Senior Software Engineer II, Backend Platform

At Wave, we help small businesses to thrive so the heart of our communities beats stronger. We work in an environment buzzing with creative energy and inspiration. No matter where you are or how you get the job done, you have what you need to be successful and connected. The mark of true success at Wave is the ability to be bold, learn quickly and share your knowledge generously.

As Senior Software Engineer on our Platform team, you will design, build, and maintain the evolution of Wave’s backend ecosystem, owning the reusable software stack that powers every service. This role focuses on defining the Golden Path for frameworks and communication, ensuring our stack is standardized, secure, and provides a best-in-class developer experience for the entire engineering org.

Here's How You Make an Impact:

• Standardize Shared Components: Maintain a single, recommended pattern for web frameworks, container images, and libraries to ensure consistency across the organization.
• Streamline System Communication: Architect the frameworks used for both real-time and background messaging between services to ensure data flows efficiently and reliably.
• Build Developer Centric Wrappers: Create and maintain sophisticated libraries that wrap shared components, making them easy to integrate while preserving the configurability and debug-ability developers need.
• Drive Software Lifecycle: Oversee regular updates for all shared backend components to protect the platform and ensure compatibility with the latest standards.
• Technical Leadership: Lead complex cross-team migrations and architectural reviews, ensuring that platform-level changes are implemented smoothly across the broader engineering organization.

You Thrive Here by Possessing the Following:

• Experience: 8+ years of professional background in backend engineering with a focus on platform, infrastructure, or shared services at scale.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Advanced Backend Mastery: Experience in building and maintaining reusable software libraries and frameworks, with deep expertise in Python(Django) and containerization tools.
• Expert Technical Knowledge: Extensive proficiency in designing and scaling various inter-service communication methods and patterns, including synchronous and asynchronous systems such as Kafka(Avro), SQS, and gRPC(Protobuf)
• Infrastructure Systems Experience: Expertise in how backend code interacts with Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS-native services at high scale.
• Architectural Design Skills: Proven ability to create developer-first tools and a thorough competency in GraphQL gateway that simplifies complex integrations while maintaining technical capability.
• Strategic Problem Solving: Experience identifying and phasing out redundant technical patterns across an organization to drive toward a unified, efficient stack.
• Communication: Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical trade-offs.

$160,000 - $179,000 a year

Final compensation is determined based on experience, expertise, and role alignment. Most candidates are hired within the middle of the range, with the upper end reserved for those bringing exceptional depth, impact, and immediate autonomy.

We also offer:

• Bonus Structure

• Employer-paid Benefits Plan

• Health & Wellness Flex Account

• Professional Development Account

• Wellness Days

• Holiday Shutdown

• Wave Days (extra vacation days in the summer)

• Get A-Wave Program (work from anywhere in the world up to 90 days)

Visit our site to find out more about life at Wave!

At Wave, we value diversity of perspective. Your unique experience enriches our organization. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Let’s talk about how you can thrive here!

Wave is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible candidate experience. If you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. We will work with you to meet your needs.

Please note that we use AI-assisted note-taking in interviews for transcription purposes only. This helps ensure interviewers can remain fully present and engaged throughout the discussion.

This advertised posting is a current vacancy.