🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany · 8h ago
Staff Backend Engineer
Oviva
LinkedInseniorEnglish-friendly
The Staff Backend Engineer is a senior technical leader responsible for the long-term health and direction of our backend services. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy to identify and solve our most critical technical challenges, often in areas that are loosely defined or cross multiple domains. Unlike a Senior Engineer who masters a specific domain, you will provide the technical vision and architectural guardrails for several domains. You will be a go-to expert for other engineers, leading by example with exceptional code, robust system design, and strategic thinking that anticipates future business needs.Key Responsibilities & Deliverables:Lead the design, development, and evolution of large-scale, high-traffic systems or company initiatives, often across multiple teamsDefine the long-term technical roadmap and architectural vision for key areas of our platform, and articulate the return on investment (ROI) to engineering leaders and other departmentsDecompose complex business and system problems into clear, scalable, and elegant technical designsAct as a technical lead on cross-team projects, ensuring that architectural principles and quality standards are metMentor senior engineers, providing deep technical guidance and fostering their growth into future technical leadersRepresent engineering in cross-functional discussionsDrive innovation by prototyping and championing the adoption of new technologies and methodologies, including the strategic use of LLMs and AI-driven development practicesWork on foundational infrastructure and application platforms that enable other engineering teams to build sustainable products with long-term visionKey Skills:Essential:Expert-level proficiency in Java and related frameworks and librariesDeep knowledge of middleware services & frameworks (such as relational databases, NoSQL databases, messaging systems, etc.) and nuanced understanding of their internalsDemonstrated experience designing, building, and operating complex, distributed systems at scaleMastery of architectural patterns, domain-driven design, and data modeling for complex systemsProven ability to influence and lead large, complex technical projects without formal authorityExceptional ability to navigate and resolve technical ambiguity in a fast-paced, scaleup environmentActive participation in technical guilds or communities of practiceProficiency with cloud-native architectures, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), GitOps, and infrastructure-as-code principlesExperience building and maintaining high-volume, high-traffic servicesComfort diving deep into open-source frameworks and libraries to understand internals and adapt for organizational needsDesirable:Driven by a strong curiosity in AI and cutting-edge tech, hands-on experience with AI-powered tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude, GitHub Copilot) to enhance productivity and code qualityExperience presenting at internal tech talks, external meetups, or conferencesExtensive, proven track record of technical leadership and impact in a senior or staff-level engineering role at a scaling startupRecognized as a go-to technical expert and thought leader by peers and leadershipContributions to open-source projectsExperience in a regulated industry, such as healthcareMaster’s in computer science or equivalent fieldKey Success Measures:Execution of Technical Strategy: A clear, forward-looking technical roadmap is established, understood, and actively being executed, directly leading to improvements in key business metricsReduction in System Complexity: A measurable reduction in the architectural complexity or defect rate of an entire domain, achieved through strategic refactoring, introduction of new platforms, or decommissioning of legacy systemsThought Leadership in Design: Your design documents, RFCs (Requests for Comments), and technical proposals are considered models of clarity and are frequently used as references by other teamsRecognized Go-To Expert: You are the go-to engineer for others when facing the hardest technical challenges in your domain of expertiseSolving “Unsolvable” Problems: Successfully delivering solutions for complex, high-risk, or ambiguous technical challenges that were previously blockers for the team or organizationFlawless Cross-Team Execution: Leading large, cross-functional technical initiatives to successful completion with minimal friction, demonstrating an ability to align and mobilize multiple teams towards a common goalGrowth of Senior Talent: The senior engineers you formally or informally mentor show demonstrable growth, take on larger scopes of work, and are on a clear path to becoming technical leaders themselvesElevating the Hiring Bar: Your involvement in the hiring process demonstrably helps in attracting and assessing high-quality senior and staff-level talentIn essence, a Staff Engineer’s success is measured not just by what they build, but by the positive, lasting, and widespread impact they have on the technology, the people, and the business.Sourced from LinkedIn. Relocantly aggregates public job postings; apply on the original site.