
Staff Engineer
- Surrey, BC
- $133,000 per year
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Define and drive the long-term technical vision and architectural roadmap for backend systems, considering their interaction and impact on frontend experiences, within the payments and billing domain and beyond.
- Lead the design, development, and deployment of complex, mission-critical backend services and APIs using Grails, Groovy, and Java, ensuring seamless integration with frontend applications and meeting stringent performance, scalability, and reliability requirements.
- Architect and oversee the evolution of our database solutions, including advanced schema design, ORM (Hibernate) optimization, and strategic data migration (Liquibase) planning.
- Act as a primary technical mentor and coach for backend and potentially full-stack engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous learning across the stack.
- Take ultimate ownership and accountability for the technical success of backend product deliverables, including quality, performance, operational stability, and effective API contracts for frontend consumption.
- Collaborate at a strategic level with Product Management, Frontend Leads (e.g., React, Next.js), UI/UX, and other stakeholders to translate complex business needs into robust and future-proof technical solutions that span the full stack.
- Lead cross-functional teams in tackling ambiguous and complex technical challenges, guiding them from problem definition through to successful implementation, considering both backend and frontend implications.
- Spearhead efforts in identifying and resolving systemic production issues, implementing preventative measures, and improving overall system resilience and user experience.
- Establish and enforce best practices in backend development, including advanced testing strategies, code quality standards, secure coding practices, API design for frontend efficiency, and system monitoring.
- Evaluate and champion the adoption of new technologies, tools, and methodologies to enhance our backend and overall system capabilities and engineering efficiency.
- Backend: Groovy, Grails, Java, Spock Framework
- Frontend (for collaboration & understanding): JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Next.js, Redux, Webpack
- Databases & Data: SQL (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL), Hibernate, Liquibase, Data Modeling
- APIs & Integration: RESTful APIs, API Design Principles, Apache Avro, Event-Driven Architecture, Messaging Queues (e.g., AWS SQS/SNS)
- DevOps & Tools: AWS (EC2, RDS, S3, SES, ECS/EKS, Lambda, etc.), Gitlab CI/CD, Gradle, Docker, Kubernetes, Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation)
- Build & Version Control: Gradle, Git
- Architectural Patterns: Microservices, Domain-Driven Design, CQRS, Backend for Frontend (BFF)
- 8-10+ years of distinguished experience in software development, with a strong backend focus and a significant portion in a technical leadership or architect capacity on large-scale, complex systems.
- Expert-level proficiency in Groovy, Grails, and Java, with a deep understanding of the JVM ecosystem.
- Mastery of relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL), advanced SQL, complex data modeling, and expert-level ORM (Hibernate) usage and optimization.
- Proven track record of architecting, building, and evolving robust, scalable, and secure RESTful APIs and backend services that effectively serve frontend applications.
- Demonstrated experience in leading and mentoring engineering teams, fostering technical growth, and driving high-performance cultures.
- Solid understanding of modern frontend technologies and frameworks (e.g., React, Next.js, TypeScript) and the ability to effectively collaborate with frontend engineers on API design and integration challenges.
- Exceptional ability to break down complex problems, design elegant solutions (considering full-stack implications), and communicate technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Extensive experience with advanced testing methodologies, performance tuning, and ensuring operational excellence for backend systems.
- Deep understanding of software architecture principles, design patterns (e.g., microservices, event-driven), and trade-offs in distributed systems.
- Proficiency with modern DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-native development (AWS highly preferred).
- Experience with Backend for Frontend (BFF) patterns or Micro-Frontend (MFE) architectures.
- Significant experience leading large-scale refactoring or system migration initiatives involving both backend and frontend components.
- Experience with multiple programming paradigms and a strong understanding of when to apply them.
- Contributions to open-source projects or a strong presence in the technical community (e.g., speaking at conferences, writing technical blogs).
- Experience with financial systems, payments processing, or billing platforms.
- Advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent deep industry experience.
- Proven ability to influence and drive technical decisions across multiple teams and organizational levels.
- Short online behavioral and cognitive assessment via the Predictive Index.
- In-depth technical discussion and system design interview (may include aspects of full-stack interaction).
- Leadership and behavioral panel interview.
- Final interview with senior leadership.
- 3% RRSP matching
- Comprehensive health benefits plan, including 100% drug coverage
- 4-week paid vacation, growing up to 5 weeks with tenure
- Unlimited paid flex days
- Paid Birthday off
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