Backend Software Engineer

About the role

Join Slang's Engineering team as a Software Engineer, contributing across core product areas including telephony infrastructure, AI-powered conversation features, and application functionality. Your work will help restaurants automate customer interactions and improve service through natural conversation. You'll spend roughly 90% of your time developing backend services in Kotlin, with occasional contributions to React/TypeScript frontend features as needed. Your work will directly impact thousands of restaurant interactions daily, helping businesses streamline operations and deliver better customer experiences.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable Kotlin backend services following domain-driven design principles, with comprehensive error handling and testing
• Develop and maintain GraphQL APIs that efficiently serve both internal and external clients
• Create robust integrations with Twilio telephony services and Dialogflow conversational AI, handling edge cases and failure scenarios gracefully
• Design efficient Firestore data models that balance performance, cost, and maintainability
• Implement comprehensive observability including logging, metrics, tracing, and actionable alerting
• Deliver production-ready code with appropriate test coverage (unit, integration, and end-to-end tests)
• Participate actively in code reviews, providing constructive feedback and incorporating suggestions
• Document technical decisions, API contracts, and system architecture clearly
• Deploy containerized applications to Google Cloud Platform following cloud-native best practices
• Occasionally build or update React/TypeScript frontend components that provide intuitive interfaces for restaurant staff and customers

Requirements

• 3-5 years of professional software development experience, primarily in backend systems
• Strong proficiency in at least one JVM language (Kotlin, Java, or Scala) with understanding of functional programming concepts
• Experience building and consuming RESTful or GraphQL APIs
• Familiarity with NoSQL databases and data modeling concepts
• Experience with containerization (Docker) and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Strong understanding of software testing practices and test-driven development
• Excellent debugging and troubleshooting skills
• Basic familiarity with React and TypeScript (occasional frontend adjustments may be needed)
• Ability to work independently and manage time effectively in a remote/hybrid environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for remote/hybrid collaboration
• Willing and able to take a week on-call shift roughly every two months

Qualifications

• Experience with Kotlin specifically and its idioms
• Familiarity with GraphQL schema design and implementation
• Experience with Google Cloud Platform services (Firestore, Cloud Functions, Pub/Sub)
• Knowledge of telephony systems (Twilio or similar) and webhook integrations
• Experience with conversational AI platforms (Dialogflow, Lex, or similar)
• Infrastructure as code experience with Terraform
• Understanding of event-driven architectures and distributed systems patterns
• Experience with observability tools and practices (structured logging, distributed tracing)
• Previous experience working in a fully remote or hybrid company
• Interest in restaurant/hospitality technology domain

Skills

• Proficiency in Kotlin, Java, or Scala
• Experience with GraphQL
• Experience with Google Cloud Platform services
• Experience with Twilio and Dialogflow
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes
• Experience with Terraform
• Experience with observability tools

Benefits

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Paid Holidays
• Vision Insurance
• 401(k) Matching
• Parental Leave
• Sick Leave

Pay

$150,000 to $190,000 a year

Schedule

Hybrid