Staff Backend Engineer

Summary

Join Astra, a company building modern infrastructure for moving money, as a backend engineer. You will design and own key backend systems, evolve service architecture, write clean Python code using Flask and GCP, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and contribute to observability and deployment workflows. This role requires 7+ years of backend system development experience, strong system design skills, expertise in Python and API design, and familiarity with distributed systems. The ideal candidate is product-minded, comfortable with independent work, and has experience with GCP, Terraform, payments/fintech, or event-driven architectures. Astra offers a remote-first work environment and a chance to build foundational systems from the ground up. Your work will directly impact customer experiences and shape the platform for years to come.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience building backend systems in production
• Strong system design and architecture skills . You’ve designed services that scale and evolve
• Expertise in Python and API design; experience with Flask or similar frameworks
• Familiarity with distributed systems, asynchronous processing, and idempotency
• A product-minded engineer who enjoys building platforms with real-world constraints (money, compliance, reconciliation)
• Comfortable taking projects from idea to implementation with minimal oversight

Responsibilities

• Design and own key backend systems , such as payments orchestration, ledger primitives, and internal operational flows
• Help evolve our service architecture as we scale, including how we model financial state, manage auth, and handle retries
• Write clean, well-tested Python code using Flask and GCP-managed services
• Work closely with other engineers, product, and cross-functional teams to understand customer needs and deliver robust APIs and features
• Contribute to our observability, reliability, and deployment workflows
• Participate in code reviews, tech planning, and mentoring

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with GCP, Terraform, payments/fintech, or event-driven architectures

Benefits

Remote Work and Culture