Lead Backend Engineer

## About the role We are looking for a skilled Lead Backend Engineer to join our growing engineering team and help build scalable, secure, and high-performance backend systems. In this role, you will be responsible for designing and developing robust APIs, managing database architecture, optimizing performance-heavy services, and integrating modern AI/ML capabilities into our platform. You will work closely with frontend developers, product teams, and system architects to create reliable infrastructure that powers real-time applications and analytics systems. The ideal candidate should have a strong understanding of backend development principles, scalable architecture patterns, authentication systems, database optimization, and cloud deployment workflows. We are looking for someone with a startup mindset, ownership mentality, and the ability to independently solve complex technical problems while writing clean and maintainable code. ## Responsibilities - Build and maintain scalable backend APIs and services - Design and manage database architecture for core systems - Develop analytics, tracking, and reporting systems - Integrate AI and machine learning services into the platform - Optimize performance-heavy endpoints and backend processes - Implement secure authentication, authorization, and API protection mechanisms - Work on real-time data processing and event-driven systems - Collaborate with frontend developers and product teams for feature implementation - Maintain clean, scalable, and maintainable backend codebases ## Requirements - Strong experience with Node.js and backend application development - Experience working with Express.js or NestJS frameworks - Good understanding of TypeScript and scalable application structure - Hands-on experience in REST API development and integration - Knowledge of JWT Authentication and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) - Experience working with PostgreSQL and/or MongoDB databases - Hands-on experience with Prisma ORM - Strong understanding of database schema design and query optimization - Knowledge of scalable backend architecture and system design - Experience using Redis and background job processing systems - BullMQ experience is preferred - Understanding of API security best practices and rate limiting - Experience integrating OpenAI APIs or AI-powered services - Knowledge of Git, version control workflows, and deployment ## Preferred Skills - Basic understanding of FastAPI and Python - Experience working with WebSockets and real-time systems - Knowledge of Docker and containerized deployments - Experience deploying applications on AWS, Vercel, or Railway - Prior experience working on analytics platforms or edtech products ## What We're Looking For - Strong problem-solving and debugging skills - Startup mindset with adaptability and ownership mentality - Ability to work independently and manage responsibilities effectively - Focus on writing clean, maintainable, and production-ready code - Passion for learning modern backend technologies and scalable systems