Staff Engineer - Backend

A BIT ABOUT US

Appknox is one of the top Mobile Application security companies recognized by Gartner and G2. A profitable B2B SaaS startup headquartered in Singapore & working from Bengaluru.

The primary goal of Appknox is to help businesses and mobile developers secure their mobile applications with a focus on delivery speed and high-quality security audits.

Our business includes Fortune 500 companies with Major brands spread across regions like India, South-East Asia, Middle-East, Japan, US, and expanding rapidly. 

The Opportunity:

We are seeking a highly skilled Staff Engineer (Backend) to join our dynamic software development team. In this role, you will take ownership of key backend projects, drive cross-functional collaborations, and lead efforts to deliver robust, scalable, and high-performance software solutions. You will be focused on solving complex problems and influencing technical strategy across multiple teams. As a engineering leader, you will have the autonomy to make technical decisions, define project scope, and guide the direction of backend architecture while working with a passionate, high-performing team.

You will be working hands-on with products built on Python, with additional contributions in Golang and Rust. These technologies are central to our development stack, and your focus will be on developing, scaling, and maintaining distributed services. A core part of our architecture involves distributed systems, so you will gain in-depth experience in maintaining, optimizing, and scaling these systems in a fast-paced environment.

As a lead engineer, we expect you to not only code but also architect solutions, make independent technical decisions, and navigate complex problem spaces. You will be trusted with significant ownership, and your expertise will play a key role in shaping the future of our product and technology stack.

We strongly value open source contributions, and encourage you to check out our work on GitHub at Appknox GitHub. While we have experienced security professionals onboard to guide you, a background in security is not required for this position.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the backend development for a disruptive product in the Security domain, driving innovation while improving performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Own the software design process, including designing workflows, system architecture, and feature implementation plans.
• Ensure timely delivery of high-quality software solutions by coordinating sprints, planning releases, and managing cross-team dependencies.
• Translate functional and technical requirements into detailed architecture and design, taking independent decisions to ensure efficiency and scalability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, providing guidance and support to developers to ensure high-quality deliverables.
• Conduct thorough code reviews to ensure code quality, maintainability, and adherence to best practices, while mentoring team members in coding standards
• Write clean, maintainable, and testable code, adhering to best practices and coding standards.
• Design and implement software components, frameworks, and APIs using Django and Python.
• Create flowcharts, layouts, and documentation to identify system requirements and solutions.
• Develop and enforce robust software verification plans, quality assurance procedures, and deployment strategies.
• Troubleshoot, debug, and upgrade existing systems to enhance functionality and performance.
• Ensure regular updates, maintain software systems, and evaluate user feedback to improve solutions.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers, fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented environment.
• Act as the go-to expert for backend technical challenges, driving solutions and decision-making processes across the team.

Requirements:

• 5–8 years of professional experience in backend development with a strong focus on Django and Python.
• Proficiency in Django REST Framework (DRF), relational databases, SQL, and ORMs (e.g., Django ORM, SQLAlchemy).
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to make independent decisions regarding system design and implementation.
• Hands-on experience in designing and developing scalable, maintainable, and high-performing backend systems.
• Deep understanding of software engineering methodologies, including Test-Driven Development (TDD) and CI/CD practices.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to document technical specifications and workflows clearly.
• Proven ability to lead and mentor a small team of engineers, providing technical guidance and support without formal people management responsibilities.
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure, deployment pipelines, and microservices architectures is a bonus.
• Self-driven and able to operate autonomously in a fast-paced environment
• Able to handle ambiguity and adapt to rapidly changing business needs.

Work Expectations:

Within 1 month

• Attend KT sessions conducted by the engineering and product teams to gain a deep understanding of the product, its architecture, and workflows.
• Learn about the team's development processes, tools, and key challenges.
• Work closely with the product team to understand product requirements and contribute to the design and development of features.
• Dive deep into the existing backend architecture, including database structures, APIs, and integration points, to fully understand the technical landscape
• Begin addressing minor technical challenges and tasks, while understanding the underlying architecture and tech stack.
• Begin to participate in creating action plans for new features, ensuring that design and implementation are aligned with product goals.

Within 2 months

• Take ownership of specific features or modules within the codebase, including the responsibility for their design, development, and delivery.
• Begin identifying potential areas for improvement in the codebase and propose strategies for optimization and scalability.
• Conduct code reviews to ensure high-quality deliverables while mentoring team members on coding standards and best practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (e.g., frontend, DevOps, QA) to align technical implementation with business objectives.
• Develop technical documentation for the assigned modules or features, ensuring maintainability and ease of onboarding for new engineers.
• Start contributing to the sprint planning process by estimating effort, identifying dependencies, and mitigating risks.

Within 3 months

• Take complete control of the codebase, demonstrating the ability to work independently and make critical decisions on system design and implementation.
• Lead the development and delivery of key features, ensuring they meet performance, scalability, and maintainability requirements.
• Act as a technical mentor for the team by guiding junior engineers and providing support to peers when needed.
• Drive cross-team collaboration, ensuring smooth communication between engineering, DevOps, and product teams.
• Lead and own the technical discussions for new features, contributing to architectural decisions and resolving technical challenges.
• Monitor and improve development processes, suggesting tools or methodologies to enhance team productivity and software quality.
• Prepare and deliver regular updates to stakeholders on project progress, risks, and mitigation strategies.

Within 5-6 months

• Be fully autonomous in the codebase and capable of leading a small team of engineers.
• Demonstrate strong decision-making skills and the ability to deliver high-quality features independently.
• Establish themselves as the go-to expert for the backend codebase and act as the technical POC for cross-functional teams.
• Play a pivotal role in enhancing team productivity and aligning technical solutions with business needs.

Personality traits we really admire:

• Great attitude to ask questions, learn and suggest process improvements.
• Follows timelines and absolute commitment to deadlines.
• Has attention to details and helps identify edge cases.
• Highly motivated and coming up with ideas and perspective to help us move towards our goals faster.
• Follows timelines and absolute commitment to deadlines.

Interview Process:

• Round 1 Interview - TA Profile Evaluation
• Round 2 Interview - Assignment Evaluation
• Round 3 Interview - Engineering Team & Technical Founder
• Round 4 Interview - HR

Compensation:

• As per Industry Standards

Why Join Us:

• Freedom & Responsibility: If you are a person who enjoys challenging work & pushing your boundaries, then this is the right place for you. We appreciate new ideas & ownership as well as flexibility with working hours.
• Great Salary & Equity: We keep up with the market standards & provide pay packages considering updated standards. Also as Appknox continues to grow, you’ll have a great opportunity to earn more & grow with us. Moreover, we also provide equity options for our top performers.
• Holistic Growth: We foster a culture of continuous learning and take a much more holistic approach to training and developing our assets: the employees. We shall also support you all on that journey of yours.
• Transparency: Being a part of a start-up is an amazing experience one of the reasons being the open communication & transparency at multiple levels. Working with Appknox will give you the opportunity to experience it all first hand.
• Health insurance: We offer family health insurance coverage to employees.