Staff Backend Software Engineer - 411064

Client Overview Our client is a rapidly growing, Series B-funded technology company transforming how consumers access premium hotel amenities and experiences without requiring an overnight stay. Operating an end-to-end marketplace, the company connects consumers with thousands of hotel partners while supporting B2B distribution partnerships and direct-to-consumer services.

With millions of guests served, a profitable business model, and approximately 30% – 35% year-over-year growth, the organization is continuing to expand its platform, partnerships, and product offerings. They are currently looking to add a Staff Backend Software Engineer to their team.

The Engineering team values technical excellence, strong computer science fundamentals, thoughtful architectural decisions, and collaborative problem-solving. This is an opportunity to join a growing engineering organization where experienced engineers have meaningful ownership and direct access to technical leadership.

Salary/Hourly Rate $220k - $240k plus Equity

Position Overview Our client is seeking a highly capable Staff Backend Software Engineer to take technical ownership of the company's core booking platform and external API infrastructure.

This hands-on individual contributor will define backend architecture, lead complex engineering initiatives, and build scalable systems that enable distribution partners and authorized AI agents to price, hold, book, modify, and cancel hotel experiences.

Reporting directly to engineering leadership, the Staff Backend Software Engineer will help shape the technical roadmap, make foundational architectural decisions, and collaborate with senior technical leaders on platform-wide initiatives.

The role requires someone who can balance strategic thinking with hands-on development, building reliable transactional systems while influencing engineering standards across the organization. The ideal candidate has a strong track record of delivering complex backend systems, exceptional technical judgment, and the ability to lead initiatives beyond their immediate team.

Experience with the exact technology stack is secondary to demonstrated engineering excellence, ownership, and problem-solving ability. A previous Staff Engineer title, Ruby on Rails experience, hospitality industry experience, OpenSearch expertise, or AI/ML experience is not required. The Hiring team prioritizes demonstrated technical ownership, engineering quality, sound judgment, and the ability to make a measurable impact.

Responsibilities

For Staff Backend Software Engineer

• Own the architecture, design, and technical roadmap for the core booking platform and external API infrastructure.
• Design and develop scalable backend services supporting bookings, pricing, reservations, inventory management, and partner integrations.
• Build APIs enabling distribution partners and authorized AI agents to price, hold, book, modify, and cancel live hotel experiences.
• Lead the development of reliable transactional systems where data consistency, accuracy, and correctness are essential.
• Make foundational architectural decisions involving distributed systems, relational databases, API design, and complex business logic.
• Partner with engineering leadership and senior technical stakeholders on architecture and platform-wide technical decisions.
• Drive complex engineering initiatives from initial design through production deployment, monitoring, and ongoing optimization.
• Establish reusable engineering patterns, technical standards, and best practices adopted across multiple engineers and teams.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship while remaining actively involved in writing and reviewing production code.
• Collaborate with Product Managers and cross-functional stakeholders to translate business requirements into effective technical solutions.
• Design scalable systems that support new hospitality experiences, distribution partnerships, and product categories.
• Identify and implement improvements to system performance, reliability, scalability, and engineering quality.
• Take ownership of complex production issues, system migrations, and technical challenges while minimizing customer impact.

Required Experience/Skills For Staff Backend Software Engineer

• Typically 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated technical impact.
• Extensive hands-on experience building, deploying, and maintaining production-grade backend applications.
• Background in a strong engineering organization with high standards for technical quality, product thinking, and execution.
• Proven experience personally designing and launching complex transactional systems involving bookings, payments, orders, reservations, inventory, or comparable workflows.
• Strong experience designing external-facing APIs, integration platforms, and backend services consumed by multiple systems or partners.
• Deep understanding of relational databases, data modeling, distributed systems, and transactional correctness.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives and influence engineering decisions across multiple engineers or teams.
• Experience establishing architectural patterns, engineering standards, or technical approaches adopted by other developers.
• Strong computer science fundamentals and the ability to solve complex, ambiguous engineering problems.
• Experience managing production challenges, including system failures, migrations, performance bottlenecks, and reliability improvements.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical decisions to engineering and product stakeholders.
• Strong technical judgment, intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and ability to learn new technologies quickly.
• Willingness to remain hands-on with production code while providing Staff-level technical leadership.
• Ability to work onsite in New York City four days per week.

Preferred Experience/Skills For Staff Backend Software Engineer

• Experience with Ruby on Rails, Node.js, PostgreSQL, and AWS.
• Familiarity with Redis, Kafka, Datadog, and OpenSearch.
• Experience developing high-volume transactional systems, booking platforms, payment infrastructure, or online marketplaces.
• Background building scalable API platforms and complex integrations with external partners.
• Previous experience as a Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, Lead Engineer, or Senior Engineer operating at a comparable technical scope.
• Experience at a high-performing technology organization or rapidly growing, product-focused company.
• Demonstrated ability to lead architecture and technical strategy across multiple engineering teams.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools and modern engineering workflows.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline is preferred.
• Equivalent professional experience and demonstrated technical expertise will also be considered.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary of $220k - $240k.
• Equity compensation.
• Hybrid work arrangement, with four days onsite in Manhattan and remote Fridays.
• Significant technical autonomy and ownership of a business-critical platform.
• Direct collaboration with engineering leadership on architectural decisions and technical strategy.
• Opportunity to influence engineering standards, mentor other developers, and lead complex initiatives.
• Ability to build scalable systems supporting a rapidly growing marketplace and expanding distribution channels.
• Client-provided benefits available, upon eligibility.