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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Backend Engineer - **Company:** Kikoff Inc. - **Location:** United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $244,000.0 - $292,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Code Review, Distributed Systems, Payment Systems, Machine Learning, Performance Tuning, Systems Architecture, Transaction Data, Data Logging, Database Optimization, Caching, Backend, Build Management, Low Latency, Data Pipelines - **Published:** September 4, 2026 - **Apply:** https://startup.jobs/senior-backend-engineer-grant-underwriting-and-payment-kikoff-company-8023942 ## About the Role This is a consumer fintech startup, and you will be working with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and the desire to create lasting work and work relationships. Yes, you can build an exciting business AND have real-life real-customer impact., * 5+ years of experience with modern backend frameworks and a track record of building and scaling production systems * Strong systems design skills - you've architected and shipped distributed systems that handle high throughput and maintain data consistency * Production experience with background job processing systems (Sidekiq, Resque, or similar) * Solid understanding of database optimization, caching strategies, and performance tuning Ideal Candidate Also Has: * Experience with payment systems, financial infrastructure, or regulated environments (ACH, card processing, real-time payments) * Track record of making infrastructure decisions that balance technical excellence with business pragmatism * Experience working with ML/data science teams to productionize models and algorithms * Background in fintech, payments, or lending infrastructure * Strong system observability mindset (metrics, logging, tracing, monitoring) * Technical Leadership: Ability to own complex technical initiatives end-to-end, from design through implementation and rollout * Mentorship: Help level up the team through code reviews, design docs, and technical guidance * Impact Focus: Balance technical perfection with pragmatic delivery - you know when to build for scale vs. ship fast * Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner effectively with product, data science, and operations to deliver customer value * Operational Excellence: Take ownership of the reliability and performance of the systems you build ## Description * Advanced Underwriting Engine: Developed sophisticated underwriting ML models that leverage unstructured transaction data to make instant, accurate lending decisions at scale * Smart Collection System: Built ML-powered collection strategies using mathematical models and algorithms * Real-Time Payments (RTP) Integration: integrated and deployed RTP rail support alongside our existing ACH infrastructure, enabling instant fund disbursement and same-day collections - a critical differentiator in our market, We're looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to join our Grant Core team and help us scale. You'll be working on the critical systems that power our underwriting decisions, payment processing, and collection strategies., * Payment Infrastructure: Own and scale our multi-rail payment systems (ACH, RTP, card networks) to handle transaction volume while maintaining 99.99% reliability * Distributed Systems: Design and build scalable backend services that can handle millions of transactions with low latency and high throughput * Background Processing: Optimize our Sidekiq job infrastructure to efficiently process complex workflows for underwriting, collections, and payment distribution * System Architecture: Lead architectural decisions for our core financial systems, balancing speed, reliability, and cost as we scale * Data Pipeline Engineering: Build robust data pipelines that power our ML models and real-time decision engines * You'll work closely with our product and data science teams to ship features that directly impact our customers' financial wellbeing while maintaining the highest standards of reliability and security. ## Related Videos - [HTTP headers that make your website go faster](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1676-http-headers-that-make-your-website-go-faster) - [Developing the Backend with Stefan Lingler, CTO at Shpock](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100360-developing-the-backend-with-stefan-lingler-cto-at-shpock) - [Are Code Reviews Worth It? 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