Senior Backend Performance Engineer - Node.js (Europe)

We're hiring an engineer to build the backend infrastructure behind an exceptionally fast product — one that stays fast regardless of scale. The system is live and growing; your job is to drive latency down across every layer of the stack. This is a high-ownership role: you'll own backend performance across the platform and build custom infrastructure wherever off-the-shelf solutions can't keep up. What You'll Do - Own backend performance across the platform — databases, APIs, queues, and background processing - Design advanced caching and data synchronization systems - Profile production systems and eliminate latency bottlenecks at every layer - Build custom infrastructure where third-party solutions aren't fast enough - Improve scalability while keeping response times low - Work with feature teams to hit performance targets, and continuously benchmark against best-in-class SaaS products What We're Looking For Must have: - 4+ years of backend engineering experience, including 4+ years building and scaling high-traffic production systems - Proven track record of optimizing large-scale backend systems - Deep expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Redis, networking, and distributed systems - Extensive experience with database optimization, caching, asynchronous processing, and API performance - Experience building custom infrastructure instead of relying solely on third-party solutions - Strong computer science fundamentals, algorithms, and systems design knowledge; exceptional engineering standards and attention to detail - Experience building products where latency and scalability were critical to the business Nice to have: - Experience with high-volume messaging or event-driven systems - Experience at a startup or fast-moving product company - Familiarity with performance observability tooling (profilers, tracing, APM) Originally posted on Himalayas