Staff Backend Engineer

As a Staff Backend Engineer at Superstate, you will be responsible for building back-end web services that interact with both blockchain networks and traditional financial systems. You’ll develop APIs for seamless integration with partner custodians, design the internal Transfer Agent, and lead our infrastructure as code initiatives. Moreover, you’ll have the opportunity to mentor junior engineers and play a crucial role in planning projects for long-term success.

To be considered for the Staff Backend Engineer role at Superstate, you should have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, along with 9+ years of professional engineering experience. An extensive background in building fault-tolerant and high-performance cloud infrastructure is essential, especially with AWS. Proficiency in Rust is also required, and familiarity with SQL and the current DeFi landscape can make your application stand out.

At Superstate, the Staff Backend Engineer will work with a variety of technologies, including but not limited to AWS services like Fargate, RDS, Cloudfront, and Docker. Knowledge of Rust, SQL, and blockchain technologies such as Solana, Layer 2 solutions, and Solidity or Yul will be beneficial for this role. Experience with infrastructure as code tools like Pulumi or Terraform is also a plus.

The work environment at Superstate is collaborative and dynamic, with a strong emphasis on teamwork. As a Staff Backend Engineer, you’ll work closely with a small group of passionate engineers, taking ownership of projects that will have a long-term impact. The company supports a flexible vacation policy and promotes a healthy work-life balance, creating a positive, engaging workspace.

Working at Superstate as a Staff Backend Engineer comes with several attractive benefits, including competitive compensation, equity ownership, paid parental leave, and comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance. The company values diversity and is committed to fostering a supportive environment for all employees, ensuring you have all the tools you need to thrive.

When answering this question, focus on specific AWS services you've used in previous projects. Discuss how you've leveraged these tools to build scalable and reliable infrastructures. Mention any challenges you faced and how you overcame them, demonstrating strategic problem-solving and analytical skills, which are vital for the role at Superstate.

Be prepared to share a specific example of an API you designed for integrating with financial services. Discuss the challenges you faced, the technologies you used, and how your design facilitated seamless communication between different systems. Highlight your understanding of best practices in API development, emphasizing security and performance.

Discuss your approach to system design, focusing on methodologies that enhance performance and fault tolerance. Mention specific architectural patterns you've implemented, use of load balancers, and redundancy strategies. Providing a real-world example will strengthen your answer significantly.

Describe your experience with Rust, emphasizing projects where you used it to develop backend systems. Highlight Rust's features that aided performance and safety in your work. Sharing a project where you maximized Rust's strengths will illustrate your expertise convincingly.

To answer this, provide a clear overview of decentralized finance (DeFi) and how it relates to traditional finance. Discuss specific examples of DeFi applications and their potential to disrupt financial services. This will show your awareness of industry trends, which is crucial for a role at Superstate.

Share a specific instance where you mentored a junior engineer. Discuss the challenges they faced and how you helped them overcome those hurdles. Emphasize your teaching methods and the positive outcomes of your guidance, thereby demonstrating your leadership capabilities.

Discuss your philosophy on teamwork and collaboration, providing examples of how you've successfully worked in small teams. Highlight communication strategies and conflict resolution skills to show that you’re both a team player and a proactive collaborator.

Explain your hands-on experience with infrastructure as code tools like Pulumi or Terraform. Provide an example project where you implemented infrastructure as code, and discuss its benefits in managing configurations and deployments. This will showcase your technical skills relevant to the Staff Backend Engineer role at Superstate.

When addressing SQL query optimization, describe specific techniques you’ve employed, such as indexing, query refactoring, and using explain plans. Include an example where your optimization efforts significantly improved performance, demonstrating your analytical skills.

Express your passion for tokenized assets and articulate how they can transform traditional finance. Discuss current trends in blockchain and tokenization that particularly interest you, and how you envision contributing to this evolution as a Staff Backend Engineer at Superstate.