Software Engineer (Backend, Infrastructure Focus)

Required

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent technical experience
• Roughly 3–6 years of professional software engineering experience. We will consider standout candidates outside this range
• Strong backend experience in at least one modern language (for example Kotlin, Python, Go, Rust, Scala, Elixir, or Haskell). Kotlin is a nice-to-have, not a requirement, and we expect you to ramp up on Kira's stack (Kotlin, Python)
• Hands-on experience scaling a system through real growth, such as taking users or requests from tens or hundreds of thousands to millions, not only operating mature large-company services
• Experience designing APIs and event-driven systems (queues, messaging), with a practical approach to scalable architecture
• Experience with relational databases (for example MySQL) and operating production systems on cloud infrastructure (ideally AWS)
• A track record of owning a multi-week feature or initiative, including design decisions, and a clear, specific story about its impact
• AI-enabled development as a real daily workflow (Cursor, Claude Code, or similar), with good judgment about when to use AI and when to solve or review code yourself. You can explain, debug, and fix AI-generated code
• Familiarity with automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and reliable deployment practices
• Clear written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain your thinking to technical and non-technical colleagues
• A mix of larger-company and startup experience is a plus, along with comfort in a fast-paced, early-stage environment with changing priorities
• Hunger to grow, a positive can-do attitude, and impeccable attention to detail