Staff Backend Engineer
Oviva · Berlin
What this role requires
One requirement, read out of the advert rather than guessed from the job title:
Also mentioned, not required: Docker, Kubernetes, GitOps, English (B2). Worth having, but their absence is not what gets a CV filtered out.
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Job description
The Staff Backend Engineer is a senior technical leader responsible for the long-term health and direction of our backend services. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy to identify and solve our most critical technical challenges, often in areas that are loosely defined or cross multiple domains. Unlike a Senior Engineer who masters a specific domain, you will provide the technical vision and architectural guardrails for several domains. You will be a go-to expert for other engineers, leading by example with exceptional code, robust system design, and strategic thinking that anticipates future business needs.
Key Responsibilities & Deliverables:
Lead the design, development, and evolution of large-scale, high-traffic systems or company initiatives, often across multiple teams
Define the long-term technical roadmap and architectural vision for key areas of our platform, and articulate the return on investment (ROI) to engineering leaders and other departments
Decompose complex business and system problems into clear, scalable, and elegant technical designs
Act as a technical lead on cross-team projects, ensuring that architectural principles and quality standards are met
Read the full description (35 more sections)Show less
Mentor senior engineers, providing deep technical guidance and fostering their growth into future technical leaders
Represent engineering in cross-functional discussions
Drive innovation by prototyping and championing the adoption of new technologies and methodologies, including the strategic use of LLMs and AI-driven development practices
Work on foundational infrastructure and application platforms that enable other engineering teams to build sustainable products with long-term vision
Key Skills:
Essential:
Expert-level proficiency in Java and related frameworks and libraries
Deep knowledge of middleware services & frameworks (such as relational databases, NoSQL databases, messaging systems, etc.) and nuanced understanding of their internals
Demonstrated experience designing, building, and operating complex, distributed systems at scale
Mastery of architectural patterns, domain-driven design, and data modeling for complex systems
Proven ability to influence and lead large, complex technical projects without formal authority
Exceptional ability to navigate and resolve technical ambiguity in a fast-paced, scaleup environment
Active participation in technical guilds or communities of practice
Proficiency with cloud-native architectures, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), GitOps, and infrastructure-as-code principles
Experience building and maintaining high-volume, high-traffic services
Comfort diving deep into open-source frameworks and libraries to understand internals and adapt for organizational needs
Desirable:
Driven by a strong curiosity in AI and cutting-edge tech, hands-on experience with AI-powered tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude, GitHub Copilot) to enhance productivity and code quality
Experience presenting at internal tech talks, external meetups, or conferences
Extensive, proven track record of technical leadership and impact in a senior or staff-level engineering role at a scaling startup
Recognized as a go-to technical expert and thought leader by peers and leadership
Contributions to open-source projects
Experience in a regulated industry, such as healthcare
Master’s in computer science or equivalent field
Key Success Measures:
Execution of Technical Strategy: A clear, forward-looking technical roadmap is established, understood, and actively being executed, directly leading to improvements in key business metrics
Reduction in System Complexity: A measurable reduction in the architectural complexity or defect rate of an entire domain, achieved through strategic refactoring, introduction of new platforms, or decommissioning of legacy systems
Thought Leadership in Design: Your design documents, RFCs (Requests for Comments), and technical proposals are considered models of clarity and are frequently used as references by other teams
Recognized Go-To Expert: You are the go-to engineer for others when facing the hardest technical challenges in your domain of expertise
Solving “Unsolvable” Problems: Successfully delivering solutions for complex, high-risk, or ambiguous technical challenges that were previously blockers for the team or organization
Flawless Cross-Team Execution: Leading large, cross-functional technical initiatives to successful completion with minimal friction, demonstrating an ability to align and mobilize multiple teams towards a common goal
Growth of Senior Talent: The senior engineers you formally or informally mentor show demonstrable growth, take on larger scopes of work, and are on a clear path to becoming technical leaders themselves
Elevating the Hiring Bar: Your involvement in the hiring process demonstrably helps in attracting and assessing high-quality senior and staff-level talent
In essence, a Staff Engineer’s success is measured not just by what they build, but by the positive, lasting, and widespread impact they have on the technology, the people, and the business.
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