Backend Engineer

## About the Role As a Backend Engineer at Gradely, you will be at the core of building and scaling the systems that power our AI-driven learning platform. You will work closely with the product and frontend teams to design and ship robust, high-performance APIs and services that serve schools, parents, and students across Nigeria. This is a hands-on engineering role for someone who takes pride in clean architecture, reliable systems, and code that scales. ## Responsibilities - Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services using Golang and PHP. - Develop and maintain REST and gRPC APIs consumed by our web and mobile clients. - Manage and optimise MySQL databases and Redis caching layers for performance and reliability. - Architect and evolve our microservices infrastructure to support growing product complexity. - Deploy and manage services on cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) using Docker and containerised workflows. - Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines to support fast, reliable deployments. - Write thorough unit and integration tests to ensure system reliability. - Participate in architecture discussions and technical planning sessions. - Debug and resolve production issues quickly and methodically. - Collaborate across teams to ensure backend systems meet product and performance requirements. ## Requirements - Strong, production-level experience with Golang and PHP. - Solid understanding of MySQL — schema design, query optimisation, and migrations. - Hands-on experience with Redis for caching, queuing, or session management. - Practical experience with at least one major cloud provider: AWS, Azure, or GCP. - Proficiency with Docker and containerised deployments in production environments. - Experience designing and building scalable, distributed systems. - Solid understanding of REST and gRPC API design and best practices. - Experience with CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps practices. - Familiarity with microservices architecture patterns. - Strong testing habits — unit tests, integration tests, and a mindset for reliability. ## Nice to Have - Experience training, fine-tuning, or deploying AI/ML models. - Familiarity with edtech platforms or high-volume consumer applications. - Experience working in fast-paced startup environments. ## What We Offer - Fully remote role — work from anywhere in Nigeria. - HMO health insurance coverage. - The opportunity to build infrastructure that directly impacts how children learn across Africa. - A collaborative, engineering-first culture where your technical decisions matter. - Room to grow as the platform and team scale.