Backend Software Engineer (TypeScript / Node.js Backend)

OVERVIEW We are a technical advisory firm that partners with VC-backed companies to design, build, and scale their engineering foundations. We embed with our clients as a core part of their technical team, not as outside consultants handing over a document, but as engineers who own the outcome alongside them. Our current client is a VC-backed company operating in the auto logistics space. They're at an exciting and critical stage: they have product-market fit, they have backing, and now they need to build the production infrastructure to match their ambitions. We've been brought in to lead that build, and we're looking for a senior full stack engineer to join us for it. This is a greenfield backend API platform built in TypeScript on Node.js with Express or Fastify, and you'd be involved from the very beginning. That means shaping the architecture, setting the patterns, and building something that will need to handle real production load in a fast-moving, operationally complex industry. The backend we're building needs to be reliable, well-structured, and built to grow. If you want to do meaningful backend work on a greenfield codebase, in a real industry with real complexity, working with a team that has high standards, this is the opportunity. WHAT YOU'LL BE BUILDING A production-grade backend API platform in TypeScript on Node.js, using Express or Fastify. Because we're starting from scratch, the early decisions carry significant weight and you'll be part of making them. API architecture, project structure, middleware conventions, authentication approach, error handling, observability, data access patterns: these are all on the table and we want engineers who have opinions about them informed by experience. Day-to-day you'll be writing and reviewing TypeScript, contributing to architecture and design discussions, collaborating with the team on Slack, and joining at least one Zoom sync per week with the broader team and client stakeholders. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 5 to 10 years of professional software engineering experience with a strong backend or full stack background. Specifically: - Fluent in TypeScript with a solid working knowledge of the Node.js runtime, including async patterns, error propagation, and performance characteristics, not just the surface API - Hands-on Express and/or Fastify experience with real APIs built using them, a clear understanding of their trade-offs, and the ability to make informed structural decisions without needing to be guided - A track record of shipping and operating production systems, having been accountable for something running live, having handled production incidents, and thinking seriously about reliability, logging, and failure modes. - Comfort operating in a greenfield environment with some ambiguity, able to ask the right questions, help define what isn't yet defined, and take ownership of outcomes rather than waiting for a fully formed spec. - Strong English communication skills, written and spoken. We're a distributed team, async-first on Slack, and we interface directly with a client whose business is moving fast. Clear communication is as important as clean code US-based strongly preferred with meaningful overlap with US business hours required for team and client collaboration NICE TO HAVE - Cloud infrastructure experience (AWS, GCP, or Azure) - Familiarity with authentication protocols (OAuth 2.0, OIDC) - API versioning strategy experience - CI/CD pipeline experience - Domain familiarity with logistics, fleet management, or supply chain systems is a genuine bonus HOW WE WORK We are a tight team with high standards and low tolerance for vague communication or dropped balls. Slack is our primary channel, async-first with responsiveness expected during working hours. We sync on Zoom at least weekly, more often during active design and planning phases. We use Jira for our ticket management. You'll receive a Microsoft 365 account on hire for SSO access to all internal and client tooling from day one. We don't micromanage. What we do expect is proactive communication, early flagging of blockers, and the kind of ownership that comes naturally to engineers who treat a codebase as something worth getting right, not just getting done. On a greenfield project with a client at a pivotal growth stage, that distinction matters. HIRING PROCESS - Intro call (15 min) - the firm, the client, the project, your background, and your questions - Technical screen (if applicable, via Coderbyte) - Background check - standard criminal background check required for all hires, no exceptions - Offer and onboarding - Microsoft 365 account and full tooling access provisioned before day one HOW TO APPLY We read every proposal that makes a genuine effort. Please include: - A description of a production backend system you've built, including what it did, the scale it operated at, your specific contributions, and what decisions you made that you're proud of or would revisit today - Your honest assessment of your TypeScript and Node.js depth. We value specifics and self-awareness over a list of buzzwords Links to code, whether GitHub, open source contributions, a portfolio, or anything else that shows us how you think and work We work with companies at inflection points and we hold ourselves and the engineers we bring in to a high standard. If this project sounds like the kind of work you want to do, make that clear in your proposal and tell us why this domain, this stage, and this type of build appeals to you specifically.