Lead Backend Engineer, Ruby On Rails

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Croatia.

📋 Description

• Lead and guide a team of mid to senior backend engineers (4–5), including conducting 1:1s, providing feedback, and managing performance.

• Convert product and business objectives into well-defined technical roadmaps, sprint plans, and backend priorities.

• Take ownership of the backend architecture and technical vision for mobile-first consumer applications utilized by tens of thousands of daily active users.

• Drive the implementation of new features for our mobile applications, collaborating closely with iOS/Android teams, Product, Data, DevOps, and Trust & Safety teams.

• Make critical architectural decisions regarding scalability, performance, reliability, data flows, and AWS infrastructure.

• Modernize and enhance a substantial Ruby on Rails codebase (including version upgrades and refactoring legacy areas) while ensuring system stability in production.

• Identify and address performance bottlenecks, enhance API speed and reliability, and devise effective caching and database strategies.

• Establish and continuously refine engineering processes, coding standards, code review practices, and deployment/CI pipelines.

• Create and maintain comprehensive technical documentation and design specifications for backend systems and major initiatives.

• Manage prioritization and trade-offs in a dynamic environment with shifting quarterly priorities.

• Engage in coding and code reviews, particularly for complex or high-impact areas, and intervene during critical production incidents.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 8 years of professional backend development experience in production settings, with recent experience in leading backend teams.

• Demonstrated experience owning backend architecture for a mobile-first, consumer-facing application.

• Strong hands-on proficiency with Ruby on Rails.

• Experience in building and scaling high-traffic systems (over 10k+ daily active users) with an emphasis on performance and reliability.

• Solid understanding of distributed systems, relational databases, caching, and performance optimization techniques.

• Practical experience in cloud environments (preferably AWS) and close collaboration with DevOps/infrastructure engineers.

• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical subjects and trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders (e.g., CEO, Product).

• Background in startup or fast-paced product companies, comfortable with shifting priorities and making pragmatic trade-offs.

• Strong product mindset, user-focused, impact-driven, and capable of connecting technical decisions to business outcomes.

• Comfortable taking ownership, making decisions, and leading in a fully remote, distributed team environment.

🏝️ Benefits

• Fully remote role with flexible working hours (core collaboration typically during European daytime).

• $30k USD bonuses (seasonal + end-of-year, dependent on individual and company performance).

• 27 days of paid vacation (15 days of personal leave + 12 days of public holidays based on your local country calendar).

• Company-paid team trips, 1–2 times a year to attractive locations (e.g., Thailand, Bali) including flights and accommodation.

• Access to company-provided AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor company accounts) to enhance your productivity.