FB - Tech lead

IMPORTANT: At the moment we are only considering candidates located in Latin America. Please do not apply if you are not located in Latin America.

About Empirical

Empirical empowers early and growth stage tech companies to create the right products in the right way by providing two pivotal services:

• Product & Technology Leadership: Our clients entrust critical decisions to our network of top-tier US-based CTOs and CPOs. We provide fractional, project, or advisory based support, combining highly experienced talent with a flexible approach.

• Product Development Teams: We provide our clients with high performing, senior product development talent through a scalable staff augmentation model and ongoing support. We focus on Latin America to find exceptional talent, with time zone and cultural compatibility.

We are proud to be a people first company, where we prioritize building meaningful, long lasting human connections with clients and team members alike, while embracing diversity and uniqueness. With this foundation and our focus on talent, we help create great products that people love.

Our values

• Care about people first

• Strive to add value always

• Lead with integrity

• Have fun every step of the way

The Opportunity

We’re looking for a Tech Lead to join the engineering team of one of our partners, a transportation technology company that’s reinventing how people move within their communities. Their on-demand, all-electric microtransit platform connects riders, drivers, and local businesses through real-time operations and smart routing.

In this role, you’ll take ownership of the architecture and reliability of a platform that powers thousands of daily trips across 25+ microservices. You’ll work hands-on to diagnose and fix scaling bottlenecks, stabilize services, and improve system design, while also mentoring teammates and raising engineering standards. This role is a hybrid between senior IC and team lead, combining deep technical execution with architectural vision and leadership.

What you'll do

• In your first months, run a diagnostic of services and architecture, address scaling bottlenecks, and stabilize critical systems (e.g., memory leaks, event amplification, cascade failures).

• Guide the technical direction and architecture of a large-scale 25+ microservices ecosystem.

• Design and optimize real-time, event-driven systems that handle complex distributed workflows.

• Ensure reliability, scalability, and performance across APIs, databases, and infrastructure.

• Promote strong engineering practices in code quality, testing, security, and deployments.

• Support and mentor a team of engineers through reviews, design discussions, and knowledge sharing.

• Foster collaboration and help shape a team culture focused on scalability, reliability, and continuous improvement.

• Partner with leadership to balance feature delivery with platform stability and long-term growth.

Your qualifications and experience

Must haves

• 7+ years of backend experience with Node.js / TypeScript at scale

• Strong knowledge of distributed systems and microservices patterns.

• Production experience with PostgreSQL, Redis, and Kafka.

• Hands-on with Kubernetes, Docker, AWS

• Demonstrated ability to diagnose and fix production issues in high-volume real-time systems

• Proven ability to design and scale real-time systems (event-driven workflows, WebSockets).

• Experience with performance optimization across APIs and databases, including caching strategies

• Track record of designing resilient microservices with observability and fault-tolerant practices.

• Proven ability to mentor engineers and raise technical standards.

• Strong English communication skills.

• Collaboration skills, comfortable working across technical and business teams.

• Team-oriented, pragmatic, and adaptable to changing priorities

Bonus points for:

• Familiarity with ride-sharing, logistics, or real-time geospatial systems.

• Knowledge of payments and financial workflows.

• Experience wit