Blackbird Labs is hiring a Senior/Staff Backend Engineer in Engineering — New York. The overview below is synthesized from the employer posting on jobs.ashbyhq.com: factual requirements and scope are preserved, but prose is rewritten with editorial context. Verify details and apply via the employer link.
About Blackbird
Company context from the listing:
Blackbird Labs is a loyalty and payments platform establishing meaningful connections between the world’s best restaurants and their customers.
Served up in 2022 by Ben Leventhal, co-founder of Eater and Resy, Blackbird offers a fully customizable loyalty programming platform for restaurants and a consumer app designed to make every guest feel like a bonafide VIP no matter where they dine. Backed by Union Square Ventures, a16z, Amex Ventures, Variant Fund, and other forward-thinking investors, Blackbird is out to revolutionize the restaurant industry.
About Our Team
Company context from the listing:
At Blackbird, our values guide everything we do and our talent principles define the key traits we seek in our employees.
We have passion for our product – committed to our mission and instinctively think like and go the extra mile for our customers. We are elite performers – striving for excellence, going above and beyond to achieve exceptional results, and learning quickly with horsepower, drive, and grit.
About the Job
Company context from the listing:
At Blackbird, we believe every guest should feel like a VIP the moment they walk into a restaurant. Whether it’s last-minute tables, welcome drinks, off-menu items, or exclusive perks, we’re building a platform that helps restaurants identify, connect with, and reward their guests in meaningful and personalized ways.
Our vision? The more you check in at your favorite spots, the more you unlock—from unique rewards to seamless direct messaging for reservations.
As a Senior Backend Engineer, you’ll be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining our core APIs. You’ll work closely with product managers, designers, and fellow engineers to define and execute the technical vision behind our payments and loyalty platforms.
Responsibilities
Day-to-day scope for the Senior/Staff Backend Engineer as described in the posting:
- Design, build, and maintain core backend APIs
- Collaborate with product, design, and engineering peers to deliver features aligned with business goals
- Contribute to system architecture and implement scalable, robust solutions
- Uphold and promote backend best practices, with a focus on code quality, testing, and performance
- Mentor junior and mid-level engineers and foster a collaborative, growth-oriented team culture
- Participate in product and design discussions, offering backend perspectives on implementation and feasibility
Requirements
Experience and skills the team lists as required:
- 5+ years of experience building and deploying backend APIs
- Strong proficiency in Kotlin or another statically typed JVM language
- Deep experience designing and maintaining RESTful APIs using domain-driven design principles
- Solid understanding of SQL databases, including schema design and performance tuning
- Strong attention to detail and commitment to delivering high-quality user experiences
- Ability to work autonomously and make sound decisions in a fast-moving environment
- Experience mentoring engineers and contributing positively to team culture
- Comfortable working cross-functionally with product, design, and other stakeholders
Nice to Haves
- Experience with the Spring framework and database abstraction layers such as Hibernate
- Familiarity with the U.S. payments ecosystem, including debit, credit, and ACH processing
- Exposure to DevOps practices, including AWS infrastructure and Terraform
- Interest or experience in blockchain, especially with cryptography fundamentals
- Experience productionizing generative AI features (e.g. retrieval-augmented generation, prompt engineering, or model integration)
Pay Transparency Notice & Benefits
What the posting highlights about the offer:
Depending on your work location and experience the target annual salary for this position can range from: $180,000-$220,000 USD. Disclosure in accordance with New York City's Pay Transparency Law.
Full time offers from Blackbird may also include stock options, benefits (including medical, dental, vision, flexible time off, 401(k)), and some not-so-standard, extra-fun perks — subject to applicable taxes and based on eligibility.
Commitment to Equal Opportunity
Blackbird Labs is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by applicable law.
Join us and find out what the best work of your career could look like here at Blackbird.