Lead Backend Engineer

Insense·Remote(United States)
Software Development

WFA Digital Insight

The demand for skilled backend engineers in the remote job market continues to soar, with a focus on cloud-native technologies and expertise in Ruby and GraphQL. As the creator economy grows, companies like Insense are at the forefront, providing innovative solutions for brands to collaborate with creators. With the market for influencer marketing expected to reach $24.1 billion by 2025, professionals with a strong technical background and product mindset are in high demand. Insense's remote-first approach and commitment to collaborative team environments make this role an attractive opportunity for those seeking a challenging and dynamic work setting. Before applying, candidates should be prepared to showcase their technical expertise, leadership skills, and experience with backend development and architecture decisions.

Job Description

About the Role

The Lead Backend Engineer position at Insense is a unique opportunity to join a remote-first company that is revolutionizing the creator marketing space. As a key member of the engineering team, you will be responsible for guiding the technical direction of the backend, leading architecture discussions, and overseeing the development and maintenance of the company's GraphQL API. You will work closely with the Product, Design, and QA teams to deliver high-quality features and ensure a seamless user experience.

Day-to-day, you will be hands-on, coding, and solving complex technical challenges while supporting and mentoring other engineers. Your expertise in Ruby, PostgreSQL, and GraphQL will be essential in driving technical decisions and ensuring the scalability and performance of the backend systems. As a leader in the engineering team, you will help establish and maintain engineering best practices, code quality standards, and development processes.

What You Will Do

  • Design, develop, and maintain the company's backend systems and services
  • Lead technical discussions and help define the architecture and technical direction of the backend
  • Remain actively involved in coding, code reviews, and solving complex technical challenges
  • Oversee the development and maintenance of the GraphQL API, ensuring scalability, performance, and reliability
  • Support and mentor engineers through technical guidance, knowledge sharing, and feedback
  • Help prioritize work, identify blockers, and drive projects through to delivery
  • Manage deployments and contribute to infrastructure improvements in the Kubernetes environment on GKE
  • Work closely with the Product, Design, QA, and Engineering teams to deliver high-quality features and a great user experience
  • Proactively identify opportunities for product and technical improvements based on business and user needs
  • Help establish and maintain engineering best practices, code quality standards, and development processes
  • Foster a collaborative and inclusive team environment while working with colleagues across different cultures and time zones

What We Are Looking For

  • 5+ years of backend engineering experience
  • Strong written and verbal English skills
  • Previous experience leading technical projects, mentoring engineers, or guiding a small engineering team
  • Proficiency in Ruby
  • Experience with functional programming patterns
  • Advanced SQL/PostgreSQL knowledge
  • Experience with GraphQL API development
  • Comfortable with DevOps concepts, including deployments, Kubernetes, and GCP AI-native
  • Product-minded, proactive, and able to work across cultures
  • Strong ownership mindset and ability to drive technical decisions from idea to delivery
  • Experience leading architecture discussions, code reviews, and engineering best practices

Nice to Have

  • Experience with Roda, Sequel, or dry-rb
  • Background in e-commerce, creator economy, or marketplace products
  • Experience with AI tools such as Claude or Cursor

Benefits and Perks

  • Flexible schedule with a remote-first approach
  • Opportunity to work with a dynamic and collaborative team
  • Professional development and growth opportunities
  • Access to the latest technologies and tools
  • Comprehensive health insurance
  • Generous PTO policy
  • Holiday pay and sick leave
  • Remote work stipend

How to Stand Out

  • Be prepared to showcase your technical expertise in Ruby, GraphQL, and PostgreSQL during the interview process.
  • Highlight your experience with DevOps concepts, including Kubernetes and GCP AI-native, to demonstrate your ability to manage deployments and infrastructure improvements.
  • Emphasize your product mindset and ability to work across cultures, as Insense values collaboration and inclusivity in their team environment.
  • Make sure to ask about the company culture, team dynamics, and opportunities for professional growth during the interview.
  • Be prepared to discuss your experience with AI tools and how you have utilized them in your daily development workflow.
  • Showcase your leadership skills and experience with mentoring engineers or guiding small engineering teams to demonstrate your ability to drive technical decisions and lead architecture discussions.

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