Staff Backend Software Engineer

The client is a leading mobile and web-based learning platform that delivers efficient and affordable study solutions for professional certifications. Guided by the belief that education should be accessible to everyone, the platform aims to remove the stress and financial barriers often associated with professional certification exams by preparing members to pass with confidence and advance their careers. The engineering team collaborates closely with the product and design teams to build and maintain the technical foundation of the platform’s applications. As stewards of the codebase, engineers are dedicated to their craft, delivering high-quality, resilient, and accessible products that support learners from all backgrounds in achieving their goals. The team continuously refines its processes, coding standards, and architectural patterns—both individually and collectively—to ensure readiness for future challenges. Role Overview The Staff Backend Engineer serves as a backend system owner (“server steward”), responsible for designing, maintaining, and evolving the backend services that power Pocket Prep’s mobile and web platforms. This role ensures backend systems are reliable, secure, and scalable while enabling consistent API behavior across clients. This position partners closely with engineering, product, and design teams to translate high-level goals into durable backend solutions. In addition to hands-on development, the role contributes to architectural direction, long-term system health, and mentorship of other engineers. Key Responsibilities

Design, build, and maintain TypeScript-based backend services using Node.js

Own and evolve RESTful APIs to support mobile and web applications

Act as a system steward by identifying performance bottlenecks, reliability risks, and architectural gaps

Collaborate cross-functionally to support new features and product initiatives

Lead technical planning and backend design for complex or loosely defined problems

Ensure system reliability through monitoring, debugging, and incident resolution

Optimize database performance and data access patterns (MongoDB)

Provide architectural guidance, code reviews, and mentorship to engineers

Promote best practices around testing, documentation, and maintainability

Required Qualifications

8+ years of backend engineering experience, with deep hands-on work in TypeScript

Strong experience designing, implementing, and maintaining production RESTful APIs

Proven ability to operate independently on ill-defined or high-level goals

Solid understanding of backend fundamentals, including:

Experience supporting production systems and maintaining long-term system health

Experience with MongoDB or other NoSQL databases

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working in startup or small-team environments

Database optimization experience (indexing, query tuning)

Experience owning systems from initial design through production and ongoing maintenance

Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and deployment workflows

Prior experience mentoring engineers or operating at a Staff-level scope

Exposure to other backend languages (e.g., Go, Rust) is a plus but not required

Working Style & Values

Strong engineering judgment with a focus on long-term, maintainable solutions

Comfortable taking ownership and making decisions with limited direction

Collaborative, product-minded approach to problem-solving

Willingness to give and receive feedback (“strong opinions, weakly held”)

Commitment to craftsmanship, continuous learning, and engineering excellence