Lead Backend Engineer

Lead Backend Engineer

Location:

Remote

Pay Range: $75/hr. to $80/hr. on w2

Profile:
Lead engineer with both leadership and hands-on development skills. Team:
Big Future This team is working on student facing products/programs – both new and redesign of legacy Java applications into modern AWS based React/Node applications. Most dev teams work in a poly skilled manner working on automation and improving frameworks for testing in addition to core development.

Design and Development (60%)

• Design and deliver high-quality software that is scalable, secure, and reusable—leveraging modern technologies, proven design patterns, and cloud-native practices to power Big Future's core tools.
• Collaborate with product owners, architects, and stakeholders to uphold the highest engineering standards and translate big ideas into impactful, student-facing solutions.
• Break down new product capabilities into actionable, verifiable technical changes that move quickly from concept to reality.
• Design and implement solutions to allow rapid testing of innovative concepts using the latest technologies, typically React web apps
• Create sharable documentation, both technical and non-technical
• Exercise discretion in prototyping: investing time to make sure the most important things work well, and working with the team to mock or minimize less important features
• Maintain clean code and strong engineering standards such that when prototypes are greenlit for further development, the project is easy to build upon
• Continuously develop the skills required to work with this rapidly developing technology

Team Operations & Success (30%)

• Participate in, or lead Agile SCRUM ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Grooming, Daily SCRUM, Demo) by contributing to team deliverables and driving alignment, focus, and momentum across sprints.
• Elevate team performance by giving and receiving thoughtful code reviews, mentoring peers, and helping solve complex technical challenges.
• Assist in resolving production issues with urgency and precision, ensuring a smooth and reliable user experience.
• Model discipline in adhering to development standards, security practices, and CI/CD principles while helping the team move fast without compromising quality.
• Continuously grow your skills and embrace a poly-skilled environment where everyone contributes beyond their specialty.
• Serve as an organizational Subject Matter Expert on implementing Generative AI applications
• Work with our Enterprise Architecture team to review and/or establish implementation patterns involving Generative AI tools
• Advise on, and where feasible, create tools and infrastructure that will enable teams to safely deploy Generative AI tools

Learning & Sharing (10%)

• Keep abreast of developments in GenAI capabilities and implementations
• Share knowledge of new developments with the team via chats, meetings, and presentations when appropriate
• Serve as an advisor to internal teams developing staff education around Generative AI

• 7+ years of professional experience designing, building, testing, and managing scalable web applications in AWS-hosted environments
• 3+ years' experience building back-end applications using Node(with Type Script)
• Experience with relational and No
  
  SQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redshift, DynamoDB)
• Experience building observability for your products:
  Set up Cloud Watch, X-Ray, for logging, metrics, and alerts.
• Hands-on experience implementing Generative AI applications (e.g., RAG chatbots, model fine-tuning, or other LLM-powered tools)
• Enthusiasm for learning new technologies, especially in the fast-moving GenAI space
• Strong knowledge and hands-on experience with back-end technologies such as Node.js
• Experience with asynchronous programming and event-driven messaging patterns
• Strong knowledge of AWS services (e.g., Lambda, SNS, SQS, S3, Step Functions, IAM, KMS, API Gateway, Cloud Watch, DynamoDB)
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments
• Proven ability to mentor and coach less experienced teammates in new technologies
• Strong analytical thinking, structured problem-solving, and practical decision-making skills
• Effective communication and…