Software Engineer (Backend / Node.js)

Vanguard Parking is building a production-critical platform that powers parking enforcement, payments, and operational workflows across a rapidly growing network of locations.

We're looking for a strong backend software engineer who can operate at the intersection of software and real-world systems - someone who can take ambiguous problems and turn them into reliable, production-ready solutions.

You'll work closely with both the Director of Engineering and the CEO, giving you high visibility and direct impact on product and business decisions.

This is a high-ownership role in a fast-growing startup environment, where your work will directly influence how the business scales.

What You'll Work On

• Backend systems (Node.js / NestJS + PostgreSQL) powering enforcement and operations
• Event ingestion pipeline processing 20K+ daily events from LPR camera systems
• Background job infrastructure (Redis, BullMQ - queues, retries, scheduling)
• Integrations with external vendors (camera systems, payment providers, data feeds)
• Complex real-world workflows with edge cases and operational dependencies
• System reliability, performance, and production health

What You'll Do

• Build and ship backend features in a live production environment
• Design and implement system behavior for real-world enforcement scenarios
• Debug production issues across databases, queues, and integrations
• Investigate support tickets, disputes, and operational inconsistencies end-to-end
• Work closely with product, operations, and leadership to translate ambiguous needs into clear solutions
• Improve system performance, observability (logs, metrics), and reliability
• Participate in incident response and root cause analysis
• Collaborate on system design and architecture improvements

• Strong experience with TypeScript / Node.js (NestJS preferred)
• Deep experience with PostgreSQL (schema design, query optimization, debugging)
• Experience with queues / async systems (Redis, BullMQ, or similar)
• Strong debugging skills in production environments
• Ability to think through complex workflows and edge cases
• Comfortable owning systems end-to-end
• High attention to detail and structured thinking

Nice to Have

• Experience with event-driven or distributed systems
• Experience with workflow-heavy or operational systems
• Strong SQL skills for data investigation
• Experience with observability tools (logging, metrics, tracing)
• Mobile development experience (bonus)
• Experience in integration-heavy environments

• Start in-office, with the opportunity to transition to a hybrid schedule over time
• A complex, real-world system with many moving parts
• High ownership and autonomy
• Direct exposure to production systems and incidents
• Close collaboration with engineering leadership and the CEO
• A fast-moving, startup environment where your work has immediate real-world impact

Work Environment

• Collaborative, friendly, and team-oriented office
• Opportunity to join a company in its growth stage
• Work on exciting, real-world projects at the forefront of our expansion
• High visibility and the ability to shape systems and processes early

Expectations

• Comfortable working in a hands-on, production environment
• Willingness to occasionally be available outside standard business hours when needed to support critical systems or incidents

Key Trait

"I can take a real-world problem and turn it into a correct, reliable, production-ready system."

Apply

If you're excited about solving real-world problems and building systems that directly impact operations, we'd love to hear from you.

Pay: $70,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year, * Health insurance

• Paid time off