IW - BackEnd Engineer

IMPORTANT: At the moment we are only considering candidates located in Latin America. Please do not apply if you are not located in Latin America.

About Empirical

Empirical empowers early and growth stage tech companies to create the right products in the right way by providing two pivotal services:

• Product & Technology Leadership: Our clients entrust critical decisions to our network of top-tier US-based CTOs and CPOs. We provide fractional, project, or advisory based support, combining highly experienced talent with a flexible approach.

• Product Development Teams: We provide our clients with high performing, senior product development talent through a scalable staff augmentation model and ongoing support. We focus on Latin America to find exceptional talent, with time zone and cultural compatibility.

We are proud to be a people first company, where we prioritize building meaningful, long lasting human connections with clients and team members alike, while embracing diversity and uniqueness. With this foundation and our focus on talent, we help create great products that people love.

Our values

• Care about people first

• Strive to add value always

• Lead with integrity

• Have fun every step of the way

The Opportunity

We’re hiring a Senior Backend Engineer to join a distributed team at one of our clients, a hardware-software startup founded by ex-Tesla product leaders. You’ll be part of the engineering effort behind a smart asset tracking system, working on internal tooling and core backend services.

This role requires deep expertise in PostgreSQL, including functions, and solid experience with Golang or the ability to ramp up quickly. You'll collaborate closely with frontend engineers, QA, DevOps, and product stakeholders to deliver robust backend logic, database performance improvements, and background processing capabilities.

What you'll do

• Develop and maintain business logic using PostgreSQL functions.

• Collaborate on a modular Golang REST API, following clean architecture principles

• Migrate legacy Supabase logic to PostgreSQL-native implementations

• Build and manage background jobs and scheduler services

• Contribute to system architecture and performance improvements

• Work closely with QA, product, and DevOps teams in a fully remote environment

Your qualifications and experience

Must haves

• 8+ years of experience in backend development, or 5+ years with an advanced degree

• Hands on experience in compiled languages, preferably Go.

• Expert-level proficiency in PostgreSQL, including functions and performance tuning

• Strong understanding of relational database design, indexing, and schema optimization

• Experience working without ORMs, with a deep grasp of SQL query behavior

• Familiarity with clean architecture: services, controllers, repositories

• Comfortable with Git, CI/CD pipelines, and writing unit/integration tests

• Ability to work independently within a small, distributed team

• Solid English and communication skills

Nice to haves

• Hands-on experience with Golang, or willingness to learn quickly

• Experience with AWS, particularly Aurora Serverless PostgreSQL and ECS

• Exposure to SOC 2-compliant environments

• Hands on experience using AI Development Tools / Agents (e.g., Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code, Codex, etc)

• Experience in security-sensitive systems or stock compliance

What we expect from you

• 100% alignment with our core values!

• Ability to take ownership of projects from start to finish

• Strong collaboration and communication skills

• Attention to detail and a passion for creating great user experiences

What we offer

• Remote/flexible work

• Highly competitive compensation in US dollars

• Opportunities for personal and professional development; mentorship, coaching and training as needed

• Ongoing, 40 hours per week dedication

• The opportunity to be part of an amazing, multicultural community of tech experts

Why work with us?

• We pride ourselves on our core values and have proven that putting people first creates a thriving and collaborative work environment.

• We seek to accommodate and balance individual needs with client needs, understanding each one of us is unique.

• We offer benefits such as remote/flexible work, selective paid training, mentorship programs, referral programs and more.

• We are selective in the projects we take on to ensure our teams are engaged in challenging, meaningful, enjoyable opportunities that will provoke creativity, innovation and growth!