Senior Staff Back-end Engineer

Upwork ($UPWK) is the world’s work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to over 30% of the Fortune 100 with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential.  

Last year, more than $3.3 billion of work was done through Upwork by skilled professionals who are gaining more control by finding work they are passionate about and innovating their careers.  

This is an engagement through Upwork’s Hybrid Workforce Solutions (HWS) Team. Our Hybrid Workforce Solutions Team is a global group of professionals that support Upwork’s business. Our HWS team members are located all over the world.

Join Upwork's engineering team, specifically the Ads & Monetization Team, which drives the fastest-growing revenue stream at Upwork. This team is responsible for Connects (our closed virtual currency for freelancers on our platform), Advertising Products, and Marketplace Design. These services require an in-depth understanding of backend development, database design and maintenance, and documentation for compliance with a particular focus on financial technology or ledger systems.

As a Senior Staff Backend Engineer at Upwork, you will be a key contributor to the technical excellence of our projects. You will collaborate closely with engineering teams and product managers to deliver top-notch products to our users. You will be vital in creating, implementing, and documenting software architecture solutions, prioritizing scalability, reliability, and maintainability. Your responsibilities will include systems design, software development, conducting code reviews, creating comprehensive documentation, and leading strategic initiatives to enhance code quality and reduce technical debt.

Work/Project Scope:

• Collaborate with Engineering, Data Science teams, and Product Managers to create outstanding products for our users.

• Partner with product management and engineering colleagues to plan, execute, and ensure timely delivery of high-quality projects.

• Understand the larger vision, features, and challenges and translate them into actionable plans, considering trade-offs to achieve goals.

• Work within and across teams to design, build, and deliver robust systems that deliver value for our business and customers.

• Handle complex, ambiguous projects with minimal guidance.

• Simplify complex projects, potentially leading to strategic pivots from the original product plan.

• Participate in code reviews and design reviews, mentor junior engineers, promote best practices, and write supporting documentation.

• Share ownership of our code domain, focusing on improving code quality and reducing technical debt.

• Monitor system performance, respond to incidents promptly, and participate in on-call rotations as needed.

• Utilize collaborative tools such as Gmail, Slack, Confluence, and Jira for communication, documentation, and project management.

• Design, develop, test, and maintain scalable and robust server-side logic, databases, and APIs.

• Utilize programming languages such as Java or Kotlin for backend development.

• Architect and optimize backend systems for performance, scalability, and reliability.

• Implement security measures to protect backend systems and data.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct code reviews and develop comprehensive supporting documentation.

• Take shared ownership of our codebase, focusing on improving code quality and reducing technical debt.

• Drive and influence technical decisions across teams and up to engineering leadership.

• Lead and initiate projects, emphasizing localized infrastructure and cross-team collaboration.

Must Haves (Required Skills):

• Professional Experience: 8+ years in software development.

• Technical Leadership: Proven experience in taking complex projects from ideation to launch.

• Technical Expertise:

  • Proficiency in Java and RESTful services.

  • Expertise in writing well-structured, maintainable unit tests (e.g., JUnit, Mockito).

  • Deep knowledge of relational databases and distributed system design.

  • Proven track record of building and supporting high-load web applications and addressing scalability challenges.

  • Experience with financial technology or ledger systems.

  • Strong understanding of software architecture principles and practices.

• Collaborative Skills:

  • Proven ability to work with cross-functional teams to successfully launch products.

  • Excellent interpersonal skills with extensive experience collaborating with multiple stakeholders.

  • Practical communication skills in English, both written and verbal.

• Additional Skills:

  • Comfortable working with AWS and cloud-based environments.

  • Eagerness to learn new technologies and continually develop professional skills.

  • Experience with implementing virtual currencies, ledger systems, or financial technology.

  • Experience with high-load applications and databases.

Upwork is proudly committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce. We never discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.