Staff Engineer, Backend

Headout is a fast-growing marketplace in the travel industry, looking for a Staff Engineer, Backend to drive architectural excellence and technical strategy across multiple product engineering pods.

Requirements

• 7+ years of software development experience with at least 5+ years in backend systems and distributed architectures.
• Prior experience mentoring engineers and driving technical initiatives across organizational boundaries without direct authority.
• Deep expertise in backend technologies: Spring Boot, Kotlin, and Java.
• Strong foundation in distributed systems concepts (eventual consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, high availability, CAP theorem trade-offs) with proven ability to design systems at scale.
• Hands-on experience with modern distributed tech stack: Kafka or similar event-driven architectures, relational databases (PostgreSQL, MariaDB), NoSQL systems (MongoDB), Redis for caching, and AWS cloud infrastructure.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills with focus on performance, reliability, and scalability.
• Strong commitment to code quality, testing practices, and engineering standards.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaborative mindset with high agency and ownership mentality.
• Growth mindset, grit, and resilience in fast-paced environments.
• Excited about continuous learning and staying current with emerging technologies.

Benefits

• Generous Paid Time Off
• 401k Matching
• Retirement Plan
• Visa Sponsorship
• Four Day Work Week
• Generous Parental Leave
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Relocation Assistance