Lead Backend Engineer

ITrade STEM

$125K — $150K *
Miami, FL 33186In-Person
Finance & Insurance
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years in backend engineering, especially 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 with gRPC, Protocol Buffers, and microservices.
  • Familiarity with blockchain fundamentals, smart contracts, or Web3 APIs.
  • Solid experience with WebSockets and real-time messaging systems.
  • Knowledge of time-series data solutions and cloud-native infrastructure.

Responsibilities

  • Architect, develop, and maintain real-time APIs and backend systems for crypto and DeFi.
  • Build scalable microservices with NestJS and gRPC for various financial applications.
  • Manage streaming pipelines using Kafka for blockchain event data processing.
  • Implement WebSocket services using Bun to deliver live updates.
  • Store and optimize time-series data with QuestDB and ClickHouse.
  • Secure and orchestrate APIs through APISIX with essential features.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver end-to-end features.

Benefits

  • Top-of-market salary plus potential equity and crypto bonuses.
  • Remote-first, asynchronous work culture with flexible hours.
  • Opportunities to work at the forefront of finance and Web3.
  • Technical leadership role with significant influence over architecture.
  • Collaborative team culture that promotes transparency and ownership.
Full Job Description
Our client is a well-funded Web3 fintech startup redefining the future of real-time financial infrastructure. Our platform bridges traditional finance and decentralized systems, enabling seamless, secure, and transparent access to blockchain-powered financial services. They're not just building APIs - they're creating the data rails for the decentralized economy, supporting everything from real-time transaction monitoring to decentralized asset management. With deep backing from top VCs and a founding team of fintech and blockchain veterans, we're scaling fast - and we're looking for core engineers to shape what comes next.

What You'll Do
• 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.

The Tech Stack

You'll be working with bleeding-edge tools purpose-built for real-time finance:
• NestJS - Modular TypeScript backend framework
• gRPC + Protobuf - Blazing fast internal service communication
• Kafka - Event streaming for blockchain and financial data ingestion
• Bun - Ultra-fast runtime for high-frequency WebSocket communication
• QuestDB - Low-latency time-series database for recent data
• ClickHouse - Scalable analytics database for long-term storage
• APISIX - Cloud-native API Gateway

What We're Looking For
• 5+ years in backend engineering, ideally with a focus on 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

What They Offer
• 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

Join the Future of Finance

If you're passionate about building real-time, decentralized financial infrastructure with an elite engineering team, we'd love to meet you.

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