Principal Backend Engineer

About the Company

As the fastest-growing distributor of restaurant equipment, HVAC and residential appliance parts, we like to do things a little differently. First, you need to understand and demonstrate our Core Values with safety being your first priority. We’re looking for unique enthusiasm, high integrity, courage to embrace change, and if you know a few jokes, that puts you on the top of our list! We value passionate people with fresh ideas from different backgrounds to keep us at the top of our game.

Our workplace has been recognized for its growth and innovation on the Inc. 5000 list 15 years in a row and the Crain’s Fast 50 list ten times. We are honored to be voted by our Chicagoland team as a Chicago Tribune Top Workplace for the last four years.

About the Role

As a Principal Backend Engineer, you will design, architect, and optimize scalable microservices that power our eCommerce and enterprise platforms. You’ll drive backend architecture and ensure seamless integration across systems like commerce, CMS, ERP, PIM, and marketing. Championing best practices in modularization, API design, and event-driven architectures, you’ll leverage Node.js, TypeScript, Docker, Kubernetes, and serverless technologies to create secure, high-performance services. You’ll own backend engineering policies, CI/CD pipelines, and testing automation to ensure reliable deployments. As a technical leader, you’ll define logging, observability, and disaster recovery strategies, ensuring high availability. Collaboration with frontend, DevOps, and data teams will be key to optimizing system performance. Mentoring engineers and contributing to architectural decisions will be central to your role.

Responsibilities

• Backend Architecture: Design scalable, cloud-native microservices and ensure seamless interoperability between platforms (eCommerce, CMS, ERP, PIM, marketing)
• Implementation & Best Practices: Leverage Node.js, TypeScript, Docker, Kubernetes, and serverless technologies to build high-performance services. Advocate for modularization, API-first, event-driven architectures, and domain-driven design
• Engineering Standards: Establish CI/CD practices, automated testing, and backend tooling standards. Drive adoption of best practices for service-to-service communication (REST, GraphQL, gRPC)
• Operational Practices: Lead disaster recovery strategies, define observability and logging best practices, and drive automated testing strategies
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with frontend, DevOps, and data teams to optimize APIs, caching, and databases. Mentor engineers and collaborate with other Principal Engineers to ensure engineering excellence

Qualifications

• You have strong written and verbal communication skills in English
• You have 10+ years of experience in backend system design, eCommerce, and distributed applications
• You’re an expert in Node.js, TypeScript, and cloud-native platforms (Azure preferred)
• You’re passionate and knowledgeable of databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis), microservices, event-driven architectures (Kafka, NATS), and API standards (REST, GraphQL)
• You possess experience with unit, integration, and contract testing (Jest, Mocha, Pact) and CI/CD (Terraform, Pulumi)
• You are familiar with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), serverless computing, Kubernetes, and containerization
• You have proven ability to mentor engineers and collaborate across teams

Skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
• 10+ years of experience in backend system design, eCommerce, and distributed applications
• Expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, and cloud-native platforms (Azure preferred)
• Knowledge of databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis), microservices, event-driven architectures (Kafka, NATS), and API standards (REST, GraphQL)
• Experience with unit, integration, and contract testing (Jest, Mocha, Pact) and CI/CD (Terraform, Pulumi)
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), serverless computing, Kubernetes, and containerization
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and collaborate across teams

Pay

The salary range for this role is $133,164.93 - $179,711.01 annually, based on qualifications, experience, and geographical location. This role may also include a profit-sharing program and an annual bonus.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Employee assistance programs
• Paid time off, sick time, and holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Professional development opportunities