Job description
NovaStart Labs is a fast-growing Berlin-based startup building mission-critical software for the next generation of digital commerce. We are seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to join our core engineering team and help scale our platform for thousands of concurrent users. You will own the design, development, and operation of our backend services, drive architectural decisions, and contribute to a culture of excellence and impact.
We value ownership, curiosity, and collaboration. If you thrive in a fast-paced startup environment and want to shape a product from the ground up, this is the role for you.
Responsibility
- Architect, implement, and maintain scalable backend services and APIs.
- Set performance, reliability, and security standards; drive observability and incident response.
- Collaborate with frontend, data, and product teams to define roadmap and deliverables.
- Champion code quality through reviews, testing, and documentation.
- Mentor junior engineers and help grow the team’s technical capabilities.
- Contribute to CI/CD pipelines and deployment automation for fast, safe releases.
Qualification
- 5+ years of backend engineering experience, with at least 2 years in a product-focused startup or scale-up.
- Proficiency in one or more backend languages (Node.js, Python, Go, Java) and strong SQL experience (PostgreSQL preferred).
- Deep experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
- Solid understanding of RESTful APIs, microservices, data modeling, and security best practices.
- Experience with monitoring/observability (Prometheus, Grafana), logging, and tracing.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and ability to operate in a fast-paced environment.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent practical experience.