Backend Engineer
Hiring Companies
The following companies are hiring for this role right now. Take a single OnMerit interview and top performers are shared with companies hiring now. Get offers from multiple companies from one interview.
About the Role
This track connects you with engineering-first companies solving hard distributed systems problems. You won't just be building CRUD APIs; you will be architecting event-driven systems, optimizing database internals, and managing multi-region deployments. We match you with teams that value technical excellence, where you will work with modern stacks (Go, Rust, Elixir, Kafka, Temporal) to build infrastructure that scales to millions of users.
What You'll Do
- Architect and build core platform services that handle massive scale.
- Drive technical decisions on data modeling, API design, and system reliability.
- Debug complex production issues across distributed services.
- Mentor other engineers and elevate the team's engineering culture.
- Write RFCs and design docs for major architectural changes.
Requirements
- 5+ years of production experience with high-performance languages (Go, Rust, Java, C++).
- Deep expertise in distributed systems patterns (sharding, replication, consensus).
- Experience optimizing database performance at scale (Postgres, DynamoDB, ClickHouse).
- Proficiency with event streaming (Kafka, Redpanda) and async workflows.
- Ability to design systems that are resilient, observable, and easy to maintain.
The Interview
This track requires just one 30-minute interview. Here's what you can expect:
- Resume Deep Dive: Detailed walkthrough of your past experience.
- Technical Case Study: Short case study on a technical topic.
- Operating Case Study: Short case study on an operating topic.
Application Process
Upload Resume
Create your secure candidate profile and upload your resume
Take Interview
Complete a single 30-minute AI technical interview session
Get Offers
Top performers get connected with hiring managers
Get Feedback
All candidates get constructive feedback on their interview