Staff Backend Engineer, Mobile Team

As a Staff Backend Engineer on the Mobile Team at Via, your key responsibilities encompass designing, developing, implementing, and maintaining features for our mobile users. You'll be tasked with implementing microservices from design to production, owning the development and testing strategies, and participating in all areas of agile software development. Your role will also include ensuring high application performance and scalability while contributing to the overall system architecture.

To be considered for the Staff Backend Engineer position with Via's Mobile Team, you must have a minimum of 8 years of experience in backend development and databases, alongside at least 5 years of hands-on expertise with programming languages such as Python, C++, Java, or C#. A solid understanding of data structures, multi-threading, and design patterns is crucial, as is experience with SQL/MySQL and cloud platforms like AWS and Kubernetes.

At Via, ensuring application performance is a key focus for Staff Backend Engineers. You'll be responsible for designing scalable and innovative backend systems that not only maintain high standards of code quality but also ensure uptime and application performance. You'll utilize performance optimization techniques such as profiling and memory analysis to enhance overall system efficiency.

A Staff Backend Engineer at Via can expect to progress into more senior technical roles or leadership positions within engineering management or architecture. As you lead initiatives and make impactful technical decisions, opportunities to influence the strategic direction of product development and engineering processes will arise, paving the way for further career growth.

Via offers a comprehensive benefits package to its Staff Backend Engineers, which includes competitive salaries ranging from $200,000 to $275,000, medical plans, and 401K matching options. Additionally, working at Via provides an opportunity to engage in meaningful work that directly contributes to the modernization of public transportation, alongside a team of passionate professionals.

When answering this question, provide specific examples of your previous backend projects, highlighting the technologies and programming languages you've used. Discuss your approach to database management and any challenges you faced while ensuring high availability and performance for applications.

To effectively answer this question, share a particular project where you implemented microservices architecture. Explain how you designed the services, the decisions made regarding scalability, and the results achieved in terms of application performance and maintainability.

Discuss your approach to maintaining code quality by employing best practices and methodologies such as code reviews, automated testing, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices. Providing examples of specific tools or frameworks you've used can strengthen your response.

In your answer, emphasize the importance of clear and concise communication in remote environments. Discuss tools and strategies you've employed to ensure effective collaboration with team members across different locations. Provide examples of how effective communication has contributed to the success of your projects.

Share a specific challenge you faced in a previous role, detailing your thought process in evaluating different options. Highlight the decision you made, the outcome, and how it positively or negatively impacted the project, showcasing your analytical skills and ability to navigate complex scenarios.

Explain your commitment to professional growth by discussing how you keep yourself updated with the latest industry trends and technologies. Mention specific resources such as blogs, forums, online courses, or tech conferences you follow or attend.

Provide an example of a project where you collaborated with other teams, such as product management or design. Highlight your role in the collaboration, the challenges, and the outcomes, showcasing your ability to work effectively across disciplines.

In your response, detail your familiarity with performance optimization techniques such as indexing, query optimization, and database partitioning. Share insights on monitoring tools you've utilized to identify bottlenecks and improve overall performance.

Discuss your methodology for translating product requirements into backend designs. Explain how you consider performance, scalability, and maintainability in your approach, and highlight the importance of aligning with other teams during the design process.

Express your passion for Via's mission and vision in transforming transportation. Discuss how the role aligns with your skills and career aspirations and how you see yourself contributing to innovative solutions in the transportation industry.