into technical solutions
Strong problem-decomposition and debugging skills
Solid computer science fundamentals and engineering judgment
Clear written and verbal communication skills
Experience with Node.js or React
Messaging and communication platforms (SendGrid, Twilio)
Event-driven architectures
Geospatial or location-based systems
Payments or financial integrations
Background in logistics, fintech, or B2B SaaS
Backend: Java, Kotlin, Spring Boot, PostgreSQL
Cloud: Google Cloud Platform (GKE, Cloud Run, Cloud SQL)
Caching: Redis, Firestore
Frontend: React
CI/CD: Cloud Build, GitHub Actions
Monitoring: New Relic, Google Operations
You take problems through to resolution
You balance pragmatism with quality
You identify and eliminate single points of failure
Clear, proactive written communication in English
Comfort working async across time zones
Willingness to surface risks and tradeoffs early
Curious, growth-oriented, and adaptable
Comfortable with ambiguity and iteration
Willing to refactor continuously as systems evolve
Backend services are reliable, scalable, and maintainable
Features ship consistently with minimal rework
Production issues are diagnosable and resolved quickly
Database and API performance scales with usage
Strong trust from frontend, product, and platform teams
This is a contractor role, not full-time employment
Candidates must be based in LATAM
Senior-level ownership and reliability are expected
Consistent overlap with US working hours is required
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