backend engineers

onX is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer with a passion for building scalable platform Identity and Access Management (IAM) systems. Your focus will be on designing, developing, and scaling secure authentication, authorization, and user management services that are foundational to our platform. You will play a key role in evolving our IAM platform and delivering seamless cross-platform authentication across iOS, Android, and web.

You will be part of our Core Services team that enables product teams to build faster and more securely by providing core infrastructure, services, and patterns. This is a great opportunity to help shape the future of how users securely access and interact with onX's suite of outdoor technology products.

This position reports to the Director of Engineering, Core Services. TECHNOLOGIES WE USE

Our backend engineers primarily work in Go running in Kubernetes on Google Cloud Platform. The IAM team works extensively with identity platforms (Ory Kratos, Hydra, Oathkeeper), distributed databases (CockroachDB), and OAuth 2.0/session management patterns. Understanding mobile authentication tradeoffs (WebView vs. browser-based auth, token-based patterns) is particularly relevant for this role. As an onX Senior Backend Engineer, your day to day responsibilities would look like:

(Essential Job Duties)

• Build scalable, secure IAM services that enable new features and products across the onX suite of apps
• Design and implement backend systems focusing on observability, fault-tolerance, security, and high performance
• Drive architectural decisions related to Identity and Access Management, ensuring alignment with and advancing our broader platform strategy
• Define and implement SLIs/SLOs for IAM services; drive reliability engineering practices including incident response and performance optimization
• Write thorough unit, integration, and acceptance tests to ensure high service quality and maintainability
• Document APIs, service architectures, and technical decisions for internal stakeholders and external partners as needed
• Collaborate closely with fellow engineers, product managers, and other stakeholders through design reviews, paired programming, and cross-functional planning sessions
• Leverage and extend existing onX services and platform patterns to drive consistency and reduce duplication
• Proactively improve system monitoring, alerting, diagnostics, and operational readiness of IAM-related services
• Participate in an on-call rotation to ensure backend services remain highly available and reliable
• Mentor and share knowledge with engineers on your team
• Lead by example and embody onX's company values, fostering a culture of technical excellence, ownership, and collaboration

• B.S., M.S., or equivalent experience in computer science or a related field
• Eight or more years of professional software development experience, with API development as a primary focus for at least three of those years
• Strong Go/Golang backend development experience with RESTful API design
• Experience building and debugging distributed, scalable, highly available microservices architecture
• Solid understanding of identity systems: OAuth 2.0, session management, bearer token authentication, SSO integrations
• Experience with distributed databases (CockroachDB or similar PostgreSQL-compatible distributed systems) and relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL)
• Excellence in designing and developing modern APIs and scalable systems that ensure reliability and extensibility
• Familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-code technologies such as Terraform
• Strong computer science foundation
• Security-first mindset -- you think about threat models, secure defaults, and defense in depth as part of your design process
• You evaluate technologies and solutions based on merit, stability, performance, and the ability to debug
• Ability to write maintainable, well-tested code that's easy for others to understand
• A strong sense of ownership of your work
• Advocacy for customers -- both internal colleagues and end users -- and their experience
• Permanent US work authorization is a condition of employment with onX

Preferred Qualifications

Though not required, we would be thrilled to consider candidates with any of the following:

• Experience with identity platforms such as Ory Kratos, Auth0, Cognito, or similar
• Experience with the Ory Stack, especially Hydra, Kratos, and Oathkeeper
• Experience with Authzed SpiceDB, Google Zanzibar, or AWS Cedar for fine-grained authorization
• Understanding of mobile authentication patterns: WebView vs. browser auth tradeoffs, token-based flows across iOS/Android/web
• Reliability engineering experience: SLI/SLO implementation, incident response, performance optimization
• SOC2 compliance experience or familiarity with security audit frameworks
• Experience with Elixir or the Phoenix Framework
• Familiarity with Google Cloud Platform
• Experience working with a distributed team

onX is committed to compensating all employees fairly and equitably for their contributions. For this position, applicants can expect to make between $146,000 to $182,000 upon hire. The pay range will vary based on experience, skills, certifications, and education among other factors as required in the job description. In addition, full-time onX employees are eligible for a grant of common share options with a vesting schedule and a potential annual bonus of 10% based on company performance. WHAT WE ARE OFFERING YOU

• Competitive salaries, annual bonuses, equity, and opportunities for growth
• Comprehensive health benefits including a no-monthly-cost medical plan
• Parental leave plan of 5 or 13 weeks fully paid
• 401k matching at 100% for the first 3% you save and 50% from 3-5%
• Company-wide outdoor adventures and amazing outdoor industry perks
• Annual "Get Out, Get Active" funds to fuel your active lifestyle in and outside of the gym
• Flexible time away package that includes PTO, STO, VTO, quiet weeks, and floating holidays

ABOUT onX We're a team of builders, adventurers, and risk takers using technology to help people confidently explore the outdoors. Driven by our mission to awaken the adventurer inside everyone, we build products that optimize every outdoor experience and inspire confidence to get out and go further. We're a high-growth tech company. The pace is fast, the work takes grit, and ambiguity is part of the job. As the world changes around us, we adapt - continuously evolving how we build, prioritize, and deliver. Our business moves quickly, and there's real opportunity to shape what we build next. Each of our verticals - Hunt, Offroad, Backcountry, and Fish - is at a different stage of maturity, which means the challenges you encounter and the impact you have will vary depending on where you sit and what the business needs most. We operate with an experimentation mindset, continually iterating and improving how we solve problems. We expect our people to use the latest tooling, including AI, thoughtfully and responsibly, pairing human judgment with technology to increase quality, speed, and impact. Our impact comes to life through the products we build, in the stories of our customers, and in our growing commitment to land stewardship and recreational access., onX has created a thriving distributed workforce community across several US locations. This position can be performed from an onX corporate office, "Basecamp," or "Connection Hub". * Corporate Offices: onX was founded in Montana with offices in Missoula and Bozeman. If you prefer to work in an office at least part of the time this is a great option. * Basecamps: Basecamps are established virtual workforce communities where a sizable number of distributed team members group for work, volunteering, socializing, and adventure. + Our current Basecamps are located within a 90-mile radius of the following: Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC; Denver, CO; Kalispell, MT; Minneapolis, MN; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; and Seattle, WA. * Connection Hubs: Connection Hub locations are smaller, emerging communities of distributed team members. + Our current Connection Hubs are located within a 60-mile radius of the following: Boise, ID; Charleston, SC; Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Richmond, VA; Spokane, WA; and Vermont., At onX, we believe that unique perspectives make us stronger. By bringing together people with different experiences, ideas, and viewpoints, we fuel innovation and move closer to our mission of awakening the adventurer in everyone. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and are committed to fairness not only in hiring, but also in development, compensation, and promotion. Our goal is to build an inclusive community where every team member can show up authentically and thrive. Together, we win as one team. Come join us!