Principal Backend Engineer

Save to Favorites

About Us:

The Donovan’s Venom is a 501c3 nonprofit organization focused on curating universal accessibility to fine arts and music education for all. We are passionately dedicated to ensuring that everyone, regardless of financial circumstances, has access to high-quality music education, performance opportunities, and fine art. We aim to inspire, empower, and uplift communities by fostering a love for music and the arts through our commitment to education, inclusivity, diversity, and social impact, which drives us to expand our reach continually and enrich the lives of those we serve.

We’re looking for a Principal Backend Engineer to join our growing team!

What you’ll do:

• Architect, design, develop, and maintain complex server-side applications using TypeScript, NodeJS, and/or Bun
• Lead the architectural vision for backend systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (front-end, product, dev-ops) to integrate user-facing elements with server-side logic
• Build, maintain, and evolve APIs for internal and external consumption, ensuring best practices are applied for security, authentication, and scalability
• Mentor and provide technical leadership to a team of backend developers, ensuring best coding practices and fostering a culture of continuous improvement
• Troubleshoot complex backend issues, optimize performance, and provide solutions for long-term stability
• Lead code reviews and define the backend development roadmap, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives
• Stay at the forefront of industry trends and emerging technologies, applying innovations to maintain a competitive edge
• Champion and enforce backend security protocols and strategies
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define technical priorities and long-term backend infrastructure goals

What we’re looking for:

• 5+ years of experience in backend development, including 2+ years in a lead or managerial role
• Proven track record of designing and implementing high-performance backend architectures
• Extensive experience with database design, optimization, and management (SQL, NoSQL)
• Expertise in server-side frameworks, libraries, and authentication/authorization techniques
• Proficiency in TypeScript and experience with NodeJS and Bun in production environments
• Demonstrated knowledge of security best practices, especially in API design and cloud-based systems
• Experience with modern development tools, including version control (e.g., Git), CI/CD pipelines, and containerization (e.g., Docker)
• Ability to lead strategic technical decisions, evaluate trade-offs, and balance scalability with business needs
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence technical decisions and mentor peers
• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies and a collaborative mindset to work with diverse teams
• Proven leadership in delivering high-quality, large-scale backend applications
• A visionary approach to backend architecture and infrastructure growth
• Strong decision-making capabilities, particularly in fast-paced and complex environments