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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Lead Kotlin Backend Engineer - **Company:** CodeGuild - **Location:** Amsterdam, Netherlands (Remote available) - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** €8,333.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Java (Programming Language), Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Java Virtual Machine (JVM), Backend, Kotlin - **Published:** August 24, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.codeguild.nl/en/software-developer-jobs-netherlands/lead-kotlin-backend-engineer-amsterdam-1048490-4#apply ## About the Role * 7+ years of professional backend engineering experience on the JVM * Strong experience with Kotlin, Java or Scala with a passion for FP * Experience working on complex, business-critical backend systems * Strong understanding of data consistency, integrations and failure modes * Experience designing and maintaining APIs * Experience with event-driven and distributed systems * Experience working in cloud-native environments * Ability to bring structure to complex domains * Strong communication skills and technical clarity * Experience mentoring or guiding other engineers is a big plus * Nice to have * Deep Kotlin production experience * Experience with Arrow, Ktor or similar FP-oriented tooling * Experience with platform evolution or legacy modernisation ## Description * Do you enjoy designing and owning backend systems where correctness, consistency and domain modelling matter? * Do you want to work in a Kotlin-first environment that takes functional programming seriously? * Are you a lead backend engineer who prefers clarity, strong abstractions and explicit trade-offs over accidental complexity? * And do you want to work remote-first while shaping a core platform used across multiple countries and millions of users? Then this role is built for you. Your employer: a large-scale digital marketplace with deep operational complexity You will join a well-established European digital platform operating at significant scale, used daily by customers across many regions. Behind the scenes sits a complex operational backbone that supports everything the business does. Engineering here is deliberate. The organisation favours Kotlin-first backend development, strong domain modelling and functional principles to keep complexity manageable as the platform grows. Decisions are made for long-term maintainability. They combine product-driven development with real operational responsibility. Engineering teams are trusted to make decisions, improve systems incrementally and take ownership over critical domains. There is little hierarchy, minimal bureaucracyand a strong focus on pragmatism and long-term maintainability. The company operates remote-first, with only two office days per month in Amsterdam. Your team: Platform / Back-office (business-critical systems) This team forms the operational heart of the platform. These systems are absolutely critical to the business. The team is responsible for: * complex business workflows * integrations with systems such as ERP, CRM and internal tooling * API-heavy services with many dependencies * correctness, data consistency and long-term stability The landscape consists of roughly 8-10 core backend services with deep domain logic and many integrations. These systems are mission-critical: when they fail, the business feels it immediately. The team is currently being strengthened with permanent senior engineers to reduce dependency on externals and build a stable internal core. Your role: Lead Kotlin Backend Engineer Amsterdam In this role as Lead Kotlin Backend Engineer Amsterdam, you take ownership over a complex backend domain. You are not expected to rewrite everything. Instead, you bring structure, calm and technical judgement. You work hands-on in Kotlin-based backend services and help evolve the platform incrementally. You influence architecture through experience, not dogma. You understand trade-offs and know when stability matters more than elegance. You lead by example: writing clear, maintainable backend code improving service boundaries and data models ## Related Videos - [Why Kotlin is the better Java and how you can start using it](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/661-why-kotlin-is-the-better-java-and-how-you-can-start-using-it) - [Kotlin Multiplatform - True power of native code reuse](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/4-kotlin-multiplatform-true-power-of-native-code-reuse) - [Developing the Backend with Stefan Lingler, CTO at Shpock](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100360-developing-the-backend-with-stefan-lingler-cto-at-shpock) - [Just-in-time Compilation in JVM](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/240-just-in-time-compilation-in-jvm) - [Route from Java to Kotlin](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/512-route-from-java-to-kotlin) - [Moving from Java to Kotlin](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/384-moving-from-java-to-kotlin) ## Related Articles - [Fully Remote Software Engineer Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/447-fully-remote-software-engineer-jobs) - [The 7 Most Popular Backend Frameworks for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/403-the-7-most-popular-backend-frameworks-for-developers) - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [What’s the Difference Between Frontend and Backend Development?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/240-what-s-the-difference-between-frontend-and-backend-development) - [Find a Developer Job: 12 Best Job Sites For Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/165-find-a-developer-job-12-best-job-sites-for-developers) - [Software Engineer Salary London](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/252-software-engineer-salary-london)