Lead Backend Engineer

Position Overview

At ITRADE Innovations, we help create jobs and support the future of industries in space, technology, energy, and manufacturing through programs that develop skills and promote sustainable growth. Join us on our mission to Redefine STEM!

Our client is a well-funded Web3 fintech startup redefining the future of real-time financial infrastructure. Their platform bridges traditional finance and decentralized systems by enabling seamless, secure, and transparent access to blockchain-powered financial services. They’re building the data rails for the decentralized economy – from real-time transaction monitoring to decentralized asset management – backed by top VCs and veteran fintech & blockchain founders.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, develop, and maintain real-time APIs and backend systems powering crypto trading, DeFi analytics, and digital asset tracking.
• Build scalable microservices with NestJS and gRPC, and design APIs used by developers, trading platforms, and financial institutions.
• Manage streaming pipelines with Kafka to process high-throughput event data from blockchains and financial markets.
• Implement WebSocket-based services using Bun to push live updates (price feeds, wallet events, smart contract logs).
• Store and optimize time-series data using QuestDB for hot access and ClickHouse for long-term analytics and compliance reporting.
• Secure and orchestrate APIs through APISIX, with features like rate limiting, authentication, and request transformation.
• Contribute to infrastructure scalability, observability, and resilience in a mission-critical, high-uptime environment.
• Collaborate with smart contract developers, frontend engineers, and data scientists to ship features end-to-end.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years in backend engineering, ideally in financial systems or high-throughput platforms.
• Strong proficiency in TypeScript, Node.js, and frameworks like NestJS.
• Experience with event-driven architecture and tools like Kafka.
• Comfort working with gRPC, Protocol Buffers, and microservices.
• Knowledge of blockchain fundamentals, smart contracts, or Web3 APIs (e.g., Ethers.js, Web3.js) is a big plus.
• Solid experience with WebSockets and real-time messaging systems.
• Proven ability to design and optimize time-series data solutions.
• Familiarity with cloud-native infrastructure (Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines).
• Security-first mindset, especially around financial and cryptographic systems.
• Self-starter attitude with the ability to thrive in a fast-moving startup environment.

Benefits & Perks

• Top-of-market salary + possible equity + crypto bonuses
• Remote-first, async-friendly culture with flexible hours
• The chance to work on the cutting edge of finance and Web3
• A technical leadership role with influence over architecture and roadmap
• Collaborative, transparent team culture with real ownership