# Staff Backend Engineer
**Company:** [Twenty](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/twenty)
**Location:** New York, NY
**Experience:** 10+ years
**Skills:** Go, Java, Kotlin, Python, C++, Rust, AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, GraphQL, Postgres, Neo4J, Nats, Event-Driven Architecture, Distributed Systems
**Posted:** 2026-05-20
> Design and build backend systems processing real-time operational data for national security applications. Own architecture decisions, distributed systems, and engineering standards in a hybrid cloud/on-prem environment.
## Job Description
## Responsibilities
- Architect and build high-throughput backend services that process real-time operational data
- Lead technical design reviews and choose pragmatic approaches for new features and system improvements
- Design event-driven and distributed systems that are resilient, observable, and performance-tuned
- Define stable APIs for internal and external consumers, partnering with frontend for seamless integration
- Improve engineering excellence through code reviews, standards, testing strategy, and incident practices
- Build and maintain CI/CD workflows that enable rapid, secure delivery
- Troubleshoot complex production issues, lead incident response, and drive durable fixes
- Partner with product and operational stakeholders to translate needs into deliverable technical plans
- Contribute to technical strategy and roadmap planning across backend services
- Support hiring by participating in interviews and helping define what “great” looks like

## Requirements
- 10+ years building scalable backend systems in production environments
- 4+ years of experience in Golang, or 4+ years writing server-side business logic in an object-oriented language (Java, Kotlin, C#, Python) or systems language (C, C++, Rust) with strong system design aptitude
- Experience leading technical initiatives end-to-end, including architecture, execution, and delivery
- Experience designing distributed systems (e.g., event-driven architectures, messaging, consistency tradeoffs)
- Experience building cloud-native services and operating them in production (AWS preferred)
- Strong security fundamentals: secure coding, threat modeling, and defensible design choices
- Track record mentoring engineers through code reviews, technical guidance, and feedback
- Strong communication skills and ability to align teams around clear technical decisions

## Nice-to-Haves
- Experience designing data models and queries in graph databases (e.g., Neo4j, AWS Neptune)
- Experience using relational databases (e.g., Postgres, MySQL, or MariaDB) to solve business problems and reasoning about query performance
- Experience on defense, intelligence, or security-focused products with real operational users
- Experience shipping large-scale data processing systems (streaming, near-real-time analytics, or similar)
- Experience integrating ML/AI capabilities into production systems in a practical, measurable way
- Open-source contributions or personal projects that demonstrate strong engineering craft

## Tech Environment
- Go (Golang) business logic
- AWS and hybrid cloud/on-prem deployments
- Event-driven messaging (e.g., NATS)
- Containers and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
- GraphQL and service-to-service APIs
- Graph databases (Neo4j, AWS Neptune) and complex relationship data

## Benefits
- Health: Medical, dental, and vision plan options. Life/AD&D, disability coverage options
- Family: Paid parental leave (12 weeks for birthing parents, 4 for non-birthing parents, 6 weeks for adoptive/foster/intended parents)
- Vacation: Paid holidays and flexible PTO
- Retirement: 401(k) with pre-tax and Roth options, HSA/FSA options, dependent care FSA
- At the office: Commuter benefits, on-site garage parking, bike storage, building fitness center, desk setup stipend
**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/staff-backend-engineer-at-twenty-c6e72285-4fb3-447f-9daa-1947c9d1fb13
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/staff-backend-engineer-at-twenty-c6e72285-4fb3-447f-9daa-1947c9d1fb13