Senior Backend Engineer (Remote)

The role

You will design, build, and maintain scalable backend services using NextJS, Node.js, and TypeScript. You will architect APIs and data pipelines, optimize distributed systems, and collaborate with frontend, product, and DevOps teams.

What you will do

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services using NextJS Node.js and TypeScript.
• Architect APIs and data pipelines that support real‑time collaboration and media processing.
• Optimize performance, reliability, and latency across distributed systems.
• Collaborate with frontend, product, and DevOps teams to deliver end‑to‑end features.
• Own projects from concept through deployment including testing, monitoring, and iteration.
• Contribute to architectural decisions around microservices, caching, and event‑driven design.
• Mentor other engineers and help evolve our engineering culture and best practices.

Required qualifications

• 7+ years of backend engineering experience
• At least 3+ years in Node.js and TypeScript
• Deep understanding of API design, data modeling, and distributed systems
• Experience with microservices, message queues, and event‑driven architectures
• Strong grasp of performance optimization, observability, and error handling
• Familiarity with PostgreSQL, Redis, AWS, CPG or similar cloud infrastructure
• Comfort working in fast‑moving environments with high autonomy and ownership
• Excellent communication skills
• Collaborative mindset
• Significant experience with NextJS, NestJS, Node.js
• Good knowledge of JS fundamentals
• Good understanding of computer science fundamentals

Nice to have

• Passion for high-performance applications
• Significant open-source contributions
• Want to work in a fast-growing startup
• Empathy for the end user
• Eye for code quality
• Experience with WebRTC, media encoding, or real‑time streaming
• Background in SaaS, creator tools, or audio/video platforms
• Contributions to open-source Node.js or TypeScript projects

Benefits

• Equity commensurate to your contribution in a profitable company
• Health insurance
• 4 weeks PTO
• Freedom to work where you please

About the company

Zencastr is a fully distributed team of smart people who are passionate about changing the world one voice at a time.