FB - Sr. Backend Engineer

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 Backend Developer 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 help design, build, and maintain the backend services that power ride requests, fleet management, and integrations with third-party tools. You’ll work alongside frontend, SRE, and DevOps teams to deliver robust, scalable features and ensure the reliability of a complex, distributed system that supports thousands of daily trips—all while helping make local mobility more sustainable and accessible.

What you'll do

• Design, develop, and maintain backend services using NestJS and TypeScript

• Implement RESTful APIs and WebSocket endpoints for real-time features

• Integrate with relational databases (PostgreSQL via Prisma ORM) and caching systems (Redis)

• Work with event-driven architectures and message brokers (Kafka)

• Ensure high code quality through automated testing (Jest), code reviews, and best practices

• Collaborate with other engineering teams to deliver reliable, scalable features

• Optimize application performance, scalability, and reliability

• Write and maintain clear technical documentation

• Participate in CI/CD workflows and containerized deployments (Docker, Kubernetes, Helm)

Your qualifications and experience

Must haves

• Strong proficiency in TypeScript and Node.js

• Solid experience with NestJS or similar backend frameworks

• Deep understanding of RESTful API design and implementation

• Hands-on experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL) and ORMs (Prisma)

• Familiarity with caching strategies (Redis) and message brokers (Kafka)

• Experience with containerization (Docker) and CI/CD pipelines

• Knowledge of authentication and authorization (JWT, OAuth)

• Solid testing and debugging skills (Jest, E2E)

• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred)

• Strong documentation and communication abilities.

• Collaborative and proactive team player

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills

• Attention to detail and commitment to code quality

• Willingness to learn and adapt to new technologies

Nice to haves

• Experience with Kubernetes and Helm

• Familiarity with ElasticSearch and real-time data pipelines

• Experience with payment integrations (Stripe, Twilio)

• Knowledge of feature flag systems (Unleash)

• Experience with geospatial tools (Mapbox, Turf.js)

• Exposure to microservices and distributed systems

What we expect from you

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