Software Engineer, Foundations
Builds and evolves core backend infrastructure including APIs, realtime transport, storage frameworks, and job orchestration systems at Hex. Requires 5+ years backend experience with TypeScript/Node.js, SQL, and shared systems expertise.
About the job
Core Contributions
- APIs
- GraphQL (schema design, performance, developer ergonomics)
- Authentication & authorization (security, scalability, correctness)
- Multiplayer & collaboration APIs (realtime state, concurrency)
- Transport
- WebSockets and realtime communication infrastructure
- Storage Frameworks
- Postgres (schema design, query optimization, migrations)
- S3, DynamoDB, Redis
- Job & Workflow Systems
- BullMQ and background job processing
- Temporal or similar workflow orchestration systems
- Internal Tooling
- Internal admin tools for debugging, operations, and customer support
What You'll Do
- Design and build backend frameworks and services used across the company
- Own and evolve critical shared systems, including APIs, realtime transport, and job orchestration
- Improve reliability, performance, observability, and security of foundational backend infrastructure
- Partner with product teams to turn recurring needs into shared abstractions
- Lead technical design discussions and help set architectural direction
- Drive refactors, migrations, and system upgrades that reduce long-term complexity
- Improve internal tooling to support debugging, operations, and customer-facing workflows
- Mentor other engineers and contribute to strong engineering standards and practices
What We're Looking For
- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience with a strong backend focus
- Experience working with Typescript/Node.js and SQL
- Experience building and maintaining shared backend systems or frameworks used by multiple teams
- Strong understanding of API design, distributed systems, and asynchronous workflows
- Experience working with relational databases and data modeling at scale
- Familiarity with background job systems, queues, or workflow orchestration tools
- Comfort operating and evolving production systems over time
- Experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS preferred)
- Strong communication skills and a collaborative, leverage-oriented mindset
Bonus Points
- Experience with Python
- Hands-on experience with GraphQL, WebSockets, BullMQ, or Temporal
- Familiarity with observability tooling (metrics, tracing, logging)
- Background in data platforms, developer tools, or collaborative systems
- Experience with frontend technologies (e.g. React, TypeScript) for end-to-end context
- Open-source contributions, especially in backend or infrastructure projects
Our Stack
Frontend: Typescript, React, Apollo GraphQL, Redux.
Backend: Typescript, Express/Apollo GraphQL, Postgres, Redis, Kubernetes, Python kernels.
Infrastructure: Terraform, Helm, AWS.
Compensation
Salary range: $215,000 - $270,000 USD (may vary by location, skills, experience).
Skills
TypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Postgres, Redis, AWS, Bullmq, Temporal, WebSockets, Kubernetes, Python, React, DynamoDB, S3, SQL
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