Backend Engineer

We are seeking a highly skilled and mission-driven Backend Engineer to join the core team responsible for building and scaling the Verve Retail Media Platform (RMP). In this role, you will be the architect of the server-side logic that powers our cross-retailer network, bridging the gap between digital advertising and the physical shopping experience.

Our engineering team strives for state-of-the-art software development practices. We value candidates familiar with our stack, but we are also confident that great engineers can learn and master new technologies within our team.

What You'll do

• Core Platform Engineering: Designing, building, and maintaining the high-performance services and APIs that serve as the foundation for our Retail Media Platform.
• Real-Time Decisioning: Developing the core application that processes high-throughput event streams from IoT devices to enable instantaneous, data-driven outcomes.
• System Design & Architecture: Setting the technical direction for scalable, distributed systems that bridge physical retail hardware with digital programmatic ecosystems.
• Collaboration & Innovation: Working closely with Product, Design, and AI teams to translate complex business logic into resilient, flexible technical solutions.
• Operational Excellence: Ensuring comprehensive observability, monitoring, and performance tuning for mission-critical systems with strict availability requirements.
• Technical Ownership: Contributing to a senior team through rigorous peer reviews, collaborative system design, and the collective evolution of engineering standards.

Our Tech Stack includes:

• Language & Frameworks: Primarily Go, using gRPC to maintain well-defined, contract-first interfaces between internal components.
• Infrastructure: Running as much as possible in Kubernetes and Docker on GCP (Google Cloud Platform).
• Data & Storage: Utilizing Firestore and MongoDB for flexible data needs, with BigQuery powering our massive analytical requirements.
• Observability: Monitoring and observability driven by Prometheus and Grafana.
• CI/CD: Automated workflows via Github Actions and Cloud Deploy.

You'll be responsible for

• Core Platform Engineering: Designing, building, and maintaining the high-performance services and APIs that serve as the foundation for our Retail Media Platform.
• Real-Time Decisioning: Developing the core application that processes high-throughput event streams from IoT devices to enable instantaneous, data-driven outcomes.
• System Design & Architecture: Setting the technical direction for scalable, distributed systems that bridge physical retail hardware with digital programmatic ecosystems.
• Collaboration & Innovation: Working closely with Product, Design, and AI teams to translate complex business logic into resilient, flexible technical solutions.
• Operational Excellence: Ensuring comprehensive observability, monitoring, and performance tuning for mission-critical systems with strict availability requirements.
• Technical Ownership: Contributing to a senior team through rigorous peer reviews, collaborative system design, and the collective evolution of engineering standards.

Do you have experience in gRPC?, * Technical Expertise: 5-8+ years of experience developing high-performance backend systems in cloud-native architectures, with a deep mastery of Go and a strong focus on building resilient, scalable services.

• Problem Solving Mastery: A deep understanding of computer science fundamentals, data structures, and algorithms to solve non-linear engineering challenges.
• Real-Time Experience: Proven track record in building systems that handle high-volume, low-latency ad-serving or real-time event processing.
• Hardware/IoT Awareness: Experience or a strong interest in integrating software with physical hardware, sensors, or IoT ecosystems.
• AI Proficiency: Experience with or a strong desire to use GenAI tools (Cursor, LLMs) to optimize development speed and code quality.
• Quality Focus: Passion for writing clean, maintainable, and well-instrumented code with a strong emphasis on automated testing and CI/CD.
• Clear Communication: Ability to articulate complex technical trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders in an international environment.

• Financial Security: Support your long-term financial security with our Allianz Corporate Pension Scheme
• Personalized Benefits: Pick what matters most to you in our Personalized Benefits Platform, with a budget of €100/month: mobility support (BVG/HVV), internet allowance, daycare subsidy, Urban Sports Club membership, personal development, and shopping vouchers
• Mental Health: Support your mental well-being with our Nilo Health Workplace Mental Health Solution
• Professional Growth: Boost your professional knowledge with our annual training budget & internal webinars, and level up your language skills through our German/English classes
• Vacation: Recharge with 27 paid vacation days + 3 Wellness days throughout the year, in addition to the public holidays
• … and even more reasons to join us!

Verve has created a more efficient and privacy-focused way to buy and monetize advertising. Verve is an ecosystem of demand and supply technologies fusing data, media, and technology together to deliver results and growth to both advertisers and publishers-no matter the screen or location, no matter who, what, or where a customer is. With 30 offices across the globe and with an eye on servicing forward-thinking advertising customers, Verve's solutions are trusted by more than 90 of the United States' top 100 advertisers, 4,000 publishers globally, and the world's top demand-side platforms. Learn more at www.verve.com. About Verve Retail Media Verve Retail Media operates one of Germany's most advanced in-store retail media platforms, spanning 2,200+ stores and partnering with leading brands such as Unilever and Nestlé, as well as major retailers including EDEKA and REWE. In just seven months, the team has scaled from 1 to 160 employees - a trajectory that reflects both the ambition and the opportunity ahead.