Lead Backend Developer (Node.js / Microservices) — iGaming / Casino

We're looking for a senior backend engineer who thrives in high-load, real-time environments. We operate in the online casino and iGaming industry — if you have experience in this space, you're already a step ahead. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who has built and scaled production systems — and knows how to keep them running under pressure.

Key Responsibilities

▸ Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services and REST APIs ▸ Lead architecture decisions across distributed microservices systems ▸ Own real-time communication infrastructure (WebSockets, NATS, Kafka)

▸ Ensure system reliability, observability, and fault tolerance at scale

▸ Optimize database performance and handle high-volume data challenges

▸ Set technical standards and mentor the engineering team ▸ Debug and resolve production issues under pressure

Required Technical Experience

Backend

✔ 5+ years of professional backend development

✔ Strong expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript (ES6+)

✔ Experience building scalable REST APIs and real-time services

✔ Deep understanding of async programming and event-driven architectures

Microservices

✔ Proven experience designing distributed microservices environments

✔ Service communication patterns, fault tolerance, horizontal scaling

✔ Observability, monitoring, and high-traffic production systems

Messaging & Streaming — all three are mandatory

✔ NATS

✔ Apache Kafka

✔ WebSockets / real-time communication systems

Must understand: Pub/Sub, streaming pipelines, message durability, consumer groups, event orchestration, reconnection strategies, real-time sync

DevOps & Infrastructure — mandatory

✔ Kubernetes (K8s) and Docker

✔ CI/CD pipelines and containerized production environments

Strong advantage: DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS), Helm, Ingress management, Cloudflare, Linux server administration

Databases

✔ MySQL and PostgreSQL — production experience

✔ Query optimization, indexing, partitioning, caching strategies

✔ Redis and experience with large datasets and performance bottlenecks

Frontend — advantage React, Next.js, Material UI, real-time frontend integrations

Additional Requirements

✔ Experience on high-scale platforms with significant live traffic

✔ Strong architectural thinking and problem-solving skills

✔ Experience in real-time gaming, fintech, sportsbook, casino, or similar high-load environments — major advantage

✔ Strong understanding of security, scalability, and system reliability

✔ Experience in agile, fast-moving development teams

Compensation

💰 Fixed salary — discussed individually 🌍 Fully remote 🎰 Industry: online casino / iGaming

👉 We're looking for someone who has been there — built it, scaled it, and kept it running in a high-stakes, high-traffic environment. If that's you, we want to talk.