Senior Backend Engineer

Join one of our platform teams and help us build the foundations and integrations that power Productboard – a one-of-a-kind product management system used by 5000+ global companies.
You will work on technically interesting and high-impact areas like Public APIs, integrations with third-party systems, automations, notifications, permissions, and more.
As a senior engineer (IC3), you'll lead the delivery of complex or ambiguous projects, driving clarity in technical and product scope while helping the team ship high-quality outcomes. You'll be a close partner to PMs and designers, ensuring we make pragmatic decisions, simplify complexity, and deliver iteratively. You'll also mentor other engineers and elevate the team's overall technical bar.
We value strong Kotlin or Java skills, product thinking, and a track record of owning outcomes. If you're motivated by impact, thrive in collaborative environments, and are excited to experiment with AI tools to accelerate development, we'd love to hear from you.
This role is primarily based in our Prague or Brno office with an office-centric hybrid schedule.
Responsibilities As a Senior Backend Engineer (IC3), you will:
Lead the end-to-end delivery of complex or ambiguous backend projects — breaking down business problems into technical plans, scoping effectively, and shipping iteratively.Collaborate closely with product managers and designers to define solutions that balance user needs, system complexity, and delivery speed.Contribute to roadmap discussions and continuously push the team toward better engineering practices and faster value delivery.Drive system-level improvements by identifying architectural bottlenecks or long-term technical debt, and pushing for pragmatic, scalable solutions.Write clean, maintainable, and efficient Kotlin (or Java) code — serving as a technical role model within the team.Mentor junior and mid-level engineers by reviewing designs, pairing on implementation, and providing clear, actionable feedback.Represent your team's technical decisions during planning, retrospectives, and incident postmortems.Participate in the on-call rotation and improve the reliability and observability of your services over time.
Requirements4+ years of professional experience building and maintaining backend systems at scaleDeep experience with distributed architectures, API design, and backend performance tuningStrong proficiency in Kotlin or Java, with a proven ability to lead feature and system design discussionsAbility to drive projects from problem definition through delivery, including scoping, risk mitigation, and cross-functional communicationFamiliarity with tools like PostgreSQL, Kafka, GraphQL, and AWSExperience mentoring other engineers and improving team-wide engineering qualityStrong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex ideas and influence technical decisionsA pragmatic, product-focused mindset — you care about delivering value, not just codeBonus: Experience working on platform teams or API ecosystemsBonus: Comfort experimenting with AI-powered development tools to improve velocity or reduce toil
Our Tech Stack You'll work with the following frameworks, tools, and languages:
Frontend: TypeScript, React, GraphQLBackend: Kotlin, Ruby, KafkaStorage: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Elastic, RedisData Pipeline: Python, Keboola, Looker, SnowflakeInfrastructure: AWS, Cloudflare, Kubernetes, TerraformBusiness tools: Slack, Jira, Google suite, Zoom, NotionFull Tech Stack
You Can Look Forward to the Following BenefitsStock optionsMacBook + 34″ monitorBudget for online courses, books, and conferences5 weeks of vacation + sick days1 Volunteer Day per year for you to help causes close to your heartCarrot Fertility BenefitsFree snacks, drinks, and yummy catered lunchesMultiSport card to access sports facilitiesFlexible working hours and home officeParental benefitsLanguage lessonsMental Wellness Program to support your well-being and self-careHone – Live, interactive learning programs for managers, leaders, and teams

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