Backend Engineer II

HackerRank helps thousands of companies hire developers based on skills rather than pedigree, and also nurtures a community of millions of developers to upskill and become next-gen developers.

The people at HackerRank care deeply about their work and have an extremely intense work ethic. In many companies, speed & quality are a tradeoff. At HackerRank, it’s not; we expect you to ship in about half the time that most competent people think is possible while maintaining a standard of quality you’d proudly sign your name on. The only way to make this happen is to truly love your craft and be deeply committed to growth.

About the role

Every day, millions of developers use HackerRank to prove their skills. We’re looking for a Backend Software Development Engineer who thrives on solving complex architectural problems and delivering high-impact product features. You will be responsible for the server-side logic, database architecture, and the integration of front-end elements. Your work will ensure that our core application remains fast, reliable, and scalable as we continue to grow our global user base.

What you’ll do

• Design, build, and maintain efficient, reusable, and reliable backend code to support new product features and enhancements.

• Develop and integrate RESTful or GraphQL APIs to serve front-end applications and external clients.

• Design and optimize database schemas (SQL and NoSQL) to ensure data integrity and query performance at scale.

• Collaborate with frontend developers, product managers, and designers to translate requirements into robust technical solutions.

• Troubleshoot production issues, identify bottlenecks, and drive performance optimizations across the application stack.

• Write comprehensive unit and integration tests to ensure high code quality and system stability.

Who you are

• Backend engineer with 2+ years of experience in server-side software development.

• Proficient in at least one modern backend programming language (e.g., Python, Ruby, Go, Java, or Node.js).

• Deep understanding of API design principles (REST, GraphQL) and web standards.

• Strong experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and familiarity with NoSQL stores.

• Knowledge of distributed systems, caching mechanisms (Redis/Memcached), and asynchronous messaging (Kafka/RabbitMQ).

• Familiarity with containerization (Docker) and basic CI/CD workflows.

Even better if you have

• Experience working on high-traffic, customer-facing web applications.

• A strong grasp of system design concepts and architectural patterns (e.g., Microservices, DDD).

• Familiarity with cloud computing platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and serverless technologies.

• Experience optimizing legacy codebases for performance and maintainability.

You will thrive in this role if

• You are passionate about shipping high-quality code that directly solves user problems.

• You take ownership of your work, from initial design through to deployment and monitoring.

• You enjoy breaking down complex requirements into clean, logical, and scalable technical implementations.

• You value collaboration and actively contribute to code reviews and architectural discussions.

Want to learn more about HackerRank? Check out HackerRank.com to explore our products, solutions and resources, and dive into our story and mission here.

HackerRank is a proud equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. We provide equal opportunity to everyone for employment based on individual performance and qualification. We never discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital, veteran, or disability status. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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Notice to prospective HackerRank job applicants:

• Our Recruiters use @hackerrank.com email addresses.

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