Senior Backend Developer / DevOps

CompanyWe are a Berlin-based B2C fintech operating in stealth, founded by two repeat founders (YC alum, exit) with prior 10+ year careers in investment banking and strategy consulting, respectively. We recently raised investment to assemble a 15 people, exceptionally strong core team.Our culture is built on ownership and clarity. We align with you on vision, then set KPIs and required resources together—and then trust your drive and expertise.The OpportunityAs a Senior Backend Developer / DevOps engineer, you will work alongside our CTO on building and evolving our fintech product. The core architecture is in place, providing a solid foundation to build upon as we set up infrastructure, establish operational practices, refine our systems, and ship to production. You'll be involved from infrastructure creation through feature development, with significant autonomy to shape how we build, deploy, and scale.TasksWhat you will work on on daily basisSetting up and managing cloud infrastructure for production deploymentBuilding and maintaining CI/CD pipelines and deployment processesImplementing monitoring, logging, and observability systemsDeveloping backend features and APIs within our microservices architectureOptimizing system performance, reliability, and scalabilityCollaborating on technical decisions and architecture evolutionEnsuring code quality, security, and operational best practicesRequirementsHard RequirementsEvent-Driven Architecture Mastery: Deep, hands-on experience designing and implementing event-driven systems with messaging patterns (Kafka, RabbitMQ, or GCP Pub/Sub). You understand event sourcing, saga patterns, eventual consistency, and can articulate trade-offs.Microservices Architecture: Proven track record building, deploying, and scaling microservice-based systems in production. You know when to split services, how to handle distributed transactions, and how to avoid common microservices pitfalls.Node.js Expertise: Strong proficiency in Node.js (Express, NestJS, or similar) for building high-performance backend services. Understanding of async patterns, streams, and Node.js performance optimization is essential.GCP Hands-On Experience: Real production experience with GCP—not just familiarity. You've worked with GKE/Cloud Run, Cloud Functions, Pub/Sub, Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL/Firestore, and can navigate the GCP ecosystem confidently.Additional Technical SkillsExtensive experience with SQL databases (PostgreSQL preferred)Strong foundation in RESTful API designProficiency with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes)Experience with CI/CD tools (GitHub Actions, Cloud Build, Jenkins, or similar)Infrastructure as Code with Terraform or similar toolsDeep understanding of observability: structured logging, distributed tracing, metrics, and alertingKnowledge of API security, authentication/authorization (OAuth 2.0, JWT), and data protectionMindset & Approach0→1 Production Experience: You've been through production launches before and know what it takes—setting up infrastructure, handling edge cases, ensuring reliability, and managing the inevitable surprises.Pragmatic Perfectionism: You balance technical excellence with business velocity—you know when to refactor and when to ship quickly.Ownership Mentality: You're proactive, resourceful, and accountable for your work—you don't wait to be told what to do.Team Player: You collaborate well with others, give and receive feedback gracefully, and elevate those around youSystems Thinking: You understand how components interact, design for reliability and maintainability, and think beyond your immediate feature.Clear Communication: You can explain technical decisions to non-technical stakeholders, document your work, and participate constructively in technical discussions.Continuous Learner: You stay current with industry trends, experiment with new technologies, and are energized by technical challenges.BenefitsCompensation & How We WorkCompetitive salary commensurate with experience (€80k-€110k+ depending on seniority)On-site in Berlin-Mitte, with flexible remote work as you see fit (typically 3-4 days in office, flexible on specific days)High autonomy, low politics, fast decision-making—we value impact over processTop-tier equipment—whatever tools you need to do your best workWe're an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. If you're excited about the role but don't meet 100% of the criteria, we'd still love to hear from you—particularly if you bring unique perspectives or experiences that would strengthen our team.