Principal Backend Engineer

Summary

Join Develocity, a leading developer toolchain observability platform, as a Principal Backend Engineer. You will play a key role in designing, building, and scaling our high-impact, distributed systems. This position requires extensive experience with Java, distributed systems, and cloud platforms. As a technical leader, you will mentor other engineers and contribute to the evolution of our backend architecture. We offer a remote-first work environment, competitive salaries and equity grants, and a focus on learning and development. We value collaboration and innovation, working closely with leading tech organizations and the open-source community.

Requirements

• 10+ years of professional software development experience, with a deep understanding of Java and the JVM
• Extensive experience designing, building, and operating fault-tolerant, distributed systems at scale
• Strong understanding of performance optimization, memory management, and scalability
• Experience with cloud platforms like AWS, containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes), and CI/CD pipelines
• Proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives and mentor other engineers
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to clearly articulate technical ideas

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, and delivery of complex Develocity features with a significant business impact
• Drive technical innovation and solve challenging problems related to performance, scalability, and reliability
• Contribute to the evolution of our backend architecture and infrastructure
• Participate in code reviews and ensure high-quality code standards
• Mentor and guide other engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with build automation tools (Gradle, Maven) and developer tools
• Experience with the development, maintenance, and evolution of APIs
• Proven ability to interact with enterprise customers about technical aspects

Benefits

• Work on a widely used product with a clear vision for the future
• Contribute to leading solutions in the new industry of Developer Productivity Engineering
• Close customer interaction with engineers from leading tech organizations
• An automation-focused, test-driven engineering culture
• Close collaboration with experienced and dedicated peer engineers
• Opportunities for growth in technical and leadership responsibilities
• In-person meetings, such as our annual company offsite and team meetings
• Work from home in a remote-first environment
• Competitive salaries and equity grants
• A focus on learning and development – Gradle offers an annual learning and development stipend and a monthly company-wide Learning Day, where we encourage all team members to focus on their professional development for the day
• A hardware package that includes a laptop, monitor, other peripheral hardware, and a home office stipend to make sure you are fully set up to work remotely
• Generous paid time off
• Paid public holidays
• Volunteer Day – We offer up to 8 hours of paid work time each year for team members to give back to their local communities