This is a hybrid role based in our Chicago or Palo Alto offices and will require you to be in office Tuesdays and Thursdays.
What's so interesting about this role?
Our team is growing because our user base is growing (30% in the last year!) which means we need you! We're looking for an experienced Backend Engineer who is passionate about building, testing, deploying and working closely with the Product team to deliver new features. You will have the opportunity to solve challenging problems, work with the latest systems, collaborate with a kind and capable team and contribute meaningfully.
What's the job?

• Leading projects and other engineers to implement new features and coordinate closely with the product and design teams
• Build for the future by designing maintainable and well-tested systems to serve a global audience of millions of concurrent users (we're big!)
• Own the design and development of Grindr's backend services in a stable and scalable microservices architecture
• Work with Product Managers, Designers, and other Engineers to refine feature design and functionality
• Build for the future by designing and testing simple, elegant, maintainable software
• Optimize key pieces of Grindr's platform using tools like Redis, Postgres, Kafka on AWS services
• Innovate by guiding data-driven decisions to adopt new technologies, architectures, and workflow
• Ensure high availability of the Grindr platform through distributed systems and infrastructure engineering
• Help guide and mentor team members through pairing sessions,code reviews, and architecture reviews.
• Troubleshoot unexpected issues across various systems because being the most popular is hard... and fun :)
• Take a prominent role in optimizations, cost savings and incident responses.

What we'll love about you

• 7+ years of experience as a Software Engineer developing critical portions of working on Backend Systems (Service APIs, Data Processing, Messaging Services)
• Experience designing and implementing large-scale Web or API systems for high load and data consistency
• Experience designing systems that make heavy and efficient use of Cloud Services (any cloud)
• Passionate about testing software and systems
• Deep understanding of concurrency concepts and trade-offs
• You love figuring things out and understand how they work end-to-end
• Experience with continuous integration and continuous delivery
• Experience with the JVM and at least one JVM language.Experience designing and productionizing large-scale distributed systems

We'll really swoon if you have any of:

• Experience developing Production systems using KotlinSQL, Kubernetes, or Kafka
• Experience developing or working with Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery tools, such as Github Actions or CircleCI.
• Experience of mentoring / skilling up less experienced developers.

What you'll love about us

• Mission and Impact: Grindr is building the global gayborhood in your pocket. Your role will impact the lives of millions of LGBTQ+ people around the world. Through our success, we are making a world where the lives of our community are free, equal, and just.
• Family Insurance: Insurance premium coverage for health, dental, and vision for you and partial coverage for your dependents.
• Retirement Savings: Generous 401K plan with 6% match and immediate vest in the U.S.
• Compensation: Industry-competitive compensation and eligibility for company bonus and equity programs.
• Queer-Inclusive Benefits: Industry-leading gender-affirming offerings with up to 90% cost coverage, access to Included Health, monthly stipends for HRT, and more.
• Additional Benefits: Flexible vacation policy, monthly stipends for cell phone, internet, wellness, food, and commuting, breakfast/lunch provided onsite, and yearly travel & leisure stipend.

About Grindr
Grindr is building the global gayborhood in your pocket. With more than 13.5 million monthly active users, Grindr has become a fundamental part of the LGBTQ+ community and is charting a path to make the world more free, equal, and just. Since 2015, Grindr for Equality has advanced safety, health, and human rights for millions of Grindr users and the global LGBTQ+ community in partnership with more than 100 community organizations in every region of the world.
Our next evolution is underway as a public company that continues to grow and build meaningful experiences for our users. From social issues to product innovations, we're setting audacious goals for our community and the business, and leveraging the latest tech stacks and a culture of engineering excellence to make it happen. At the heart of our work in this new chapter is a shared set of operating principles centered around cultivating curiosity, thinking big, setting and expediting our ambitious goals, and growing through iteration; all while keeping our users #1.
Grindr is headquartered in West Hollywood, California, with offices in the Bay Area, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. With a track record of strong financial performance and plans for continued headcount growth, we're building a team of talented, passionate, and open-minded people who want to disrupt the dating app space, innovate products, and advance LGBTQ+ culture. Come be a part of this exciting journey with us.
Grindr is an equal-opportunity employer
To learn more about how we handle the personal data of applicants, visit our Employee and Candidate Privacy Policy .
#LI-Hybrid
Grindr is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. This base pay range is for the U.S. and is not applicable to locations outside of the U.S. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs, location, and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role will also be eligible for equity, benefits, and a company bonus program.
Base Pay Range
$175,000 - $250,000 USD