Backend Developer (Data Layer / API Specialist)

Role overview

Blue Acorn iCi is hiring a Backend Developer (Data Layer / API Specialist) to design, build, and maintain scalable backend services and data interfaces for digital experiences, analytics, and personalization platforms.

Key responsibilities

• Backend & API Development
  • Design and develop RESTful and/or GraphQL APIs to expose data and business services
  • Build backend services for real-time and batch data access
  • Ensure APIs are scalable, resilient, secure, and well-documented (OpenAPI/Swagger)
• Data Layer Engineering
  • Implement data ingestion, transformation, and orchestration services
  • Integrate with databases, data warehouses, and event streams
  • Optimize data access patterns for performance, reliability, and cost
• Integration & Platform Enablement
  • Integrate backend services with third-party platforms (CDPs, analytics, CRM, CMS, marketing platforms)
  • Support identity, consent, and data-governance requirements at the API layer
  • Provide clean, consistent interfaces for downstream consumers (web, mobile, call center, analytics)
• Security, Reliability & Performance
  • Implement authentication/authorization and API security best practices
  • Monitor and tune services for performance and availability
  • Build logging, error handling, and observability into services
• Collaboration & Delivery
  • Partner with frontend, analytics, and data engineering teams on end-to-end solutions
  • Participate in architecture reviews and contribute to backend standards
  • Support CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code workflows

Required skills

• Strong backend development experience with Java, Python, Node.js, or Go
• Hands-on experience building and consuming REST and/or GraphQL APIs
• Solid understanding of SQL and NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB)
• Experience with data pipelines, ETL/ELT, or event-driven architectures
• Familiarity with cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Experience integrating with analytics, CDPs, CRM, or marketing platforms
• Understanding of data modeling/schema and data quality best practices
• Knowledge of identity/consent/data privacy (plus)
• Experience with CI/CD, Git-based workflows, and automated testing

Preferred qualifications

• Experience in MarTech, analytics, or personalization ecosystems
• Real-time streaming technologies: Kafka, Kinesis, Pub/Sub
• Familiarity with API gateways, service meshes, or microservices architectures
• Familiarity with Docker and Kubernetes (preferred)

Compensation

Base salary range: $75,000 – $110,000 annually (may vary based on experience, qualifications, and location).