Staff engineer (back) F/M

Role Overview

Join Cheerz as a Staff Engineer (Backend) and lead the technical transformation of our backend platform. You'll work closely with the CTO, Engineering Managers, and other Staff members while remaining connected to product delivery through squad integration.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify strategic technical initiatives in alignment with the CTO, detecting opportunities and risks with significant platform impact
• Lead and drive adoption of a backend/platform technical roadmap, co-building and facilitating cross-functional technical roadmaps
• Ensure reliable, performant, and scalable backend architecture; elevate architectural standards across the organization
• Mentor and grow the development team through expertise and exemplary leadership
• Translate complex technical concepts and business needs into clear technical decisions
• Drive high-impact initiatives including technical migrations, architecture refactors, and scalability improvements

Requirements

• 8-10 years of backend development experience
• Expert-level proficiency in Kotlin/Java and Spring Boot
• Proven track record of high-impact technical realizations (migrations, architecture overhauls, scalability improvements)
• Strong architectural thinking and ability to design scalable, evolvable systems
• Excellent mentoring and team leadership abilities
• Strong communication skills; ability to simplify complex concepts for different audiences
• Collaborative mindset with ability to build consensus in complex environments
• Balance between technical excellence and business pragmatism
• Active learning and continuous improvement orientation

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience leading technical transformations
• Understanding of photo/media processing or personalization products
• DevOps or platform engineering experience