Lead Software Engineer

About Us

At Cast & Crew, we’ve empowered creativity and supported the global entertainment industry for decades. Together with our family of brands - Backstage, CAPS, Checks & Balances, Final Draft, Media Services, Sargent-Disc, and The TEAM Companies – we operate as a combined entertainment technology and services provider offering industry standard screenwriting accounting software, digital payroll products, data & reporting, and a host of creative tools.  The industry continues to move faster than ever, and the need for our expertise, our technology, and our people has never been greater.  We are a production’s best ally every step of the way. #OneCastOneCrew

Position Overview
We are seeking an experienced Lead Full-Stack Developer (Node.js & React) to drive the development of high-performance, scalable, and reliable applications. As the technical leader, you will be responsible for architecting, implementing, and optimizing both backend and frontend systems while ensuring seamless integration between them. You will mentor engineers, collaborate with product managers, designers, and DevOps teams, and deliver high-quality software solutions that meet business needs.

The ideal candidate has deep expertise in Node.js, React, cloud-native technologies, microservices, and modern frontend frameworks. A strong understanding of Agile methodologies, DevOps practices, and performance optimization is crucial for success in this role.

Essential Functions

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of scalable, full-stack applications using Node.js and React.
• Architect and maintain highly available microservices and web applications.
• Define and enforce coding standards, best practices, and development methodologies within the team.
• Conduct code reviews and provide mentorship to ensure quality and efficiency.
• Design and develop RESTful APIs, WebSockets, and GraphQL endpoints for seamless data exchange.
• Implement secure authentication & authorization mechanisms using OAuth, JWT, etc.
• Develop and optimize React-based UI components, ensuring usability and performance.
• Work closely with UX/UI designers to implement intuitive and accessible interfaces.
• Drive adoption of micro-frontend architectures and federated component designs.
• Utilize modern DevOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and cloud-based deployment (AWS, Azure).
• Collaborate with DevOps and SRE teams to improve scalability, performance, and security.
• Implement real-time event-driven architectures with Kafka, Redis, or WebSockets.
• Optimize system performance by reducing latency, enhancing caching strategies, and improving database efficiency.
• Ensure test-driven development (TDD) and maintain high unit/integration test coverage.
• Lead troubleshooting efforts and resolve production issues efficiently.
• Innovate and integrate cutting-edge technologies to enhance system capabilities.
• Foster a collaborative engineering culture, ensuring knowledge sharing and mentorship.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to align technical strategy with business objectives.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in full-stack software development, with 4+ years leading teams.
• Expertise in Node.js, Express.js, NestJS, and modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks.
• Strong proficiency in React, Next.js, Redux, and component-based architecture.
• Hands-on experience with SQL databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL solutions (MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis, ElasticSearch).
• Solid knowledge of microservices architecture, event-driven design, and API development.
• Proficiency in cloud technologies, including AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and DevOps best practices.
• Familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes, and container orchestration for scalable deployments.
• Knowledge of authentication & authorization protocols (OAuth, JWT, SAML).
• Expertise in performance optimization, debugging, and troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with serverless computing (AWS Lambda, Azure Functions) is a plus.
• Experience working in an Agile/Scrum development environment.
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with experience mentoring engineers.
• Prior experience in financial systems (payroll, accounting, etc.) is a plus.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field (Master’s is a plus).
• Must be authorized to wo